NEW YORK, July 2 (Hina) - Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Monday an early termination of the United Nations Mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina would constitute a very unfortunate turn of events which could undermine what was built
since the Dayton peace accords of 1995.
NEW YORK, July 2 (Hina) - Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on
Monday an early termination of the United Nations Mission to
Bosnia-Herzegovina would constitute a very unfortunate turn of
events which could undermine what was built since the Dayton peace
accords of 1995. #L#
In the wake of a US veto at the UN Security Council, Annan called on
this body's members to step up agreements at senior level and find a
solution for the UN mission to complete its Bosnian mandate by the
end of the year and transfer its tasks to the new mission in Bosnia,
that of the European Union.
The world cannot let the Security Council remain this divided
regarding an issue which will affect all UN peace operations, said
Annan.
Annan cannot believe a solution cannot be found to extend the UN
mandate in Bosnia and meet the US request to have peace troops
exempted from the jurisdiction of the standing International
Criminal Court, which officially started working at The Hague on
Monday.
UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said the termination of the mission and
withdrawal from Bosnia would take months. A sudden termination
would cause major unforeseen costs and it is unknown when the EU
would be ready to take over, he said.
Asked about the effects of the US eventually vetoing the UN mandate
in Bosnia, Eckhard said it would have a negative impact on all peace
missions, especially the one in the Lebanon, which ends on July 31.
US Ambassador to the UN John Negroponte told reporters on Sunday
that US peace troops, after leaving Bosnia, would certainly
withdraw from East Timor.
Observers at the UN seat in New York fear that failure to meet its
demands might lead Washington to withhold financial contributions
for UN's peace operations.
(hina) ha