NEW YORK, Sept 8 (Hina) - The presidents of Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Slovenia on Friday held a closed working meeting in view of reaching an agreement on joint activity in connection with succession to the former
Yugoslav federation. The four presidents held the talks at the headquarters of Croatia's permanent mission to the United Nations in New York, where they are participating in UN's Millennium Summit. Croatia's Stipe Mesic, BH's Alija Izetbegovic, Slovenia's Milan Kucan, and Macedonia's Boris Trajkovski will issue a joint statement on conclusions reached at the meeting in the evening hours New York time. It is expected they will seek the UN to apply to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the fifth state created after the break-up of the former Yugoslav federation, the same admission rules applied to the other four states and all other new UN members. Speakin
NEW YORK, Sept 8 (Hina) - The presidents of Croatia, Bosnia-
Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Slovenia on Friday held a closed
working meeting in view of reaching an agreement on joint activity
in connection with succession to the former Yugoslav federation.
The four presidents held the talks at the headquarters of Croatia's
permanent mission to the United Nations in New York, where they are
participating in UN's Millennium Summit.
Croatia's Stipe Mesic, BH's Alija Izetbegovic, Slovenia's Milan
Kucan, and Macedonia's Boris Trajkovski will issue a joint
statement on conclusions reached at the meeting in the evening
hours New York time.
It is expected they will seek the UN to apply to the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia, the fifth state created after the break-up of the
former Yugoslav federation, the same admission rules applied to the
other four states and all other new UN members.
Speaking to reporters on the final day of the Millennium Summit, the
Croatian President told reporters his impressions of the gathering
were positive. He confirmed the prevalent assessment that UN's
institutions and working mechanisms must undergo a change to become
able to respond to contemporary challenges.
"The Security Council as intended when it was established no longer
serves the function of the world's new needs and realities," said
President Mesic.
Asked to make an assessment of UN's peacekeeping operations, he
said "they were useful but often late." He recalled a suggestion he
had made to UN Secretary-General Peres de Cuellar in 1991 urging the
deployment of division forces on Croatia's borders on Serbia and
BH. There had been no understanding for the suggestion, which
resulted in Serbia's aggression on Croatia and the war in BH, he
said. "UN's inert mechanism made it impossible to respond to the
crises in a fast, efficient, and cost-effective fashion."
Earlier today, Croatia's President and UN's Commissioner for Human
Rights Mary Robinson signed a statement on tolerance and diversity,
which encourages broader and better protection and promotion of
human rights around the world.
(hina) ha