FRY IS NOT THE ONLY SUCCESSOR TO SFRY - RAMSAR CONVENTION

NEW YORK, May 21 (Hina) - All 114 countries-members of the United Nations' Ramsar Convention unanimously rejected a request by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) to be recognised as the only successor-state to the former Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), at its 7th conference, held in the Costa Rican capital of San Jose. According to a statement from the Croatian Permanent Mission at the U.N. in New York, participants in the conference reached a consensus on a resolution proposed by Albania, the Czech Republic, Pakistan, the United States, Slovenia, Turkey, Uruguay and Croatia, suggesting that all five states on the territory of the former Yugoslavia be considered successors to the former federation. Bosnia-Herzegovina and the FRY have been called on to join the Convention the way it was done by Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia. The Croatian Mission said the decision had far-reaching consequences because that meant that the status of the FRY in other international agreements and organisations would be treated in the same way, which could also facilitate the whole process of succession to the SFRY. (hina) jn rml