STRASBOURG, 26 June (Hina) - The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly on Thursday stated that despite some signs of improvement of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, further progress had to be made concerning the country's
cooperation with The Hague Tribunal, media freedom, freedom of movement, return of refugees and displaced people and human rights protection.
AGREEMENT, HUMAN RIGHTS
STRASBOURG, 26 June (Hina) - The Council of Europe Parliamentary
Assembly on Thursday stated that despite some signs of improvement of
the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, further progress had to be made
concerning the country's cooperation with The Hague Tribunal, media
freedom, freedom of movement, return of refugees and displaced people
and human rights protection. #L#
"The Stabilisation Force (SFOR) and Bosnian authorities should take
immediate action so that war crime indictees could be handed over to the
International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)," said a
resolution on the implementation of the Dayton agreement and on the work
of institutions for the protection of human rights in Bosnia-
Herzegovina, adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly on Thursday.
Gret Haller, international mediator for human rights in Bosnia-
Herzegovina and the head of the Mission of the Organisation for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Bosnia, Robert Frowick, stressed the
importance of handing-over war criminals to the ICTY.
The international community must have the courage to take action so
that war criminals could be handed over to the ICTY, Mrs Haller said.
War criminals will remain to be an obstacle in the overall peace
process until they are handed over to the ICTY, said Frowick.
The resolution calls on Croatia and the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia to do all they can so that their media 'could reflect the
spirit and goals of the Dayton agreements'. The two states were asked to
use their influence with the Serbs and Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina so
that they could fully respect Bosnia peace agreements and to cooperate
with the Federation authorities and Republika Srpska authorities in
creating conditions which would facilitate the organisation of municipal
elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Parliamentary Assembly notes that the media in Bosnia-
Herzegovina 'which are in the hands of the leading parties' have the
main role in creating the public opinion, which is the case with the
state media in Croatia and Yugoslavia as well.
The Assembly expressed satisfaction with the work of independent
media and stressed that they have the support of the international
community.
The Assembly judged as 'encouraging' a report by the U.N. High
Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) saying that so far 200,000 refugees have
returned to Bosnia-Herzegovina. However, the majority of them returned
to the areas where they are a majority, the Assembly said.
The Parliamentary Assembly supports all efforts which guarantee the
return of refugees and displaced people to those areas where they are a
minority.
The Assembly asks the Council of Europe member-states to provide
financial help for institutions for the protection of human rights in
Bosnia-Herzegovina. It also asks its members to exert pressure on the
Bosnian authorities and the authorities of the Federation of Bosnia-
Herzegovina and Republika Srpska so that they could fulfil their
obligations from the Dayton and Washington agreements.
The Assembly stresses its intention to continue following the
situation in Croatia concerning the fulfilment of the obligations it
took over in the moment of its admission to the Council of Europe, as
well as to continue following the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina within
the framework of the country's admission to the Council of Europe and to
maintain its contact with Yugoslavia.
(hina) rm jn
262114 MET jun 97