JOINT DECLARATION ON FREE PASSAGE OF RELIEF CONVOYS IN BOSNIA

GENEVA, Nov 18 (Hina) - The chairwoman of the Humanitarian Issues Working Group of the International Conference on Former Yugoslavia, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Mrs Sadako Ogata, met in Geneva on Thursday with Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic and the Bosnian Croat and Serb leaders, Mate Boban and Radovan Karadzic respectively. The meeting was attended by president of the International Committee of the Red Cross Cornelio Sommaruga, said UNHCR in a statement from Geneva. UNHCR stressed that no agreement had been reached on the opening of Tuzla Airport, which was supported by Mr Silajdzic. It was agreed that this matter would be decided upon within the UN. Following is the text of the Joint Declaration that was signed at today's meeting: "Recognizing that a humanitarian catastrophe in Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot be averted this winter without peace, and conscious of the disaster already upon the civilian population with the onset of winter, the undersigned have today given, in the Humanitarian Issues Working Group of the International Conference on Former Yugoslavia, under the chairmanship of Mrs Sadako Ogata, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, a joint and solemn commitment to: 1. Ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance by suspending hostilities and allowing free and unconditioned access by the most effective land routes, as well as the repairs essential for the use of these routes; 2. Ensure complete and secure freedom of movement for all personnel of the UN and international humanitarian organizations; 3. Allow UNHCR and ICRC to determine, without any conditionality or linkages, the content of humanitarian assistance, including priority winterization needs and all materials, supplies, gas and other fuel necessary for the survival of the civilian population, excluding, of course, materials of war, and to monitor that this assistance is not misused for military purposes; 4. Ensure that all humanitarian assistance reaches its intended civilian beneficiaries and is not diverted to the military or others; 5. Release, in accordance with the principles of and arrangements made by the ICRC, all civilians unlawfully detained; 6. Ensure that the military and civilian administrations at all levels honour the above commitments and all others previously entered into with regard to the respect for freedom of movement and other human rights, the Geneva Conventions and other applicable international humanitarian law and humanitarian principles." 182136 MET nov 93