NO PEACE WITHOUT RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, CONFERENCE SAYS

ZAGREB, Oct 14 (Hina) - An international conference on human rights today ended in Opatija with a message that there could be no peace without full respect for human rights. Speaking later at a press conference in the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences (HAZU) in Zagreb, Academic Ivo Slaus presented the Opatija Declaration which demanded "resolute action against the creation of ethnically pure states because they posed the greatest threat to our civilization." The Declaration says "the international community is legally bound to take all appropriate collective measures to stop aggression and serious human rights violations, so that crimes such as those committed in Vukovar, Dubrovnik, Sarajevo, Mostar and Gorazde never happen again." The conference, which included 157 participants from 22 countries, was convened by the HAZU under the theme "Peace, Human Rights and the Responsibility of Intellectuals." (hina) mm sd vm 141658 MET oct 94