UN General Assembly
1996

endanger world peace and security. The Dayton peace process gave a chance to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina and to the other countries involved. The September 1996 elections constituted a milestone on the road to a lasting peace in the Balkans. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe performed its election task in an outstanding manner. We applaud all those who participated in those elections. On the other hand, we cannot ignore the fact that the election results reconfirmed ethnic divisions in the country. It will not be easy for the parties to overcome this problem. The international community should therefore remain alert and continue in its peaceful engagement by committing the necessary troops and by exerting political pressure on all the parties to keep up the momentum of the Dayton peace process. Local elections, to be held in November, are the next step in this process. It is important that all planned political institutions be formed and start functioning as soon as possible. Another area of deep interest to us is the Middle