WRITTEN QUESTION E-2660/97 by Patricia McKenna (V) to the Council (1 September 1997)

Subject: Indicted war criminals in the former Yugoslavia

Just over two years ago the UN-declared 'safe haven' of Srebrenica fell and thousands are believed to have been murdered. Many of them were refugees who had survived the 'ethnic cleansing' murder campaigns of 1992.

Two years on, 75 people have been indicted on all sides for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia. Only nine have been taken into the custody of the International Criminal Tribunal in the Hague. Many continue to exert substantial economic and political power.

Even though the NATO-led SFOR troops in Bosnia Hercegovina have promised to arrest indicted war criminals 'encountered in the course of normal duties' and have a duty to do so under international law, only one has been arrested and another has been killed in a shoot-out. This was in spite of several encounters between the troops and the suspects.

What measures does the Council propose to take to ensure that indicted war criminals in the former Yugoslavia are brought to justice in order to prevent further acts of genocide there? Has the EU conducted any evaluation to date on the effectiveness of the SFOR operation?

Does the Council believe from any evaluations to date that the UN was correct to give NATO control of implementing the Dayton Peace Agreement? Has the EU liaised with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in monitoring the implementation of Dayton? What conclusions has it reached from any such liaison?

Answer (26 November 1997)

For the European Union, the bringing to justice of war criminals before the International Criminal Tribunal remains one of the preconditions for true reconciliation and lasting peace in the region. Consequently, in its conclusions of 29 April 1997 concerning the application of conditionality with a view to developing a coherent strategy for the EU's relations with the countries of the region, the Council explicitly cited compliance with the obligations arising from the peace treaties, including cooperation with the ICT, as one of the prior conditions for the development of those relations. The Union continues to apply pressure and to require of all parties concerned that war criminals are brought before the ICT. This requirement has also been underlined by the Steering Committee of the Peace Implementation Council at Sintra, whose conclusions the European Union fully supports. In addition, the European Union makes a financial contribution to the ITC.

The Union favours close coordination between all the international institutions, including the OSCE and NATO. The European Council, meeting in Amsterdam in June 1997, reaffirmed the European Union's determination to cooperate with the other members of the international community to induce the parties concerned in Bosnia-Herzegovina to fulfil their commitments in the framework of the peace agreements in their entirety. The European Union believes that the endeavours of the High Representative and of international organizations and institutions such as the OSCE the UNHCR, the Council of Europe and others will be decisive in creating the conditions necessary for implementing the peace agreements. Consequently, it considers that those organizations and institutions should remain engaged in the region until a real stablilization of the situation can be observed.

Nevertheless, these endeavours have only been possible thanks to the military presence on the ground, currently provided by SFOR, which in any event is only responsible for implementing the military aspects of the Dayton/Paris Peace Agreements. This operation has been successful, since SFOR has succeeded in preventing war from breaking out afresh, thus re-establishing the security needed for the implementation of the civil aspects. The European Union believes that maintaining a military presence is necessary to this end.

The European Union believes that the OSCE's efforts have been essential to the implementation of the civil aspects of the peace agreements. The OSCE, in the framework of the supervision it has provided, has prepared and organized national and local elections. At its meeting in Dublin in December 1996, the European Council among other things declared itself in favour of the OSCE continuing to play a role. Consequently, the European Union is in favour of the supervision by the OSCE of other elections in the region, in particular in Serbia and Montenegro, as also in Republika Srpska, if appropriate. As a result of the pressure exerted by the European Union to this end, as expressed in its Declarations of 31 July and 7 August 1997, the Belgrade authorities invited the OSCE to supervise the elections on 21 September 1997.