Peace Implementation Conference London Dec. 4, 1996

Presentation by the NATO Secretary General Mr. Chairman, Ministers, Colleagues, I am pleased to be able to speak to you this morning on how NATO is preparing to help consolidate the peace in Bosnia beyond 1996. For the past year, the NATO-led IFOR has created the secure conditions necessary for implementing the civil aspects of the Peace Agreement. IFOR's mission ends in two weeks. It has been a great success, thanks in large part to the commitment of the participating countries. I wish to thank all of the countries that have contributed to IFOR for the sacrifices they have made. While there have been no IFOR casualties from combat, lives have still been lost and soldiers wounded. In addition, your countries have sustained the enormous financial burden associated with deploying and operating a force of almost 60,000 men and women. To build on the success of IFOR, it is NATO's intention to organize and lead a new Stabilization Force. This new force will deter the resumption of hostilities and provide extra time for political reconciliation and economic reconstruction to gain momentum. SFOR will be a smaller force, roughly half the size of IFOR, and its mission will necessarily be more limited. We are planning for an 18-month mission, to be reviewed at 6 and 12 months, with a view to progressively reducing the force's presence to a deterrent posture and eventually withdrawal. In preparing SFOR, we have been consulting closely with the 17 non-NATO nations who have contributed to IFOR. I am pleased to inform you that all 17 wish to contribute to SFOR, and two more of our Partners in NATO's Partnership for Peace programme (Bulgaria and Slovenia) have also signalled a willingness to contribute. The NATO Military Authorities are currently finalizing the operational planning for SFOR. The North Atlantic Council will be reviewing this planning shortly, in consultation with the non-NATO contributors. As was the case for IFOR, SFOR will require a clear Chapter VII mandate from the UN Security Council. I would urge the adoption of such a resolution as early as possible. This would facilitate parliamentary approval in certain countries and a seamless transition between IFOR and SFOR. Also like IFOR, we expect the new force to operate with the consent of the Partners to the Peace Agreement. I am pleased to have received confirmation from the Bosnian Presidency, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of their consent to SFOR, under the same enforcement authority and status of forces that helped to make IFOR such a success. NATO is committed to working closely with the High Representative and with the other international organisations involved in consolidating the peace, including the IPTF, OSCE, and UNHCR. But because of its reduced size, SFOR will need to concentrate on maintaining the secure environment necessary for civil implementation. Other support will be selective and progressively reduced through the course of the mission. General Naumann and General Joulwan will say more about our military planning in a moment. But first, Mr. Chairman, I would like to make two concluding points. First, as we look to 1997, the political and civil aspects of peace implementation must take a more prominent role over the military aspects. We are prepared to help provide a secure environment, but it is the civil organizations that now must take a leading role in helping the Parties to consolidate the peace. IFOR has succeeded largely because it has had clearly defined objectives, it operated to agreed timelines and it was given the necessary resources. These three factors - clear objectives, agreed timelines, and adequate resources - will be essential to the success of the civil effort in 1997 and beyond. I trust that this meeting will help establish a concrete civilian action plan that encompasses these three factors. Second, peace will endure only if the authorities and the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina take full advantage of the opportunities now open to them. Much has been achieved in 1996, but much still needs to be done. It is the duty of the representatives of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina here today to reaffirm fully and without reservation their commitment to the peace process, and to join the international community in bringing it to fruition. We are prepared to commit our soldiers and our resources for another 18 months, but we expect you to commit yourselves - in deeds as well as words - to making the peace endure. I will now turn the floor to General Naumann.