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- Financing of public services in the region
- It will be recalled that, in its presidential statement of 3 July
(S/PRST/1996/30), the Council expressed concern at the worsening economic
situation in the region and urged the Government of Croatia to cooperate
closely with UNTAES in order to identify and provide funding for the local
administration and public services. Furthermore, in my letter dated 2
August to the President of the Council (S/1996/632), I requested the urgent
provision of $10 million in extraordinary financial support for the
administration of the region for five to six months, starting 1 August. I
am pleased to report that the efforts to focus attention on this issue bore
fruit and on 8 August the Government of Croatia and UNTAES signed an
agreement by which the former committed itself to contribute to the regular
monthly financing of public services in the region, including health and
social welfare, education, police, administration, operating costs and
related administrative expenses, in the amount of 4.5 million kunas
(approx. $860,000) (see S/1996/648). The agreement will remain in force
until 15 January 1997. A portion of this sum, to be determined in a
separate agreement between the Government of Croatia and UNTAES, will be
used to pay the salaries of members of the Transitional Police Force.
- The Council, in its presidential statement of 15 August
(S/PRST/1996/35), expressed its appreciation at the conclusion of the
agreement. Although the agreement represents only a partial solution to
the estimated need for some $2 million, it is a positive first step on the
part of the Government of Croatia. However, this funding will not be
sufficient to cover all the costs involved in financing the region: for
the time being, the shortfall is being met from residual funds still
available to the local Serb authorities, although it is not clear how much
longer those funds will last.
- In the meantime, payment of public service salaries for the month of
July, with the one-time payment of 6 million kunas ($1,150,000) provided by
the Government prior to the agreement of 8 August, was undertaken in the
month of August. The Government also provided 2 million kunas ($385,000)
for the payment of the salaries of the Transitional Police Force for the
month of July. As the kuna has not yet been introduced in the region,
these salaries were paid in deutsche mark. These developments constitute
significant progress in the very difficult issue of funding public
administration structures of the region, and have helped defuse much of the
political ferment in the region in recent weeks.
- Closely related to the issue of funding for the regional
administration is the provision of international aid for the economic
revitalization of the area, pledged by various international donors,
including the European Commission. Reconstruction and economic
rehabilitation projects are vital in order to provide employment and
stimulate a return to normal economic activity and growth in the region.
It is expected that these funds will start to become available as from
September. Further immediate assistance from the international community
remains crucial for progress in the implementation of the mandate ofUNTAES.
- Duration of the mandate of the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium
- By a letter to the Transitional Administrator dated 18 July, the local
Serb Regional Assembly requested the Transitional Administrator to
communicate to the Security Council its request for an extension of the
duration of the mandate of UNTAES for an additional period of one year, as
provided for in the Basic Agreement. The local Serb leadership argued that
such an extension was necessary for the effective completion of various
tasks assigned to UNTAES, including the return of refugees and displaced
persons to their homes of origin, the organization of local elections in
the region and the monitoring of compliance with international human rights
standards. Serb leaders also expressed dissatisfaction with the recent
Croatian amnesty law.
- The Government of Croatia has continued to maintain in its public
statements that it will agree to only a short three-month extension of the
mandate of UNTAES following the present expiration date of 15 January 1997,
on the condition that elections are held in the region by 15 December 1996.
In a meeting between President Tudjman and the Transitional Administrator
on 12 August, President Tudjman again stressed this position (see paras.
15-17 below).
- The Council has affirmed its readiness to consider, at an appropriate
time, extending the duration of the mandate of UNTAES on the basis of the
Basic Agreement, its resolution 1037 (1996) of 15 January 1996 and a
recommendation of the Secretary-General. It is my intention to make such a
recommendation at the earliest appropriate time.
- Amnesty
- As yet, there has been no additional progress on the passage of a
clear and comprehensive amnesty law by the Government of Croatia. The
Council, in its presidential statement of 14 August (S/PRST/1996/35), noted
with concern that the amnesty law and the action subsequently taken by the
Government of Croatia have been insufficient to create confidence among the
local Serb population in the region. In discussions with UNTAES field
officers in all parts of the region, local Serb residents have cited the
lack of a comprehensive amnesty law as a major reason why many of them
would feel unwelcome and unsafe once the region was fully under Croatian
control. The amnesty issue, therefore, goes to the heart of the question
of confidence among the local population and, by extension, to the
restoration and maintenance of the multi-ethnic character of the region; a
general amnesty is also an indispensable condition for the safe return of
refugees and displaced persons. While there are indications that the
Government of Croatia may be considering further action on the amnesty
issue, including a renewed debate of the amnesty law in the Croatian
parliament in September, only concrete steps on this matter will calm the
fears of the local Serb residents of the region and accelerate the process
of peaceful reintegration. The question of a broad amnesty, it should be
noted, was addressed in the Agreement on Normalization of Relations of 23
August 1996.
- Electoral matters
- The Council will recall that in paragraph 14 of my last report
(S/1996/622), I disclosed some of the findings contained in the report of
the needs assessment mission that visited the region last July. The
mission was of the view that, under prevailing conditions and constraints,
the earliest possible date on which elections could be held would be late
February or early March 1997, and that holding elections during that period
would depend on outstanding policy issues being resolved by mid-October,
failing which a further delay would be inevitable.
- The outstanding policy issues that were identified include, inter
alia, how any representatives elected to local government bodies will be
integrated into those which currently exist; whether elections are to be
conducted under Croatian law, under laws made by the Transitional
Administrator, or a combination of the two; a determination as to who will
be entitled to vote at the elections in view of the fact that the Basic
Agreement contains no explicit statement in this regard; a determination of
local government areas, constituencies and polling divisions on the basis
of which the elections are to be conducted; and modalities for drawing of
appropriate boundaries of singlemember constituencies that meet the
requirement (accepted in existing Croatian law) that voting populations
across constituencies be approximately equal, especially in light of the
large population movements that have occurred in the region.
- The outstanding policy questions enumerated above need to be
addressed at the political level. The Transitional Administrator is making
every effort urgently to address them through direct consultations with
signatories to the Basic Agreement and their representatives on the
pertinent Joint Implementation Committees and by developing and enhancing
electoral policy planning, analysis and administrative capacity within
UNTAES. It needs, however, to be borne in mind that it is only when these
issues have been satisfactorily resolved that any meaningful and successful
elections can be conducted. It should also be recalled that under Security
Council resolution 1037 (1996) of 15 January 1996, the mandate of UNTAES
should run for at least 30 days beyond the elections.
- Military Aspects
- The military situation in the region has remained calm and stable over
the last month. In late July, UNTAES troops intervened in the former zone
of separation to disarm elements of the Croatian Special Police who
continued to operate in the zone in violation of its regime, despite
repeated protests by UNTAES to the Government of Croatia. Following
subsequent meetings between the UNTAES Force Commander and Croatian police
officials, the Croatian side agreed to withdraw all its personnel from the
area. The United Nations military observer patrols have confirmed Croatian
compliance so far with this agreement. In the future, the only armed units
patrolling the area will be those of the Transitional Police Force and, if
required, the UNTAES military component. The United Nations military
observers will continue their unarmed patrols.
- Civilian Aspects
- Civil affairs
- There has been a major advance in the centralized issuance of Croatian
personal documents (e.g. citizenship papers, birth certificates, identity
cards and passports) by Croatian officials to residents of the region.
Although agreement had been reached in principle on this proposal in the
Joint Implementation Committee on Civil Administration, hardline elements
in the local Serb Regional Executive Council actively opposed the proposal.
The Transitional Administrator, invoking his executive authority over the
region, overrode those elements by issuing written instructions to proceed
with the project. Three initial sites for the location of offices for the
issuance of documents have been identified. The first of the three offices
opened on 20 August and, despite a certain amount of harassment, the
response was significant. In the first three days a total of 233 persons
registered for documents. The majority of them have been non-Serbs but it
is expected that the numbers of Serbs will increase as the project becomes
more established.
- Pending the start of a large-scale issuance of the documents to
eligible residents of the region, UNTAES has facilitated a process of
issuances to individuals on a case-by-case basis. Despite a few successful
individual cases, the process of obtaining the documents has in general
been a slow one, with most applicants being subjected to lengthy and often
hostile questioning by Croatian police interviewers. Procedures for
obtaining the documents will be much improved by the centralized issuance
scheme. As I mentioned in my report of 5 August (S/1996/622), the
possession of citizenship papers is essential to the implementation of
various aspects of the mandate of UNTAES.
- Gradual progress has been achieved in the negotiations regarding the
transfer of ownership, assets and personnel of the NIK (local Serb) oil
company to the INA (Croatian) oil company. Some 180 former employees of
NIK have signed contracts of employment with INA. A first step towards
restarting oil production was taken with the signing on 14 August of a
demining contract for the Djeletovci oil fields between INA and a local
Serb demining company. Demining has commenced and will be undertaken in
such a manner as to facilitate the earliest possible start of oil
production. UNTAES continues to urge INA to implement its proclaimed
intention to re-employ all of approximately 500 NIK employees, which would
have beneficial effects on the local economy.
- UNTAES is also making preparations to introduce market places at some
locations in the former zone of separation, where individuals from the
region and other parts of Croatia will be able to buy and sell goods each
Saturday morning. The aim of this project is to encourage interaction
between local Serbs and Croats and to contribute to the practical process
of reintegration. The first trading took place on 23 August at a location
on the newly opened Osijek-Vukovar highway. Participation is expected to
increase significantly as information about this project becomes more
widely known.
- As a further step to improve the possibilities for increased freedom
of movement, on 17 August the Transitional Administrator officially
inaugurated the restoration of a ferry service on the River Drava between
the town of Belisce and the Baranja. On 31 August, it is intended to open
the Knjezevo-Udvar international border crossing with Hungary, with Serb
and Croat customs officers serving together in a manner similar to that of
the Transitional Police Force.
- Police matters
- Of an authorized strength of 600 United Nations civilian police
monitors, 446 are at present deployed in the mission area. These monitors
have continued to supervise the deployment and operations of the
Transitional Police Force, which has become fully operational. Cooperation
between its local Serb and Croat co-commanders at the various police
stations is satisfactory. The force has become more professional in its
performance, although much room for improvement remains. As indicated in
paragraph 9, the members of the Transitional Police Force have received
salaries for the month of July. Detailed arrangements for future salary
payments and operating costs are under active discussion with the
Government of Croatia and are expected to be agreed upon shortly.
- There has been a slight increase in the number of small arms handed
over to UNTAES under the weapons registration programme. Separately,
discussions are continuing between UNTAES and the Croatian Ministry of the
Interior on a weapons buy-back scheme, which it is hoped will begin in
early September.
- United Nations civilian police have devoted a great deal of attention
to the prison system of the region over the past month. It has taken
control of the prison in Beli Manastir with a view to establishing a better
integrated prison administration and to monitoring respect for human rights
standards in the prison. By arrangement with the local representatives of
the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
civilian police monitors are at present receiving training on human rights
issues and reporting procedures. It is envisaged that such training will
better prepare the monitors to advise the Transitional Police Force on
human rights and other aspects of police work.
- Border monitors
- The present strength of the UNTAES border monitors stands at 43 out of
an authorized strength of 90. Eight international road and rail border
crossing points between the region and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
continue to be monitored in accordance with the provisions of the Basic
Agreement. By their presence, the border monitors are also able to assist
in monitoring other matters, such as the halting of illegal exportation of
timber.
- Public affairs
- The past month marked the one hundredth broadcast of the UNTAES news
and information radio programme. Recently increased to a full hour each
day, the Serbo-Croatian programme includes world news, daily reports from
United Nations spokesmen at Vukovar and Sarajevo, regular interviews with
the Transitional Administrator, feature programmes about UNTAES activities
in all fields throughout the region and music. Informal data (there are no
research/polling organizations in the region) indicate that the programmes
reach a wide audience, including in Osijek and Vinkovci, in particular
among communities of the refugees and displaced persons there.
- Radio, along with the thrice-monthly UNTAES Bulletin, represents the
core information activity of UNTAES in Croatian and Serbian languages.
These continue to be supplemented by weekly appearances by UNTAES officials
on call-in radio programmes and regular participation on television
interview programmes. UNTAES has widespread, unfettered access to the
public throughout the region and, through press conferences, wide coverage
in the Belgrade and Zagreb media. These public information programmes allow
UNTAES to counter disinformation and rumour and to inform the population
about conditions in the region.
- Humanitarian Aspects
- At the end of July UNTAES and the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) agreed on terms of reference for
cooperation on returns of refugees and displaced persons. As a result of
this agreement, there has been good cooperation and effective coordination
between UNTAES and UNHCR on substantive and procedural issues in relation
to returns to and from the three villages identified for pilot projects
(Bilje, Antunovac and Ernestinovo) and to other areas both inside and
outside the region. The current focus is on Bilje in order to facilitate
the return of several hundred families, Croats to Bilje and Serbs to
Western Slavonia.
- Following the signing of relevant agreements between UNHCR and its
non-governmental organization implementing partners, rehabilitation and
reconstruction of houses for returning refugees to Eastern and Western
Slavonia will begin in the immediate future. Joint Croatian and Serbian
pre-demining reconnaissance exercises have been conducted in the villages
selected for pilot return projects.
- Demining of various other areas in the region and its immediate
environs has also taken place. The Government of Croatia has been demining
in the pre-war Croat majority villages of Lipovac, Apsevci and Podgrade,
which are located in the south of the region and have been identified for
the return of Croatian refugees and displaced persons. The Government has
also started demining the railroad between Osijek and the town of Beli
Manastir, inside the former zone of separation.
- UNTAES has continued to facilitate family visits and reunions. The
total number of persons who have participated in UNTAES-facilitated family
reunions surpassed 9,000 in August. Requests to UNTAES from individuals in
the region wanting to visit friends and family outside the region have far
outpaced the capacity of the mission to facilitate such visits.
- Observations
- Since my previous report there have been several positive
developments. In early August the Government of Croatia responded to the
calls for financial assistance to the local administration and public
services of the region by committing itself to provide 4.5 million kunas
per month until the end of the current mandate on 15 January 1997. While
this will cover only approximately half the monthly costs, it is a most
welcome contribution and a further signal of political support for the
efforts of UNTAES. I join the Council in expressing my appreciation of
this contribution. It is hoped that the Government of Croatia will find it
possible to make further financial support available during forthcoming
months.
- The Agreement on the Normalization of Relations between the Republic
of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, signed at Belgrade on 23
August, constitutes another significant step forward. By the recognition
of their respective international borders, it should now be clear to all
who wish to continue living in the UNTAES area of responsibility that they
must register for Croatian citizenship or comply with extant Croatian
immigration regulations. In the Agreement the two contracting parties also
committed themselves to providing conditions for a free and safe return of
refugees and displaced persons to their places of residence or to other
places they freely choose, to providing full security to returnees and to
encouraging consistent and full implementation of the Basic Agreement of 12
November 1995.
- Of great significance to the implementation of the UNTAES mandate, the
two contracting parties agreed to declare general amnesty for all acts
committed in connection with armed conflicts, except for the gravest
violations of humanitarian law characterized as war crimes. As I have made
clear in this and previous reports, the early adoption by the Government of
Croatia of a clear and comprehensive amnesty law is of paramount importance
in persuading Serb residents of the region that it is possible for them to
have a safe and secure future. It is also a precondition to resolving the
ambiguities over eligibility for citizenship that threaten to impede the
successful conduct of free and fair elections in the region.
- The Transitional Administrator and his staff will continue to press
vigorously for the issuance of Croatian citizenship documents and other
papers to persons in the region, and, in cooperation with UNHCR, for the
return of displaced persons to their homes. As yet, both these tasks are
still in their early stages but there are signs that major progress may be
made before the end of the year. The imminent arrival of long awaited
funds for reconstruction projects should provide much needed assistance to
the local economy and to morale.
- Set against these positive signs are the unhelpful attitude of some
hardline elements in the local Serb leadership, continuing uncertainty over
the duration of the mandate of UNTAES, the need to resolve certain major
policy issues if elections are to be held in February or March 1997 and
questions concerning reliable assurances from the Government of Croatia for
the preservation of a multi-ethnic society once the UNTAES mission ends.
In my previous report, of 5 August (S/1996/622), I expressed doubts that
elections in the region could take place before the end of the current
mandate. This continues to be my view. It now appears that the Government
of Croatia is coming to recognize that elections will not be practicable
before late February or March 1997.
- Overall, however, I share the confidence of the Transitional
Administrator that the UNTAES mission remains on track. I count on the
continued support and cooperation of the parties, in particular the
Government of Croatia, in fulfilling the responsibilities entrusted to the
United Nations by the Security Council.
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