COUNCIL OF EUROPE

COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS

________

DECLARATION

ON BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

(adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 14 February 1994,
at the 508th meeting of the Ministers' Deputies)

The Committee of Ministers,

1.    Mindful of the danger to security in Europe from the continuing war in Bosnia-Herzegovina;

2.    Alarmed by the human tragedy and the suffering of the civilian population caused by continuation of the war;

3.    Emphasising that the use of heavy weapons increases the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe to which the civilian population is subjected, especially in Sarajevo;

4.    Reiterates its condemnation of the violations of international law perpetrated in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in particular of human rights and of the most fundamental principles of humanitarian law;

5.    Condemns changes of frontiers by force and ethnic cleansing;

6.    Vigorously condemns the latest massacres committed against the civilian population of Sarajevo and demands the immediate cessation of the indiscriminate shelling of this city which has been declared a safe area by the United Nations Security Council;

7.    Welcomes the decisions taken by the North Atlantic Council on 9 February 1994 with a view to raising the siege of Sarajevo and ensuring respect for the safe areas fixed;

8.    Urges all parties to respect the truce agreement concluded on 10 February 1994 between the Bosnian Government's forces and Bosnian Serb forces;

9.    Requests all parties involved in the conflict to allow unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid;

10.    Urges all parties to ensure that the efforts for peace lead as soon as possible to a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina agreeable to all parties;

11.    Stresses that the Council of Europe is ready to contribute to a future process of reconciliation, of restoration and reconstruction of democratic institutions and mechanisms and of the rule of law in the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina.