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General Assembly, Security Council meet on situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina
14 November - The situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina was high on the agenda of two main United Nations bodies today, with the General Assembly adopting a wide-ranging resolution on the matter, and the Security Council meeting in an open session to hear an update on the latest developments from a top UN peacekeeping official.

The Assembly resolution, adopted without a vote, expressed full support for the 1995 General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and reaffirmed support for the 1999 New York Declaration by which the country's Joint Presidency agreed to crucial steps for future progress. The Assembly also stressed the importance of the activities related to the Stability Pact for South-eastern Europe.

Underlining the fact that the assistance provided by the international community remained strictly conditional upon compliance with the Peace Agreement and subsequent obligations, the Assembly insisted upon the need to surrender all people indicted by the International Tribunal Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

By other terms of the resolution, the Assembly stressed the importance of establishing, strengthening and expanding free and pluralistic media throughout all of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Meanwhile, the Security Council was briefed today on the recent elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, who expressed regret that the results had not produced local political authorities who would work constructively to consolidate a sovereign and multiethnic country.

Mr. Guéhenno said that on the positive side, the multiethnic party known by its acronym SDP polled well, "but not as well as many in the international community had hoped." He noted that smaller parties, which had also gained ground, would occupy a pivotal position as political brokers.

On the negative side, the Under-Secretary-General noted that the HDZ party, which united supporters "under a banner of fierce criticism and open defiance of the international community," had consolidated its position. He added that the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, who monitors implementation of the peace settlement, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), were considering taking measures against the party leader "in view of his defiance."

Looking to the future, Mr. Guéhenno said the priority for the High Representative and OSCE was now to convene the elected legislative bodies. That would lead to further elections to the House of Peoples. "These processes are complex and will take time, but hopefully not the six months it took following the last general elections in 1998," he said.