a.weu/documents File: 1327comm.cou Document 1327 28th August 1992 Communique issued after the meeting of the WEU ad hoc Group on Yugoslavia Rome, 24th August 1992 Communique issued after the meeting of the extraordinary Council of Ministers London, 28th August 1992 ______ The WEU ad hoc Group on Yugoslavia, composed of senior officials of the Ministries for Foreign Affairs and Defence, met in Rome on 24th August to study the report drawn up by the contingency planning group set up at the previous meeting to prepare options for decisions by the Council of Ministers. The latter is to meet in London on 28th August next and will be attended by Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Defence. This will be the first concrete action taken following the conference on Yugoslavia. The operational hypotheses worked out and discussed in the ad hoc Group relate to the problem of humanitarian convoys in the context of Security Council Resolution 770 and the question of monitoring heavy weapons in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The speed and efficiency with which the contingency planning group managed to work out options considered appropriate by all the partners reflect the solidarity in WEU, the determination to take joint action and the attention each one accords to the need to facilitate the granting of speedy assistance to the population of Bosnia-Herzegovina. One should view in the same spirit the timeliness with which all partners indicated that they were prepared to make practical contributions. At the meeting of the Ministerial Council, it is planned to adopt final decisions on the contributions of the various member countries intended to facilitate the achievement of the aims of the United Nations and to instruct the Italian presidency to present to the United Nations Secretary-General the result of the planning work accomplished and the means made available by the member countries in order to allow the implementation of the measures envisaged in relation to the various problems. Communique issued after the meeting of the extraordinary Council of Ministers London, 28th August 1992 1. The Foreign and Defence Ministers of WEU member states met in London on 28th August 1992 following the conclusion of the London conference on former Yugoslavia. They expressed their firm conviction that the principles agreed at that conference should provide the foundations for progress towards a peaceful and just resolution of the crisis in the former Yugoslavia. In particular, they reaffirmed the urgent necessity for the parties involved to cease the fighting and the use of force immediately and strictly respect the agreed cease-fires. They strongly urged all parties involved in the conflict to adhere to the principles through positive actions and to contribute effectively to the implementation of specific decisions also adopted by the London conference. 2. Ministers noted and endorsed the contributions which WEU and its member states were already making and were prepared to make to bring peace to the former Yugoslavia: Delivery of humanitarian assistance The delivery of humanitarian assistance to the population of Bosnia-Herzegovina constitutes one of the most immediate requirements for establishing civilised conditions promoting a political solution. Ministers approved the planning carried out by WEU experts covering the protection of humanitarian convoys by military escorts. They welcomed the willingness of the United Nations Secretary-General to recommend to the Security Council that UNPROFOR operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina be enhanced to provide such escorts, and expressed the view that humanitarian operations and associated protective support should be organised by the United Nations. They underlined the collective will of the member states of WEU to contribute to such operations by military, logistic, financial and other means and decided to keep the United Nations informed from today of the details of such contributions. The Nine also decided to offer collectively today through the presidency to the United Nations the results of WEU's planning. They asked the Ad Hoc Group and Contingency Planning Group to elaborate further the necessary planning. Supervision of heavy weapons Ministers underlined the importance of the supervision of heavy weapons in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the overall peace process and for alleviating the suffering of the population. The ministers welcomed the conference's decision that all mortars and heavy weapons in Bosnia-Herzegovina would be subject to international supervision and, as a first step, notified to the United Nations within 96 hours, as a prelude to their disengagement from the conflict. WEU member states are willing to contribute to carrying out supervision operations under the overall responsibility of the United Nations and in co- ordination with the CSCE and other organisations. Ministers took note of the planning undertaken by WEU experts and decided to make it available through the Italian presidency to the United Nations Secretary-General, the Chairman-in-Office of the CSCE and the Secretary-General of NATO. Strengthening the embargo Ministers noted the success of operation sharp vigilance to monitor the embargo in the Adriatic. They agreed that strengthening the effectiveness of the embargo established by United Nations Security Council Resolutions 713 and 757 would be an important means of promoting a political solution to the crisis in former Yugoslavia. They welcomed the conclusions of the London conference and expressed the willingness of WEU member states to contribute to any further measures necessary to make the embargo as effective as possible. Member states of WEU could, if requested, offer expertise, technical assistance and equipment to the governments of the Danube riparian states to prevent the use of the river Danube for the purpose of circumventing or breaking the sanctions imposed by United Nations Security Council Resolutions 713 and 757. They also support the call by the London conference to the Security Council to consider further measures to ensure rigorous implementation of sanctions in the Adriatic. They also decided that the Ad Hoc Group should continue its work in this field. 3. Ministers decided that the Italian presidency would continue to ensure a full exchange of information and the necessary co-ordination with the other organisations involved (United Nations, EC, NATO and CSCE). ------- For information, please contact: Yves ROBINS, Press Counsellor _/ _/ _/_/_/_/ _/ _/ | ASSEMBLY OF WESTERN EUROPEAN UNION _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ | 43, avenue du President Wilson _/ _/ _/ _/_/_/ _/ _/ | F-75775 Paris cedex 16 France _/_/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ | Tel 331-47235432; Fax 331-47204543 _/ _/ _/_/_/_/ _/_/_/ | E-mail: 100315.240@Compuserve.com