Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Mission in Bosnia And Herzegovina

I. INTRODUCTION

1. The present report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 20 of Security Council resolution 1174 (1998) of 15 June 1998. It summarizes the activities of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) since my report of 16 March 1999 (S/1999/284). The report also provides an overview of the activities of the United Nations system in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the period.

2. UNMIBH continues to be led by my Special Representative and Coordinator of United Nations Operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elisabeth Rehn (Finland). She is assisted in these tasks by Detlef Buwitt (Federal Republic of Germany), who started his term of duty as Commissioner of the UNMIBH International Police Task Force (IPTF) on 6 April 1999. The authorized strength of IPTF continues to be 2,057 (see annex).

II. ACTIVITIES OF THE MISSION

Police restructuring and reform

3. The International Police Task Force has made progress in its efforts (as described in S/1998/1174, para. 3) to restructure and reform police services in the Republika Srpska. The working group of UNMIBH and the Ministry of the Interior have met regularly to ensure that the deadlines contained in the Framework Agreement on Police Restructuring, Reform and Democratization in the Republika Srpska, which was signed on 9 December 1998, are met. The Republika Srpska Ministry of the Interior has introduced a new uniform to all serving police. Following an extensive review, IPTF concluded that the Ministry of the Interior's internal book of rules was consistent with practices of democratic policing. There has been good progress towards the goal of completing the provisional certification and training of existing officers by 31 December 1999. The working group has agreed on a model identification card to be issued to Republika Srpska police officers upon their registration. IPTF continues its assessment of each of the 7,987 names on the official staffing list to determine who has gone through which phase of the IPTF provisional certification process. The Ministry of the Interior has created a division devoted to the investigation of citizens' allegations of police misconduct and has drafted a code of ethics for police.

4. The killing of the Bosnian-Croat Deputy Minister for the Interior, Jozo Leutar, on 16 March has affected the pace of police restructuring in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Federation). A joint investigative task force, consisting of Federation and cantonal crime police and IPTF specialist monitors, is continuing its investigation. It has completed hundreds of interviews in the case and has eliminated from consideration more than 240 suspects. In meetings with officials from the Federation, UNMIBH has insisted that the new Deputy Minister have an established professional record as a police officer and a demonstrated commitment to the implementation of annex 11 to the General Framework Agreement for Peace (see S/1995/999, annex) and the Bonn-Petersberg Agreement of 25 April 1996, and to upholding the highest standards of internationally recognized human rights.

5. The vacuum caused by the death of Mr. Leutar, the Federation's highest-ranking Croat police official, has halted the reorganization of the Federation Ministry and impeded quicker progress in police restructuring throughout the Federation. The initial inauguration of the police services in cantons 8 (Ljubuski) and 10 (Livno) has still not taken place. Croat police officials in canton 8 (Ljubuski) finally adopted a neutral shoulder insignia for use by the cantonal police, but official use of the insignia awaits approval by the canton 8 government. Canton 8 officials also assured UNMIBH that they would remove the Croat checkerboard from the police caps as an interim measure, pending a decision by the Office of the High Representative and UNMIBH regarding use of the Federation insignia on the cap. In canton 10 (Livno), the appointment of a new Minister of the Interior has finally created conditions that could lead to the resolution of the problems described in my report of 10 June 1998 (S/1998/491, para. 6), which continue to impede the initial inauguration. UNMIBH has made progress in establishing a multi-ethnic police force in the Croat-majority community of Zepce, in canton 4 (Zenica). The ethnic composition of the police there is proportional to the 1991 census.

6. In the Federation, UNMIBH has made progress towards the achievement of the minority quotas of the Bonn-Petersberg Agreement (see S/1998/1174, para. 5). The cantonal working groups on minority police recruitment and return, made up of officials from UNMIBH and each cantonal ministry, have identified and screened 1,470 minority candidates for the police services in the Federation. Six Bosniac officers working in the Croat-majority municipality of Capljina in canton 7 (Mostar) have returned to homes that were reconstructed with bilateral assistance from the United States of America (see S/1999/284, para. 4). To date, 23 such houses for minority police have been constructed in Capljina in canton 7 (Mostar), in Bosniac-majority Bugojno in canton 6 (Travnik), in Bosniac-majority Sarajevo and in Bosniac-majority Vares in canton 4 (Zenica). Funds are available to reconstruct an additional 20 houses for Bosniac police in Capljina. In the Republika Srpska, UNMIBH has provided the Ministry of the Interior with a list of 1,200 non-Serb candidates for the police, of which 10 per cent are women. In addition to recruitment of minority police officers, IPTF continues efforts to find currently employed police officers among those displaced and interested in returning to employment in the police service in the entity of their origin.

7. The Police Assistance Trust Fund in Bosnia and Herzegovina has developed a programme of aid and has presented it to potential donors in the Republika Srpska and the Federation (see S/1999/284, para. 8). My Special Representative attended the fifth donors' pledging conference for Bosnia and Herzegovina in Brussels on 20 and 21 May 1999 and outlined the necessity to fund those projects and to provide support for the creation of a unified Brcko District police service and a common multi-ethnic border service. The progress of UNMIBH in police reform, restructuring and democratization continues to depend on its ability to finance essential initial improvements in the capacity of local police to operate, as well as on its own capacity to reward compliance and punish non-cooperation in implementing agreements. Voluntary contributions made by Member States to the Trust Fund for the Police Assistance Programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina amount to some $9.7 million. UNMIBH is grateful for the generous contributions of Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The available balance of some $0.4 million is earmarked for the police academy in the Republika Srpska and for specialized training and equipment programmes to combat organized crime. I appeal to the Governments of other countries to contribute generously to the Trust Fund.

Provisional police certification and training

8. Following reports of the presence of unregistered police officers in the Federation, IPTF acted to ensure that all 10,627 police officers serving in each canton of the Federation are duly registered by IPTF as being provisionally authorized to exercise police powers. This is done by compiling a list of all police officers and by identifying and taking steps to provisionally certify all officers who had not registered before 15 April 1999. A total of 10,808 officers (98 per cent) in the Federation have now completed human dignity training and 9,573 (83.2 per cent) have completed transitional training. In June 1999, the final round of human dignity testing for currently serving officers in the Federation will be completed. In the Republika Srpska, 6,846 officers (99 per cent) have completed human dignity training and 3,269 (38.5 per cent) have completed transitional training. In those regions where training in the two basic courses is complete, IPTF training has shifted to more specialized subjects, such as drug awareness, report writing, computer skills and community policing.

9. As indicated in my previous report (S/1999/284, para. 17), IPTF will require any former anti-terrorist brigade officer who seeks to work in the restructured Republika Srpska police to undergo the rigorous IPTF selection procedure. The official staffing list submitted by the Republika Srpska Ministry of the Interior in compliance with the Republika Srpska police restructuring agreement contains 674 former anti-terrorist brigade officers, who have completed the IPTF courses in human dignity and transitional training. Of these, 154 officers have also completed police training monitored by the Stabilization Force (SFOR). IPTF is evaluating whether these officers will require a full basic academy course for eligibility to work as police officers.

10. As indicated in my previous report (ibid., para. 18), progress in identifying untrained minority candidates in both entities underscores the significance of academies in achieving the reform and restructuring of police services in the Federation and the Republika Srpska. The refurbished police academy of the Federation Ministry of the Interior began its first six months of classroom training on 26 April with a class of 110 students, about half of them women. The class includes 66 Serbs, 29 Croats, 4 Bosniacs and 11 so-called others. IPTF is working with the Federation and cantonal Ministries of the Interior to find a stable and equitable means of covering the operating costs of the academy. There is also progress in developing the academy in the Republika Srpska. Pending the establishment of a permanent academy, the IPTF Academic Training Section and the working group of IPTF and the Republika Srpska Ministry of the Interior have identified three temporary training sites. The Ministry has agreed to begin training the first class, with substantial numbers of non-Serb candidates, at a temporary training site in Banja Luka by the end of June.

11. IPTF continues to implement its non-compliance policy (see S/1998/1174, para. 12). Between 28 February and 26 May 1999, the Non-Compliance Unit received 90 reports of non-compliance of law enforcement agents with their obligations. Such reports are the first step leading, in serious cases, to the decertification of the police officer concerned. Of the 90 cases reported, 14 constituted minor violations, 56 constituted non-criminal and less serious human rights violations and 16 were criminal and serious human rights violations. Four cases involved information provided by the IPTF Background Unit unrelated to the professional conduct of the individuals concerned. The single largest category of non-compliance reports received is in the area of return-related violations, which account for 26 of the 90 reports.

12. The successful implementation of the non-compliance policy requires increased attention to the decertification policy. In the reporting period, the Non-Compliance Unit recommended the decertification of 18 individuals who were responsible for 35 instances of non-compliance. Following investigations by the UNMIBH Human Rights Office, the IPTF Commissioner has so far moved to decertify 11 law enforcement officials who have been found to be involved in human rights violations. In addition, on the basis of background checks with the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, IPTF has recommended the decertification of six currently serving police officers. On 1 April 1999, the High Representative announced the removal of the head of the Housing Committee in Bugojno in canton 6 (Travnik) after UNMIBH recommended the removal of that official on the basis of a number of non-compliance reports. UNMIBH is developing methods to compel authorities in the Federation and the Republika Srpska to comply with the requirement to dismiss decertified officials promptly.

13. In accordance with the recommendations of the December 1997 Bonn Peace Implementation Conference (see S/1997/979, annex) which were recalled by the Security Council in its resolution 1168 (1998) of 21 May 1998, UNMIBH has established a Drug Control Unit, an Organized Crime Unit and a Public Order and Major Incident Management Unit to provide specialized training and advice to the local police. The Public Order and Major Incident Management Unit has completed three training handbooks and a crisis management manual. It has also delivered crowd control training courses and the public order portion of the transitional training programme to police in both entities. In the Republika Srpska, more than 160 police chiefs and trainers have received training and gone on to train more than 1,000 officers in the fields of crisis management, crowd control and tactical operations. A successful joint programme with the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Programme, which established fully equipped emergency response centres in Brcko and in Bijeljina in the Republika Srpska, is scheduled to be replicated in the Federation.

14. The Organized Crime Unit has continued the effort to build police and judicial units capable of combating organized crime. Its specialists have advised and assisted joint investigations conducted by the police in the Federation Ministry and in cantons 4 (Tuzla), 7 (Mostar) and 6 (Travnik), as well as investigations into the killing of Deputy Minister of the Interior Leutar (see para. 4 above). In working closely with the local police on those investigations, the units have identified specialized equipment and training needs of the local police and have begun providing them with computer software and forensic and other equipment with financing from the Police Assistance Trust Fund. The Organized Crime Unit has given four courses for crime inspectors and crime scene technicians in Banja Luka and Doboj in the Republika Srpska and in Sarajevo in the Federation. Between March and May 1999, officers from both entities attended courses for trainers in basic crime investigation at the Federation's Vraca police academy, where a course in specialist case management was also held in May.

15. The Drug Control Unit has refined its advanced drug officer course and is developing a system to review the investigative progress of the existing drug squads in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Unit is working to train IPTF and local trainers in intelligence, drug awareness, drug screening for airport officers, surveillance and drug investigation and organized crime. Its specialists are also assisting ongoing investigations by Federation and cantonal police in cantons 6 (Travnik) and 7 (Mostar). In the reporting period, 213 uniformed officers, 89 trainers and 46 drug-control officers were trained.

16. The Specialized Training Section also continues its work in other areas of in-service training: a successful pilot project for a mission-wide traffic training programme was held in Zenica in March. The tactical training team is currently assigned to train the local police support unit in Sarajevo. A total of 41 duty dogs (31 patrol dogs and 10 narcotics dogs) and 40 dog handlers have been trained in the dog training programme. Of those, 30 dogs were purchased by the United Nations and 11 by the cantonal authorities. The dog training programme has teamed up with the Drug Control Unit to offer courses on narcotics to police in cantons 9 (Sarajevo), 8 (Ljubuski), 2 (Orasje) and 7 (Mostar).

Police monitoring and advising

17. As indicated in my previous report (S/1999/284, paras. 9 and 10), monitoring of the local police, through independent and joint patrolling, co-location of IPTF officers in local police stations and support for local investigations, remains the central component of the daily work of IPTF. The effectiveness of the co-location programme has been improved by shifting from the deployment of individual monitors in every local police station to the deployment of teams of co-locators in local police stations. IPTF has identified the need for 310 positions for co-locators - 152 in the Federation and 158 in the Republika Srpska. Currently, 199 positions are filled in the Federation and 91 in the Republika Srpska. The remaining positions await the arrival in the Mission of new monitors with appropriate skills. High-level IPTF advisers remain deployed in all 9 Public Security Centres of the Republika Srpska and in all 10 cantonal Ministries of the Interior of the Federation. Three specialized advisers continue to work in the Federation Ministry of the Interior in the areas of criminal investigation, anti-terrorism and academy training. Two specialized advisers are now deployed to the Republika Srpska Ministry in the areas of academy training and anti-terrorism.

18. On the Joint Investigative Task Force, 15 IPTF special advisers monitor and advise police from the Federation and cantonal services, especially in investigations into cross-cantonal criminal activity in cantons 6 (Travnik) and 7 (Mostar). The Task Force also coordinates its work closely with SFOR and the Office of the High Representative. It is currently cooperating with investigators from the Office of the High Representative, the European Union's Customs and Fiscal Assistance Organization and the Federation financial police in investigations into serious fraud, tax liability and customs infractions in canton 7 (Mostar). It is also working with local police to identify perpetrators of serious violent crime in canton 7 and will begin investigating previously identified cases with the characteristics of terrorism. In canton 6, the Task Force continues to assist local police investigations into murders, attempted murders and suspicious deaths in the area of Travnik.

19. IPTF worked with the UNMIBH Human Rights Office, the civil affairs unit, SFOR and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to establish a monitoring programme for incoming refugees from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. IPTF monitors deployed at various border entry points, inter-entity boundary line crossing points and refugee centres have been monitoring and evaluating the manner in which local police have been treating the flows of refugees into Bosnia and Herzegovina. This activity was undertaken in response to reports of mistreatment and extortion of refugees from parts of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by the Republika Srpska police.

20. As a result of a number of failed lawful evictions meant to facilitate the return of displaced persons to their original residences, during which the local police failed to be present or provide active assistance, the IPTF Commissioner advised the Ministers of the Interior of both the Republika Srpska and the Federation on 6 May that the police must actively respond to requests for such assistance when issued by the relevant court or housing authority. The UNMIBH Human Rights Office has begun a pilot assessment project in the Sarajevo region to confirm the full cooperation of local police in the execution of all eviction orders and the active performance of their duties by cantonal housing authorities.

Freedom of movement

21. IPTF continues to enforce its successful traffic and crime-control policy, which prohibits the use of State police checkpoints without IPTF notification and approval (see S/1998/862, para. 13). Impediments to freedom of movement ceased to be a pressing issue following the successful introduction of common licence plates into the country.

22. UNMIBH has continued working closely with the Office of the High Representative towards the introduction of a common driving licence and the establishment of a multi-ethnic border service in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In April, UNMIBH participated in a meeting, chaired by the Office of the High Representative, of cantonal, Federation and Republika Srpska Ministers of the Interior to review the design of the common driving licence. Agreement was reached to form a technical committee to finalize the design of the licence. The Office of the High Representative and UNMIBH have also met with Interior Ministries on plans for implementing a project designed to harmonize the information technology standards in all Ministries of the Interior in the country.

23. My Special Representatives has cooperated with the High Representative in approaching the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina to review its efforts to deploy an initial contingent of the Border Service before the deadline of 1 October 1999 set at the Peace Implementation Conference in Madrid in December 1998. In addition, training courses in a variety of border control techniques have been completed for 138 local police officers currently deployed at all four airports in Bosnia and Herzegovina and at the crossing into Croatia at Orasje (canton 2).

Weapons inspections

24. IPTF continued to cooperate with SFOR in conducting weapons inspections in police facilities. In the period from 26 February to 25 May 1999, 78 weapons inspections were performed (28 in the Republika Srpska and 50 in the Federation), 32 of them with SFOR support. Only one inspection in the Republika Srpska and five in the Federation resulted in the confiscation or surrender of weapons, ammunition or explosives. Overall, 2 pistols, 7 long-barrelled weapons, 5 grenade launchers, 11 mines, 15 hand grenades, 57 rifle grenades, 1.4 kilograms of explosives and some 826 rounds of ammunition were removed from police stations.

Brcko

25. As noted in my previous report (S/1999/284, para. 23), the final award for the Brcko area created the Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the entire territory of the pre-war municipality of Brcko under the exclusive sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is anticipated that the Brcko Arbiter will take into consideration the comments of the Governments of the Federation and the Republika Srpska concerning the statute of the Brcko District. In cooperation with the Brcko Supervisor, UNMIBH has already taken the lead in establishing the District's police force. UNMIBH officials have briefed police officers in the new District about the contents of the final award and have conducted extensive discussions with officials from the Interior Ministries in the Federation and the Republika Srpska concerning the District's new police force and judiciary.

Investigation of human rights violations committed by local law enforcement personnel

26. In accordance with its mandate, UNMIBH has continued to pursue investigations of human rights violations committed by local law enforcement personnel. The probation of the Stolac police administration in canton 7 (Mostar) concluded on 3 May after three months. Seven police officers were place on continued probation. The probation followed a performance audit conducted in December 1998 (see S/1999/284, para. 27), during which a special response team of the UNMIBH Human Rights Office conducted 46 detailed interviews with Stolac police officers, inspected all premises and facilities, examined investigation files, employment records, arms registries, official correspondence and administrative files, completed equipment inventories, accompanied the police on patrols and other duties, and interviewed local officials and citizens on the performance and conduct of the police. The team found, as a result of the audit, that the Stolac police did not have a properly functioning organizational structure, that it was subject to inappropriate external influences by the Ministry of Defence and that the number of officers significantly exceeded the authorized numbers. The team also found that the Stolac police lacked a professional and functioning management and that crime prevention and detection measures were inadequate.

27. During the probationary period (3 February-3 May), the special response team fully co-located with the Stolac police administration, occupying an office in the police building, participating in staff meetings, accompanying local police on its duties and generally providing intense advice and assistance. As a result, the Stolac police administration took some significant steps towards creating a professional and multi-ethnic law enforcement unit. Surplus personnel have been disarmed and their identification cards withdrawn; offices have been arranged by function rather than ethnicity; senior staff have begun to hold regular joint meetings; policies for bomb threats and explosion cases have been developed; security plans for the return season that is beginning have been established; and some inappropriate political symbols have been removed. However, major problems in the operations of the Stolac police administration persist, resulting directly from and sustained by the failure of the cantonal Ministry of the Interior to put in place a positive programme of integration. On 12 May the IPTF Commissioner instituted a "100-day agenda for action" to integrate the Bosniac- and Bosnian Croat-dominated elements of the police administration. Cantonal authorities will report progress in achieving the agenda for action to a supervisory committee, headed by the Special Representative and the IPTF Commissioner. A public report on the problems in the State police has been issued by the UNMIBH Human Rights Office.

28. On 7 May a special response team of the UNMIBH Human Rights Office commenced "Operation Transparency", an audit of the Ministry of the Interior in canton 6 (central Bosnia), including police administrations throughout the canton. The review is in response to findings by an investigation support team of the UNMIBH Human Rights Office in the course of its work in the Travnik area (see S/1999/284, para. 29), and is based upon methodology developed for the audit of the Stolac police. The team first reviewed the 12 police administrations, followed by the cantonal ministry buildings in Travnik and Vitez. The team interviewed all heads of department, conducted inspections of all facilities and equipment and obtained all relevant documentation. Concurrently, the team's legal officers assessed information obtained from the Ministry and the police administrations to review compliance with relevant laws. The special response team focused on the inadequate performance of the cantonal ministry organs and the failure of the Ministry to integrate and unify its organizational structures, which are currently operating as parallel Bosniac- and Bosnian Croat-dominated institutions. It also identified and examined inappropriate external influences on the Ministry and police administration. Following the audit, the special response team will formulate appropriate recommendations to be implemented by the cantonal Interior Ministry.

29. In response to allegations that "foreign-born residents" of Donja Bocinja (Maglaj municipality) in canton 4 (Zenica) have been preventing returns and visits by former Serb residents of the village (see S/1999/284, para. 30), the UNMIBH Human Rights Office is conducting a project to monitor the police in Maglaj and assess whether they provide a safe and secure environment. The intensive monitoring project includes examining the response of the Maglaj police to incidents involving residents, displaced persons and visitors, the handling by Maglaj police of returns and visits to the village, police patrolling of the village, and administrative procedures such as residence and weapons registration carried out by the police. The project also aims to review the personnel and organizational structure of the Maglaj police, and to determine whether they are subject to any inappropriate external influence by the "foreign-born residents".

30. In addition to the special projects described above, the UNMIBH Human Rights Office continues to carry out active investigations of allegations of human rights abuses by local law enforcement officials. On 20 April, after consultations with the Human Rights Coordination centre of the OHR, the UNMIBH Human Rights Office launched a renewed investigation into an infamous incident in Mostar on 10 February 1997 (see S/1997/224, para. 10), when Bosnian Croat police officers from West Mostar fired upon a group of Bosniac civilians at a graveyard, killing 1 and injuring 20 people. Initial investigations by local law enforcement authorities and the ensuing prosecutions were flawed and failed to yield convictions of the perpetrators. The current investigation by cantonal Ministry of the Interior staff is subject to intense monitoring and advice from the UNMIBH Human Rights Office investigators at every stage of its planning and execution.

31. During the reporting period, 16 women who had been forced into prostitution, beaten and otherwise ill-treated sought and obtained assistance from IPTF and the UNMIBH Human Rights Office. The Office, with legal guidance from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UNMIBH judicial systems assessment project, ensured that the women were not prosecuted and that they were repatriated to their home countries.

32. On 28 April, the district court at Kula, near Sarajevo, acquitted all six defendants charged with the 7 August 1998 murder of Srdan Knezevic, Deputy Chief of the Pale Public Security Centre in the Republika Srpska (see S/1999/284, para. 28). The UNMIBH Human Rights Office has been closely monitoring the trial to ensure that the court did not consider statements which Republika Srpska law enforcement officials had obtained from suspects and witnesses by using torture and other means of coercion, in accordance with both national and international law prohibiting the use of such evidence in court proceedings. The UNMIBH Human Rights Office is also continuing to monitor the ongoing criminal investigation by the investigating judge of the Sokolac Basic Court against Republika Srpska law enforcement officials suspected of engaging in torture and other misconduct during their investigation into the Knezevic murder. Several of the key suspects have failed to appear despite being summoned several times, and Republika Srpska police have failed to execute arrest warrants that have been ordered against them.

Civil affairs

33. In addition to carrying out its political reporting functions, the Civil Affairs Unit of UNMIBH continues to strengthen its support of the UNMIBH core tasks of police and judicial reform by participating in the minority recruitment working groups and cooperating closely with the IPTF advisers to the cantonal ministries and public security centres. Furthermore, under the direction of my Special Representative, the Unit continues to represent UNMIBH in a variety of inter-agency working groups, headed by the Office of the High Representative, including the Reconstruction and Return Task Force at the national and regional levels, and by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), in implementing local election results from September 1997 and planning for municipal elections schedules for the autumn of 1999. The Civil Affairs unit worked closely with IPTF in monitoring border crossings during the recent influx of refugees from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and played key roles in assisting the establishment of police academies in both entities. Civil affairs officers are increasingly assisting in the UNMIBH judicial system assessment project as it begins focusing on political interference in the judiciary and the monitoring of trials involving accusations of corruption among senior politicians.

34. The UNMIBH Civil Affairs Unit continues to cooperation with IPTF in implementing the mandate of policy reform and restructuring by providing advice on political developments in the country. Two civil affairs officers continue to work wholly on the implementation of the Republika Srpska restructuring agreement, and one officer has been assigned to work with IPTF on the implementation of police restructuring in the Federation. This includes efforts to obtain the agreement of the political authorities in cantons 8 and 10 to measures that would allow the initial inauguration of the police services in those cantons and the provision of advice to the Brcko Supervisor in the implementation of the police and judiciary sections of the final award on Brcko. A Civil Affairs Project Unit continues to work with IPTF on the development of a multi-ethnic border service, minority police recruitment and community policing, and has begun to identify donors familiar with the problems of demobilized soldiers to win commitments for assistance in the retraining and employment of demobilized police.

Judicial system assessment

35. During the past three months, the emphasis of the UNMIBH judicial system assessment project has changed from a comprehensive assessment of the judicial system to focusing on issues of special importance. These include the enforcement of court orders, the security of judges and witnesses, the early phase of the criminal process, the planning of the implementation of the final award on Brcko and operational involvement in trial monitoring.

36. In April 1999, the report on the first three months of the UNMIBH judicial system assessment programme was completed. The report placed special emphasis on the institutional aspect, making use of information collected for every court on staffing, material resources, caseload and judicial background. It also gave a preliminary assessment of the legislative and political dimensions of the judicial system. The report concluded that there were substantial institutional deficiencies and that although further legislative change was required in such fields as employment and criminal and family law, such change alone would not remove the main impediments to the rule of law, which were rooted in the political environment of the court system. UNMIBH presented the conclusions of the report in individual meetings with the Ministers of Justice of each entity and each canton in the Federation.

37. Following the completion of the first phase, the UNMIBH judicial system assessment programme has begun to look at the broad, problematic areas of discrimination, the independence of the judiciary, inter-entity cooperation, delays in court proceedings and enforcement of court orders. In addition, it has started to investigate in detail some more specific problem areas that were uncovered during the first phase. The excessive and somewhat uncritical use of experts in the court system is being studied. Inadequate security for judges, witnesses and others in the court system has also become apparent in several parts of Bosnia. With the support of IPTF, the UNMIBH judicial system assessment programme has liaised with the canton 6 Ministries of the Interior and Justice, with the result that police protection has been increased. Attention is being given to the failure both to appoint the President of the Zepce municipal court and to provide the court with funding. The court has jurisdiction over a Croat pocket within the predominantly Bosniac canton 4. In conjunction with IPTF and the UNMIBH Human Rights Office, work is being undertaken on the failure of the criminal justice system in canton 10 to perform investigations and hold trials in cases with an ethnic component, such as the failure to respond to the riots in Drvar in April 1998. The UNMIBH judicial system assessment programme also has a broader concern with the difficulties endemic to the early stages of the criminal process.

38. The judicial system assessment programme is rendering assistance in Brcko at the request and under the coordination of the Office of the High Representative. An analysis of the implications of the provisions of the final award on Brcko that concern the court system has been presented to the Brcko Supervisor. The assessment programme will be providing one international judicial system officer, with support from another, to assist in the implementation of this part of the award. In addition, the assessment programme team in Tuzla is collaborating with the Office of the High Representative in monitoring the criminal proceedings against Hazim Vikalo, former Prime Minister of canton 3, and two former cantonal ministers, following allegations of corruption.

Cooperation with other international organizations

39. UNMIBH continues to work closely with other international agencies both in developing responses to specific incidents and in longer-term projects. It continues to cooperate with SFOR in weapons inspections. It also continues its close cooperation with the Office of the High Representative and UNHCR in support of the return of displaced persons and refugees. This is done mainly by advising local police on the preparation of security plans for assessment visits and returns and by monitoring their implementation, as well as by promoting the returns of minority police and monitoring the activities of the local police at the borders, on roads and in the camps set up throughout the country to accommodate new refugees from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. UNMIBH continues to work closely with the Office of the High Representative, SFOR and the European Union's Customs and Fiscal Assistance Organization in preparing for the establishment of a single border service. It works closely with the Office of the High Representative in developing plans for judicial reform. It continues to cooperate with OSCE in implementing the results of the elections of 12 and 13 September 1998 and in planning for municipal elections in the autumn of 1999. It has cooperated fully with the Brcko Supervisor in implementing the final award and has focused on developing the new district's police force and judiciary. IPTF advisers cooperate with the Office of the High Representative and the European Union's Customs and Fiscal Assistance Organization in addressing fraud and organized crime in cantons 6 (Travnik) and 7 (Mostar).

40. The success of UNMIBH in establishing its programme of co-location (see para. 17 above) has led the Mission to explore new avenues of internal restructuring so as to become more efficient in its daily operations and better equipped for cooperation with other principal organizations, and to facilitate relationships with local authorities. It is expected that the Mission will reduce the number of regions in line with the boundaries of SFOR and the other principal organizations, and that each region will be reorganized internally under a single regional coordinator responsible directly to my Special Representative so as to improve cooperation among the Mission's components.

III. ACTIVITIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM

41. As described in my previous report (S/1998/284, para. 38), my Special Representative continues to coordinate and initiate programmes of the various United Nations agencies operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In biweekly coordinating meetings, UNMIBH briefs the agencies on its progress in achieving its mandate, as well as on political developments and security concerns in the mission area. As the designated official for security, my Special Representative has been coordinating the response of United Nations agencies to security concerns in the Republika Srpska following the announcement of the final award on Brcko, the dismissal of Republika Srpska President Poplasen and the NATO air strikes in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

42. The Emergency Coordination Office of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Bosnia and Herzegovina continues to focus its activities on assistance to rural displaced and minority returnees by providing agricultural assistance and creating income-generating projects in rural areas. It also continues to provide technical support and liaison to the Ministries of Agriculture, in addition to preparing a mid-term strategy for sustainable agricultural development. FAO is completing plans to begin an inventory of the post-war land resource situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina in July. The inventory aims at supporting routine soil surveys, the analysis of results and the storing of data in digital format. FAO will also organize training programmes that can bring the national methodologies in soil surveys up to international standards.

International Labour Organization

43. The International Labour Organization has continued to provide vocational training and technical assistance programmes in construction and several engineering fields, microenterprise and small enterprise development and promotion of social dialogue. Training in the building and construction sector for vulnerable groups in canton 1 (Una-Sana), which was financed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has continued with funding from the Government of Luxembourg.

International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

44. The International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia continues to carry out its mandate to prosecute persons responsible for serious violations of international law committed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991 (see S/1998/1174, para. 32). The total number of accused persons pending arrest or completion of proceedings before the Tribunal stands at 59, with 23 indictments. In a case concluded in May, Zlatko Aleksovski was found guilty, both as an individual participant and as a commander, of violating the laws or customs of war and sentenced to two and a half years' imprisonment. Four other trials are ongoing. Preparations continue for the commencement of the 1999 exhumation programme, which will proceed until October.

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

45. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which in Bosnia and Herzegovina works in close cooperation with and under the operational authority of my Special Representative, has continued to focus its activities on economic and social rights, discrimination and gender issues. With regard to the problem of trafficking of persons, the Office has initiated a programme to ensure protection for persons who are found in situations of forced prostitution. The programme aims at facilitating safe and voluntary repatriation for those who request it, access to health care, legal aid and counselling. It has already handled 16 cases of individuals from the Republic of Moldova, Romania and the Ukraine. The policing parts of the programme are implemented in cooperation with UNMIBH, while the International Organization for Migration has assisted in repatriation. During the reporting period, the Office organized the visit of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, to Bosnia and Herzegovina (6-8 May), and supported the mandate of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights by organizing his visits to the region.

United Nations Development Programme

46. The United Nations Development Programme has continued to focus on capacity-building, mobilization of resources and implementation of projects for mine clearance, area-based reconstruction and development and short-term employment generation. In addition, UNDP continues to implement small-scale labour-intensive activities associated with village employment and environmental programmes. During the reporting period, UNDP has taken the initial steps to field a team of consultants to formulate an integrated recovery programme for Brcko, in support of the implementation of the final award. The formulation of the programme is being undertaken in close consultation with the Office of the High Representative and UNMIBH. UNDP has also initiated consultations on the preparation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's first national human development report. The report is being prepared by eminent experts from all three nationalities in the country.

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

47. From 1 January to 30 April 1999, an estimated 10,800 refugees returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina, most of them from Germany. This number does not include an unknown number of Bosnian Serb refugees who have begun returning from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia since 24 March. The total number of refugees having returned to Bosnia since the end of the war has reached some 330,000. Another 256,000 displaced persons have returned within Bosnia, but the overall estimated number of displaced persons has continued to increase to approximately 850,000, as refugees relocated upon repatriation outnumber those who return to their pre-war homes.

48. Registered minority returns within Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1999 remain below expectations, with 1,721 recorded returns as at 31 March. Field monitoring has, however, indicated that spontaneous returns, primarily by ethnic Serbs, increased considerably with the arrival of the spring. Some of these returns are obviously linked to the conflict in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which is also having an impact on the economic situation in the Republika Srpska. UNHCR has recorded 766 Croats (to Sarajevo and Vares) and 130 Bosniacs (to central Bosnia) as having returned within the Federation, while 667 Serbs have returned from the Republika Srpska or the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to the Federation (mostly to Sarajevo and Drvar). Another 15 Croats and 143 Bosniacs returned to the Republika Srpska (Bosanska Gradiska and Banja Luka).

49. By the end of April, the overall number of refugees from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in Bosnia and Herzegovina had exceeded 50,000, with close to 17,600 arriving in 1998 and 1999 from Kosovo, an estimated 20,000 arriving from the Sandzak, mostly during the last week of March, and a large but unknown number of Serbs, estimated to be at least 10,100, moving from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to the Republika Srpska. Some of these ethnic Serbs are refugees from Croatia in a secondary displacement, adding to the estimated 30,000 Croatian refugees from the Krajina already in Bosnia and Herzegovina, mostly in the Banja Luka area. Some 4,000 refugees were being accommodated in collective quarters as at the end of March, while all others had found private accommodation, often with friends and relatives. The Ministry for Civil Affairs and Communications continues to be fully engaged and operationally responsible for the protection and assistance of the refugees, with considerable support from UNHCR and a range of non-governmental organization partners.

50. Identification of appropriate sites for new refugee centres for the continuing influx from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, as well as inequities in the humanitarian assistance provided to needy Bosnian populations, remain key issues that require early attention. A contingency plan has been developed by UNHCR, in close consultation with the Government, non-governmental organizations, UNMIBH and SFOR, to respond to the potentially large and rapid influx of refugees from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

United Nations Children's Fund

51. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) opened two schools for pregnant women in the Republika Srpska in April 1999. In addition, it has developed an action plan for the eradication of measles, as well as a strategy for the eradication of poliomyelitis in the Federation. It has cooperated with local health authorities in organizing an immunization campaign for refugee children from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the field of education, UNICEF supported the teacher training college in Sarajevo in completing the first cycle of the active learning project with the development of training materials and modules for use by teachers throughout the Federation. School materials for refugee children from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia have been procured for distribution. Two training sessions were held for 40 teachers and school psychologists from the Republika Srpska and the Federation concerning children in need of special protection measures. In cooperation with Banja Luka University, UNICEF completed an evaluation of the quality of life of adolescents in the Republika Srpska as a basis for providing psychosocial assistance to them. The rehabilitation of playrooms in paediatric hospitals in Banja Luka, Doboj and Sarajevo has been completed. A radio programme in Albanian for refugee children from Kosovo has begun.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

52. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) won strong support from national Governments and donors for its project to reconstruct Mostar's old bridge at the fifth donors' conference for Bosnia and Herzegovina, held on 20 and 21 May 1999. UNESCO is also participating in the reconstruction of the National and University Library in Sarajevo by providing equipment for the local area network. It has also begun a project to develop and modernize the archives of the Federation. UNESCO continues implementation of a project to restore the sixteenth-century Tabacica Mosque in Mostar, as well as a project for the museum of the Franciscan monastery of Kraljeva Sutjeska. It held teacher training seminars in Bihac (canton 1), Gorazde (canton 5), Travnik (canton 6), Zenica (canton 4), Tuzla (canton 3) and Sarajevo (canton 9) in March and April, and a national seminar on supporting children with special needs in May. It established a project for income-generating initiatives for women in the eastern part of the Republika Srpska. Reconstruction and rehabilitation of schools continue in cantons 1, 4 and 5. The reconstruction of a primary school gymnasium in Sarajevo was completed in May.

World Health Organization

53. The World Health Organization continues to provide support to the entities' Ministries of Health. The support, which focuses on technical advice and coordination of international health, has been scaled back in line with increasing domestic capacity in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Within its humanitarian assistance programme, the family medicine programme was completed and a decision was taken to close three of the four field offices.

World Bank

54. The World Bank's activities continues to focus on three key elements: donor coordination, project implementation, and support for the country's transition to a market economy through economic policy advice and support for budgets and balance of payments. The World Bank and the European Union jointly chaired a fifth successful donors' conference in Brussels on 20 and 21 May, where donors pledged another $1.05 billion to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The World Bank continues implementation of the 26 reconstruction projects it has funded and managed. As many of these near completion, the Bank is increasingly focusing on economic policy reforms, which will promote private sector investment and foster self-sustained growth.

55. The Bank has begun a local development project to help municipalities obtain credit for priority social and economic infrastructure projects and a basic health project to establish a cost-effective, community-based, primary health care system and to improve management in each entity's health sector. It recently negotiated a second public finance structural adjustment credit and a banking and enterprise privatization structural adjustment credit to assist the Governments in both entities to implement their strategy of privatization. It has also negotiated a project to provide working capital to export-oriented businesses and, in coordination with UNESCO, a pilot cultural heritage project for the restoration of the bridge and old town in Mostar.

World Food Programme

56. The World Food Programme (WFP) will conclude its food assistance operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina in June, as recommended by the joint food aid needs assessment mission conducted in March 1998. The conclusion of the operations reflects the fact that the country is no longer in an emergency situation and is decisively on the road to recovery. Since WFP began providing food aid to people in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992, over 1 million tons of food aid have been distributed to more than 2 million refugees, displaced persons and other war-affected people throughout the country. During the war, the food aid programme provided a means of survival to the majority of the country's population. Since the beginning of 1998, WFP has focused attention on reassessing the food aid needs of the country in the light of improvements in the socio-economic situation. In consultation with ministerial authorities, beneficiary criteria have been established to identify only the most vulnerable households, which would be considered classic social cases in any society. In cooperation with centres for social welfare, the caseload has been brought in line with the country's social welfare system in order to ensure a smooth transition of responsibility to local authorities in June 1999.

IV. FINANCIAL ASPECTS

57. On 8 June, by its resolution 53/233, the General Assembly appropriated an amount of $167.6 million gross for the maintenance of UNMIBH for the 12-month period from 1 July 1999 to 30 June 2000. Therefore, should the Security Council extend the mandate of UNMIBH for a further 12-month period, as recommended in paragraph 64 below, the cost for the extension would be limited to that amount. As at 31 May 1999, unpaid assessed contributions to the UNMIBH special account amounted to $38 million. Total outstanding assessed contributions for all peacekeeping operations at the same date amounted to $1,568 million.

V. OBSERVATIONS

58. UNMIBH contributes to the establishment of the rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina by reforming and restructuring the police, assessing the functioning of the existing judicial system and monitoring and auditing the performance of the police and other agencies involved in the maintenance of law and order. In establishing the rule of law, the development of an impartial and effective judiciary is an essential complement to a restructured police force. During the most recent mandate period, significant progress was achieved by UNMIBH as documented in this and previous reports. With the conclusion of the police restructuring agreement, the authorities in the Republika Srpska have, for the first time, agreed to the principle of multi-ethnic policing in their entity and to concrete benchmarks for making it a reality. The establishment of joint working groups for minority recruitment in each Federation canton has accelerated the inclusion of minorities in the Federation police. The establishment of the police academy in the Federation and the planned opening of a provisional academy in the Republika Srpska at the end of June 1999 are important steps towards the creation of a well-trained police force. Still, notwithstanding all the progress, the number of minority police officers remains disappointingly low, and the difficulties encountered at each step of the way indicate how deep-rooted is the resistance towards multi-ethnic policing among some of the dominating political forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

59. UNMIBH has continued to develop its close engagement of senior, mid-level and local police officials in the Republika Srpska and the Federation in working groups on the implementation of restructuring agreements, in audits of police services in the Federation, in training and advising the police in the conduct of criminal investigations and in monitoring everyday performance of the local police forces. Through this engagement, UNMIBH has developed the capacity to sustain progress towards meeting the benchmarks contained in the agreement on police restructuring in the Republika Srpska and reinvigorating efforts towards meeting fully the goals contained in the Bonn-Petersberg Agreement for the Federation. Close coordination with other international agencies has facilitated the return of minority police to the Federation and the conduct of investigations into organized crime, and has strengthened the efforts of UNMIBH towards police reform to ensure that police officials will continue to support the implementation of agreements to which they are signatories.

60. In addition to regular monitoring through targeted independent and joint IPTF patrols, UNMIBH has developed innovative forms of monitoring that involve both civil affairs officers and IPTF monitors. These include co-locating in police facilities and holding regular consultations with civilian authorities at all levels of government; working with the police in criminal investigations aimed at uncovering organized crime and terrorism; devising a new approach to auditing police services in municipalities and cantons of the Federation; continuing investigation of police involvement in human rights abuses in areas of return; and new forms of court and trial monitoring. These innovative forms of monitoring will enable UNMIBH to oblige local law enforcement agencies, in the early stages of establishing the rule of law, to operate in a manner fully consistent with democratic practice.

61. Further progress in the Mission's central task of police reform continues to require tangible material support for the modernization of the country's police infrastructure. Such support is critical to sustainable progress in police restructuring. The Police Assistance Trust Fund will not be able to shoulder the burden of such material support effectively in the absence of significant new contributions. UNMIBH has been placing greater emphasis on improved coordination and facilitation of bilateral donor aid by IPTF so that the training and equipment needs identified by IPTF may be met through bilateral arrangements, but experience suggests that this will meet only a portion of the needs.

62. Political developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the wider region continue to challenge the establishment of the rule of law. In the Republika Srpska, progress has been made difficult by continuing opposition to multi-ethnic police among a significant part of the political forces in this entity. In addition, there has been increasing insecurity associated with the popular response against the establishment of the Brcko District and the dismissal of Republika Srpska President Poplasen, as well as increasing tension and economic deprivation following the NATO air strikes in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Progress in developing self-sustaining institutions in the Federation has been complicated by the killing of the Deputy Minister of the Interior, by disappointing progress in sustaining the returns of minorities and by continued efforts, especially among parts of the Croat population, to raise the possibility of revising fundamental principles of the General Framework Agreement for Peace. Recent developments in the wider region add another, broader layer of insecurity to efforts to implement agreements rooted in the rule of law. On the other hand, experience has shown that broad sectors of the population are willing to use the mechanisms of integration, in particular the common licence plate and the common currency, to establish and deepen contacts between the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

63. The difficulties encountered in trying to establish self-sustaining political institutions throughout the country have forced the High Representative to use his authority creatively in support of implementing the General Framework Agreement. Continuing close cooperation of UNMIBH with UNHCR, SFOR and the Office of the High Representative will continue to be necessary to address impediments to a sustainable peace. In this regard, the strong and consistent support of SFOR will again remain essential in providing adequate security arrangements for the successful implementation of the UNMIBH mandate. I appeal to the Governments of the members of the Security Council to extend their full support to the efforts of UNMIBH to implement its core mandate of creating professional, multi-ethnic police services in the Federation and the Republika Srpska.

64. UNMIBH, and the international community in general, still have a considerable way to go before the peace process in Bosnia and Herzegovina becomes self-sustainable. The Mission has developed the mechanisms to effective positive changes and has built a solid basis for further progress. With continued persistent and determined work by UNMIBH, as well as with financial and political support by Member States, the United Nations can make a decisive contribution to the peace process in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is therefore recommended that the Security Council extend the mandate of UNMIBH for another period of 12 months.

65. I would like to express my appreciation for the effective and inspiring way in which my Special Representative, Elisabeth Rehn, has led UNMIBH over the past year. I also want to commend the Commissioner of IPTF and all the women and men of UNMIBH for their tireless and courageous service in the cause of peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina.