§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British service personnel have been killed or injured on active service with UNPROFOR II; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThere has been one death, that of Lance Corporal Edwards, and five injuries to British soldiers sustained in the course of their duties while serving with UNPROFOR Bosnia-Herzegovina command.
§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment his Department has made of the possibility of extending the policy of safe havens from northern Iraq to Bosnia; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what consideration he has given to the military implications of the establishment of safe havens in Bosnia; and if he will make a statement;
(3) what discussions he has had with his NATO counterparts regarding the military implications of the establishment of safe havens in Bosnia; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. Archie HamiltonWe welcome the UNHCR's proposal to establish safe areas in Bosnia by agreement with the parties; the United Kingdom supported similar ideas last July. The position in Bosnia is however different to that in northern Iraq; the ethnic map, topography and triangular war make it impossible in the absence of an effective peace agreement to envisage the establishment of genuine safe areas without the deployment of huge numbers of heavily armed United Nations ground troops assisted by air power.
§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions British service personnel deployed with UNPROFOR II have sought to negotiate local ceasefires and other methods of preventing conflicts with local militia commanders; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonParticipating in negotiations to arrange local ceasefires to allow the passage of humanitarian aid and refugees, the evacuation of the sick and wounded and other tasks within the mandate of the UNPROFOR troops operating in Bosnia-Herzegovina is part of the British battalion group's day-to-day business. It is not possible to provide a precise figure.
§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what discussions he has had with his NATO counterparts concerning an increase in the size of the British contribution to UNPROFOR II; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what discussions he has had with his NATO counterparts concerning a general increase in the size of UNPROFOR II; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonParticipation in United Nations peacekeeping deployments in the former Yugoslavia is kept under constant review in concert with our NATO allies. These discussions naturally include the possible size and scope of future United Nations deployments in the former Yugoslavia.
§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what consideration he has given to the military consequences of implementing the Vance-Owen peace proposals in Bosnia; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what discussions he has had with his NATO counterparts relating to the military consequences of implementing the Vance-Owen peace proposals in Bosnia; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonBoth within the United Nations and NATO, the possible size and scope of an operation to assist the parties to implement the Vance-Owen peace proposals is being kept under close review.
§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times British service personnel deployed with UNPROFOR II have been mentioned in dispatches.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonMentions in dispatches are awarded in operational theatres only. The former Yugoslavia has not been declared an operational theatre, although this is under review.