§ Mr. MaddenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 30 June,Official Report, column 501, concerning patients and staff abducted from hospitals in Vukovar in 1991, why the UN commission of experts decided not to attempt identification, exhumation and return of all the bodies; whether the Croatian authorities have sought the assistance of Her Majesty's Government in this matter; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe UN Commission of Experts plans to carry out a more detailed examination of the mass grave site at Ovcara in the near future. This will include exhumation of all of the bodies. But the Commission will attempt to identify only 20, sufficient to link the gravesite with the disappearances from Vukovar hospital. The remainder of the bodies will be handed over to the Croatian authorities for identification. The Croatian authorities have not requested Her Majesty's Government's assistance in this task.