Yugoslavia (Hansard, 19 July 1993)

§ Mr. Elletson
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many reports he has received from United Nations personnel of alleged rapes of Muslim women by Croatian forces since the beginning of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia.

§ Mr. Douglas Hogg
None.

§ Mr. Elletson
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from Lord Owen regarding the selective lifting of sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; what is the Government policy on this issue; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Douglas Hogg
We are in regular contact with Lord Owen about a variety of issues on the former Yugoslavia. including the question of sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro. As Heads of Government made clear at the Tokyo economic summit on 7 to 9 July, sanctions will continue to be upheld against Serbia and Montenegro until conditions in the relevant Security Council resolutions are met.

§ Mr. Elletson
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of Muslim forces using noxious gas against Croat forces in the villages of Prosje and Busovaca in central Bosnia; if he will raise this activity at the next meeting of the United Nations Security Council; and what representations he plans to make to the Government of President Izetbegovic.

§ Mr. Douglas Hogg
We have seen media reports alleging that Muslim forces used improvised grenades containing non-lethal riot control gas against Croats in central Bosnia. We deplore the use of such weapons which we believe are held by all three parties. Regular reports about fighting on the ground are submitted by UNPROFOR to the United Nations. We are not proposing to raise specific incidents of this kind in the Security Council, but we shall consider raising them in future discussions with Bosnian Government officials.

§ Mr. Macdonald
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the monitors agreed by the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe are now in place in Kosovo; which nations have contributed; and when the remainder are expected to be in place.

§ Mr. Douglas Hogg
By 30 June 1993, the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe's long-term missions in Kosovo, Sandjak and Vojvodina consisted of 20 monitors from Norway, Canada, Finland, Sweden, France, Greece, United States of America, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Turkey, Japan and the United Kingdom. At that time, there were 10 monitors in Kosovo, one of whom was British. Belgrade having refused to renew the memorandum of understanding covering the missions, their future is in doubt and, as monitors have departed on leave or completion of assignment, they have not been replaced. There are now only 11 monitors in all three areas.
19W
The United Kingdom had provided two monitors and we had hoped to appoint a further three. The chairman in office of the CSCE remains in contact with Belgrade. We hope that agreement will be reached on renewal of the mandate and that the mission numbers will be built up once more.