War Crimes Tribunal (Hansard, 29 February 1996)

§ Mr. Wareing
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the countries from which investigators are drawn by the UN war crimes tribunal on the former Yugoslavia. [16289]

§ Sir Nicholas Bonsor
The employment policy of the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia is identical to that operated throughout the UN. Article 101 of the UN charter states thatparamount consideration in the employment of staff… shall be… the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity". The UN also aims to recruit staff from a wide geographical base. The tribunal will not divulge details of its investigators, including nationalities.

§ Mr. Wareing
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the Croats indicted for war crimes by the war crimes tribunal have been indicted for crimes committed in(a) Bosnia and (b) the Krajina. [16290]

§ Sir Nicholas Bonsor
The international criminal court for the former Yugoslavia has announced indictments against seven Croats to date. All of these were indicted for crimes allegedly committed in the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

§ Mr. Wareing
To ask the Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Bosnian Government in respect of the discovery by the implementation forces of concealed weapons in the Sarajevo area; and if the discovery is being referred to the war crimes tribunal. [16293]

§ Sir Nicholas Bonsor
We continue to urge all parties in the former Yugoslavia to meet their obligations under the Dayton peace agreement. The United Kingdom was presented at the Rome summit on 17 to 18 February where the parties reaffirmed their commitment to that agreement and took positive steps towards resolving outstanding642W incidences of non-compliance. My right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed a range of compliance issues with Bosnian President Izetbegovic, the commander of the implementation force, and the High Representative when he visited Sarajevo on 20 February. Concealment of weapons does not constitute a war crime. It does not therefore fall within the mandate of the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.