Archived page: may contain outdated information!

Update No. 96/1 onICRC activities in the former Yugoslavia

04-01-1996 Operational Update

 Release of detainees in accordance with the Paris Agreement  

Under the Peace Agreement signed in Paris on 14 December 1995, the parties undertook to implement a comprehensive and unilateral release of all prisoners held by them: Article IX, Annex 1A of the Agreement sets out the provisions regarding such release covering the following points:

1. immediate release and transfer of all combatants and civilians held in relation to the conflict, in conformity with a plan developed by the ICRC;

2. notification by the detaining authorities, within 21 days of the signing of the peace treaty in Paris, of all prisoners to the ICRC, the other parties, the Joint Military Commission and the High Representative;

3. full access for ICRC delegates to all places of detention at least 48 hours before detainees are released in order to privately interview them and determine that they have freely chosen their end destinations;

4. the implementation of the release and transfer of prisoners within 30 days of the transfer of authority between UNPROFOR and IFOR.

The dates corresponding to the deadlines set by these provisions are 4 January 1996 for the notification of all prisoners ( No 2 above) and 19 January 1996 for the implementation of the release (No 4 above).

In order to ensure a smooth implementation of this process, the ICRC took a number of steps during the last few weeks of 1995:

 Memorandum on guidelines for the release and transfer of prisoners  

A memorandum setting out guidelines for the release and transfer of prisoners was sent on 14 December by ICRC President Cornelio Sommaruga to the Presidents of Bosnia-Herzegovina, of the Republika Srpska and of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, to IFOR, and to the Presidents of the Republic of Croatia and of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

This Memorandum mentions in particular:

- the procedure for notification of prisoners by the parties;

- parties obligation to respect the free will of each prisoner concerning his destination after release;

- the respective roles of all parties and instances involved in the release operation, namely the ICRC (which will draw up a plan for the operation and monitor its implementation), the parties (responsible for logistics and security on their respective ter ritory) and IFOR (responsible for security and logistical arrangements in hand-over areas).

- a report to be submitted by the ICRC to the IFOR and the parties upon completion of the Release and Transfer operation;

- the timetable of the consecutive steps of the operation.

 Contacts in the field  

In order to consult the various parties concerned about the above-mentioned memorandum and to get their respective position on the process of release, the ICRC Delegate General for Western Europe and the Balkans, Angelo Gnaedinger, visited the area from 17 to 23 December 1995 and participated in a series of high-level talks between the ICRC and all the parties. The result of these consultations with the political authorities in Sarajevo, Pale, Mostar as well as in Belgrade and Zagreb was communicated to IFOR commanders, since the release of prisoners is defined in the military annexe to the peace Agreement. The ICRC is working in close cooperation with IFOR and the parties through the joint Military Commission, in order to guarantee permanent exchange of information and full transparency between all the partners in this complex and crucial part of the peace implementation process. 

 Exchanges of detainees without ICRC presence  

Over the last few weeks, some 200 prisoners have been exchanged by the parties in Bosnia-Herzegovina, without ICRC delegates having the opportunity to ascertain the prisoners'will regarding their destination after release. The ICRC naturally welcomes the early release of any detainees but insists that the parties fully respect the prisoners'will in this regard, as provided for in the Peace Agreement. T he ICRC has reiterated this position to the parties while expressing the hope that all the authorities concerned will comply fully with their commitments under the Agreement.

 Further steps in the release operation under ICRC monitoring  

During the last week of 1995, the ICRC was granted access to places of detention and able to register new detainees on both Bosnian government and Bosnian Serb sides.

On 4 January 1996, within the framework of the Joint Military Commission chaired by IFOR, the parties to the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina are expected to provide lists of all prisoners they are holding for transmission to the other parties, to the ICRC, to IFOR and to the High Representative.

During the next meeting of the Joint Military Commission, due to be held early next week, the ICRC will submit a plan for the release and transfer of prisoners, drawn up on the basis of the lists provided by the parties.