United Nations Security Council Resolution 1031 – Bosnia and Herzegovina and multinational Implementation Force (IFOR)

Resolution 1031 (1995)

The Security Council,

Recalling all its previous relevant resolutions concerning the conflicts inthe former Yugoslavia,

Reaffirming its commitment to a negotiated political settlement of the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, preserving the territorial integrity of all States there within their internationally recognized borders,

Welcoming the signing on 14 December 1995 at the Paris Peace Conference of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and theAnnexes thereto (collectively the Peace Agreement, S/1995/999, annex) by the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the other parties thereto,

Welcoming also the Dayton Agreement on implementing the Federation ofBosnia and Herzegovina of 10 November 1995 (S/1995/1021, annex),

Welcoming further the conclusions of the Peace Implementation Conference held in London on 8 and 9 December 1995 (the London Conference) (S/1995/1029),and in particular its decision to establish a Peace Implementation Council and its Steering Board as referred to in those conclusions,

Paying tribute to the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia(ICFY) for its efforts aimed at achieving a peace settlement and taking note of the decision of the London Conference that the Peace Implementation Council willsubsume the ICFY,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General of 13 December 1995(S/1995/1031),

Determining that the situation in the region continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security,

Determined to promote the peaceful resolution of the conflicts in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the UnitedNations,

Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,

I

1. Welcomes and supports the Peace Agreement and calls upon the parties to fulfil in good faith the commitments entered into in that Agreement;

2. Expresses its intention to keep the implementation of the PeaceAgreement under review;

3. Welcomes the progress made towards mutual recognition among the successor States to the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, within their internationally recognized borders;

4. Reaffirms its resolutions concerning compliance with international humanitarian law in the former Yugoslavia, reaffirms also that all States shallcooperate fully with the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia andits organs in accordance with the provisions of resolution 827 (1993) of 25 May 1993 and the Statute of the International Tribunal, and shall comply with requests for assistance or orders issued by a Trial Chamber under article 29 of the Statute, and calls upon them to allow the establishment of offices of the Tribunal;

5. Recognizes that the parties shall cooperate fully with all entities involved in implementation of the peace settlement, as described in the PeaceAgreement, or which are otherwise authorized by the Security Council, including the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and that the parties havein particular authorized the multinational force referred to in paragraph 14 below to take such actions as required, including the use of necessary force, toensure compliance with Annex 1-A of the Peace Agreement;

6. Welcomes the agreement by the Organization for Security andCooperation in Europe (OSCE) to adopt and put in place a programme of electionsfor Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the request of the parties to Annex 3 of thePeace Agreement;

7. Welcomes also the parties’ commitment, as specified in the Peace Agreement, to securing to all persons within their jurisdiction the highestlevel of internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms,stresses that compliance with this commitment is of vital importance inachieving a lasting peace, and welcomes the invitation by the parties to theUnited Nations Commission on Human Rights, the OSCE, the United Nations HighCommissioner for Human Rights and other intergovernmental or regional humanrights missions or organizations to monitor closely the human rights situationin Bosnia and Herzegovina;

8. Welcomes further the parties’ commitment to the right of all refugees and displaced persons freely to return to their homes of origin in safety, notes the leading humanitarian role which has been given by the Peace Agreement to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in coordination with otheragencies involved and under the authority of the Secretary-General, in assistingwith the repatriation and relief of refugees and displaced persons, and stressesthe importance of repatriation being phased, gradual and orderly;

9. Emphasizes the importance of the creation of conditions conducive to the reconstruction and development of Bosnia and Herzegovina and encourages Member States to provide assistance for the programme of reconstruction in that country;

10. Underlines the relationship, as described in the conclusions of the London Conference, between the fulfilment by the parties of their commitments inthe Peace Agreement and the readiness of the international community to commit financial resources for reconstruction and development;

11. Welcomes the agreement of the parties to Annex 1-B of the PeaceAgreement that establishment of progressive measures for regional stability andarms control is essential to creating a stable peace in the region, emphasizes the importance of all Member States supporting their efforts to this end, and supports the OSCE’s commitment to assist the parties with the negotiation andimplementation of such measures;

II

12. Welcomes the willingness of the Member States acting through or in cooperation with the organization referred to in Annex 1-A of the Peace Agreement to assist the parties to the Peace Agreement by deploying amultinational implementation force;

13. Notes the invitation of the parties to the international community to send to the region for a period of approximately one year a multinational implementation force to assist in implementation of the territorial and other militarily related provisions of Annex 1-A of the Peace Agreement;

14. Authorizes the Member States acting through or in cooperation with theorganization referred to in Annex 1-A of the Peace Agreement to establish amultinational implementation force (IFOR) under unified command and control inorder to fulfil the role specified in Annex 1-A and Annex 2 of the PeaceAgreement;

15. Authorizes the Member States acting under paragraph 14 above to takeall necessary measures to effect the implementation of and to ensure compliancewith Annex 1-A of the Peace Agreement, stresses that the parties shall be heldequally responsible for compliance with that Annex, and shall be equally subjectto such enforcement action by IFOR as may be necessary to ensure implementationof that Annex and the protection of IFOR, and takes note that the parties haveconsented to IFOR’s taking such measures;

16. Authorizes the Member States acting under paragraph 14 above, inaccordance with Annex 1-A of the Peace Agreement, to take all necessary measuresto ensure compliance with the rules and procedures, to be established by theCommander of IFOR, governing command and control of airspace over Bosnia andHerzegovina with respect to all civilian and military air traffic;

17. Authorizes Member States to take all necessary measures, at the request of IFOR, either in defence of IFOR or to assist the force in carryingout its mission, and recognizes the right of the force to take all necessarymeasures to defend itself from attack or threat of attack;

18. Demands that the parties respect the security and freedom of movementof IFOR and other international personnel;

19. Decides that, with effect from the day on which the Secretary-General reports to the Council that the transfer of authority from the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) to IFOR has taken place, the authority to takecertain measures conferred upon States by resolutions 770 (1992) of13 August 1992, 781 (1992) of 9 October 1992, 816 (1993) of 31 March 1993,836 (1993) of 4 June 1993, 844 (1993) of 18 June 1993 and 958 (1994) of19 November 1994 shall be terminated, and that the provisions of resolution824 (1993) of 6 May 1993 and subsequent resolutions regarding safe areas shallalso be terminated from the same date;

20. Requests the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina to cooperate with the IFOR Commander to ensure the effective management of the airports in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the light of the responsibilities conferred on IFOR byAnnex 1-A of the Peace Agreement with regard to the airspace of Bosnia and Herzegovina;

21. Decides, with a view to terminating the authorization granted inparagraphs 14 to 17 above one year after the transfer of authority from UNPROFOR to IFOR, to review by that date and to take a decision whether that authorization should continue, based upon the recommendations from the States participating in IFOR and from the High Representative through the Secretary-General;

22. Decides also that the embargo imposed by resolution 713 (1991) of 25 September 1991 shall not apply to weapons and military equipment destined forthe sole use of the Member States acting under paragraph 14 above, or of international police forces;

23. Invites all States, in particular those in the region, to provideappropriate support and facilities, including transit facilities, for the MemberStates acting under paragraph 14 above;

24. Welcomes the conclusion of the agreements concerning the status offorces as referred to in Appendix B to Annex 1-A of the Peace Agreement, anddemands that the parties comply fully with those agreements;

25. Requests the Member States acting through or in cooperation with the reorganization referred to in Annex 1-A of the Peace Agreement to report to theCouncil, through the appropriate channels and at least at monthly intervals, thefirst such report be made not later than 10 days following the adoption of thisresolution;

26. Endorses the establishment of a High Representative, following the request of the parties, who, in accordance with Annex 10 on the civilian implementation of the Peace Agreement, will monitor the implementation of the Peace Agreement and mobilize and, as appropriate, give guidance to, and coordinate the activities of, the civilian organizations and agencies involved,and agrees the designation of Mr. Carl Bildt as High Representative;

27. Confirms that the High Representative is the final authority in theatre regarding interpretation of Annex 10 on the civilian implementation ofthe Peace Agreement;

28. Decides that all States concerned, and in particular those where The High Representative establishes offices, shall ensure that the High Representative enjoys such legal capacity as may be necessary for the exercise of his functions, including the capacity to contract and to acquire and dispose of real and personal property;

29. Notes that close cooperation between IFOR, the High Representative and the agencies will be vital to ensure successful implementation;

30. Affirms the need for the implementation of the Peace Agreement in its entirety and, in this context, stresses the importance it attaches to the urgent implementation of Annex 11 of the Peace Agreement, decides to act expeditiously on the report of the Secretary-General recommending the establishment of a United Nations Civilian Police Force with the tasks set out in that Annex,together with a civilian office with the responsibilities described in the report of the Secretary-General, and further decides that in the interim civilian police, de-mining, civil affairs and other personnel that might be required to carry out the tasks described in that report shall continue in theatre, notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 33 and 34 below;

31. Stresses the need for early action in Sarajevo to create confidence between the communities and to this end requests the Secretary-General to ensure the early redeployment of elements of United Nations civilian police from the Republic of Croatia to Sarajevo;

32. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the Council reports from the High Representative, in accordance with Annex 10 of the Peace Agreement andthe conclusions of the London Conference, on the implementation of the Peace Agreement;

III

33. Decides that the mandate of UNPROFOR shall terminate on the date onwhich the Secretary-General reports to the Council that the transfer ofauthority from UNPROFOR to IFOR has taken place;

34. Approves the arrangements set out in the report of the Secretary-General on the withdrawal of UNPROFOR and headquarters elements from the United Nations Peace Force (UNPF), including the arrangements for the command and control of UNPROFOR following the transfer of authority from it to IFOR;

35. Expresses its warmest appreciation to all UNPROFOR personnel, who have served the cause of peace in the former Yugoslavia, and pays tribute to those who have given their lives and those who have suffered serious injuries in that service;

36. Authorizes the Member States acting under paragraph 14 above to useall necessary means to assist in the withdrawal of UNPROFOR;

37. Calls upon the parties to ensure the safety and security of UNPROFOR and confirms that UNPROFOR will continue to enjoy all existing privileges and immunities, including during the period of withdrawal;

38. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Council when thewithdrawal of UNPROFOR is complete;

IV

39. Recognizes the unique, extraordinary and complex character of the present situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, requiring an exceptional response;

40. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

Adopted by the Security Council at its 3607th meeting,on 15 December 1995.