UN Meeting: Addressing the Yugoslav Conflict Atrocities
Good afternoon, everyone, to the 3055th meeting of the United Nations. Today, we are united to implement a solution to the Yugoslavian conflict.
When the first news and accounts of the atrocities committed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia began to surface, the collective memory of our peoples had to relive the horror of times we had thought long past. But there are lessons to be learned from history. Conditions have changed since the Second World War. The United Nations now has the responsibility of maintaining and restoring international peace and security. Indeed, through the Security Council, the United Nations has firmly committed itself to this cause in the former Yugoslavia since the adoption on 25 September 1991 of resolution 713 (1991). The atrocities committed by all sides in the Yugoslav crisis have given rise to an intolerable situation which is fanning the flames of conflict and therefore constitutes a threat to international peace and security. Prosecuting the guilty is necessary if we are to do justice to the victims and to the international community. Prosecuting the guilty will also send a clear message to those who continue to commit these crimes—that they will be held responsible for their acts. And finally, prosecuting the guilty is, for the United Nations and particularly for the Security Council, a matter of doing their duty to maintain and restore peace.
We want to set up an international criminal tribunal that could prosecute persons responsible for the serious violations of international humanitarian law that have been committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since the beginning of that State’s process of dissolution. The report, which contains specific proposals for the establishment of such a tribunal, was concluded in record time—three weeks. We state that the creation of an international tribunal for the former Yugoslavia could be decided on by the Security Council within the framework of its powers under Chapter VII of the Charter to maintain or restore international peace and security. France has endorsed this conclusion and has taken the initiative of proposing to the Security Council a draft resolution for its implementation. By adopting unanimously resolution 743 in pursuance of this initiative, the Security Council has just taken a decision of major significance. I wish that this is the first time in history, the United Nations will be setting up an international criminal jurisdiction—one that will be competent to try those who have committed serious violations of international humanitarian law in the territory of the former Yugoslavia.
We already know from the interim report of the Commission of Experts considerable evidence that has come in that these atrocities take many forms, from the systematic rape of women to the sinister practice of “ethnic cleansing” and wholesale massacres, and that they are committed in many parts of the territory of the former Yugoslavia. The Security Council has today taken the solemn decision that it will not allow these crimes to go unpunished and will not countenance their continuation. The tribunal that we have just decided to create should be established as soon as possible. It should be set up through a further decision of the Security Council under the provisions of Chapter VII, which establishes its competence in the maintenance and restoration of international peace and security. In that respect, we expect from the Secretary-General some concrete proposals of a practical nature that will allow our Council to respond to the urgency of the situation facing us. The results of all the efforts and contributions made by France and other countries and in other forums will be available to him. We have every confidence that will succeed in this task, which is of such far-reaching significance. We trust that the Security Council will then act with the authority and unanimity that it has just strikingly displayed in adopting a resolution in order to impose respect for the law.
For this reason, we would like to make clear what our position is. We believe that this situation should be finished as soon as possible, and we, the permanent members, have a big responsibility to make this happen. We want to reach a peaceful political settlement in the region.