Security Council extends UN mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina until 15 July

The United Nations Security Council this evening voted unanimously to extend until 15 July the current mandate of the UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH), which was set to expire at midnight.

The Council move followed a series of intensive consultations as its members tried to resolve an impasse after the United States rejected on Sunday, 30 May, a draft resolution renewing the mandate of UNMIBH and authorizing the continuation of the multinational stabilization force (SFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Immediately following the rejection of that draft, the Council adopted a technical, rollover text, extending UNMIBH's mandate for three days, until midnight on 3 July.

Explaining his negative vote on Sunday, Ambassador John Negroponte of the United States linked it to his country's concerns about the risk of "politicized prosecutions" of US peacekeepers before the International Criminal Court (ICC), whose jurisdiction the United States Government did not accept. The Rome Statute of the court, which will prosecute war crimes, genocide, or crimes against humanity, came into effect on 1 July.