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Security Council extends UN missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Prevlaka peninsula

Security Council extends UN missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Prevlaka peninsula

Following the adoption of a resolution suspending the International Criminal Court's potential prosecution of United Nations peacekeepers, the Security Council today extended the mandates of the UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) and the UN Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP).

Since the end of last month, the UNMIBH mandate has been the subject of two brief technical renewals as Security Council members wrangled over the link between UN peacekeeping and the ICC, as the Court is known.

After that issue was cleared through the unanimous adoption of a resolution blocking the Court from taking action against UN peacekeepers for a renewable 12-month period, the Council extended UNMIBH's mandate through the end of this year. At that point, the UN Mission will be terminated, and the European Union will send a Police Mission (EUPM) to Bosnia and Herzegovina to build on the work done to date.

The UNMIBH resolution also authorized Member States to continue for 12 months the multinational stabilization force (SFOR) which is working to implement the Bosnia Peace Agreement, and expressed the Council's intention to review the situation with a view to extending this authorization as necessary.

In addition, the Council recognized SFOR's right to take "all necessary measures to defend itself from attack or threat of attack."

By the other resolution adopted today, the Council authorized UN military observers to continue monitoring the Prevlaka peninsula - a strategic area disputed by Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia - through mid-October. That text also welcomed "continuing progress in the normalization of relations" between the two countries, and urged them to accelerate efforts towards a negotiated settlement.