S/PV.3584 Security Council

As this is the first meeting of the Security Council for the month of October, I should like to take this opportunity to pay a tribute, on behalf of the members of the Council, to His Excellency Mr. Francesco Paolo Fulci, Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations, for his service as President of the Security Council for the month of September 1995. I am sure I speak for all members of the Security Council in expressing our deep appreciation to Ambassador Fulci for the great diplomatic skill, excellent manner and unfailing courtesy with which he conducted the Council’s business last month. We express appreciation also to the members of his delegation. Adoption of the agenda

I should like to inform the Council that I have received letters from the representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, in which they request to be invited to participate in the discussion of the item on the Council’s agenda. In accordance with the usual practice, I propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite those representatives to participate in the discussion without the right to vote, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. There being no objection, it is so decided.

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Security Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations Following consultations among members of the Security Council, I have been authorized to make the following statement on behalf of the Council: “The Security Council is particularly concerned at the withdrawal of refugee status from and the consequent ending of assistance to many refugees from the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina at present in the Republic of Croatia. The decisions of the Government of Croatia in this regard may lead to the involuntary return of tens of thousands of people to an area that is neither safe nor prepared to receive them. The Council stresses the importance of the principle of non-refoulement set out in the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees, to which Croatia is a party. The Council urges the Government of Croatia to continue to provide asylum to all refugees regardless of their origin. “The Security Council is also seriously concerned at the situation of the refugees from the Republic of Croatia wishing to return, as well as of those ethnic Serbs who have chosen to remain in the Republic of Croatia. It reiterates its demands, contained inter alia in its resolution 1009 (1995), that the Government of Croatia respect fully the rights of the local Serb population including their right to remain or return in safety, investigate all reports of human rights violations and take appropriate measures to put an end to such acts. The Council calls upon the Government of Croatia to lift any time-limits placed on the return of refugees to Croatia to reclaim their property. The Council also calls on the Government to cooperate with international humanitarian organizations in the creation of conditions conducive for the repatriation of refugees in safety and dignity. “The Security Council will remain actively seized of the matter.” This statement will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/1995/49. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on the agenda. The Security Council will remain seized of the matter.