in French

United Nations
Security Council
Fifty-second Year

S/PV.3842 (Resumption)
Provisional

3842nd Meeting
Friday, 19 December 1997, 10.30 a.m.
New York

Mr. Erdõs (Hungary)
(interpretation from French)

Hungary welcomes this discussion in the Security Council of the activities undertaken by the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina and of the tasks that remain to be completed in order to implement the decisions made in the framework of the Dayton Agreement. We note in particular the importance of the conclusions of the Peace Implementation Conference held recently in Bonn, which emphasized building on the achievements of the peace process, continuing international assistance and strengthening the role 4f the High Representative.

Hungary, which neighbours the Balkan region, is profoundly attached to a political settlement of the issues of conflict on the territory of' the former Yugoslavia. It is also attached to the preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and of all the other successor States of the former Yugoslavia. We reject vigorously the proposals that have been made here and there suggesting the dismemberment of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a solution. It is not necessary to dwell at length on the possible negative repercussions of such destructive ideas.

We welcome the determination of the international community to proceed on the track of carrying out the civilian aspects of the Dayton Agreement. We also welcome the intention of the Security Council to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina for an additional period. Hungary joined the peacekeeping operations in 1996 by opening a base for the Stabilization Force at Taszár, in the south of our country, and by sending a logistical contingent of 500 people, which last year was able to rebuild 20 bridges used for railway and surface transportation. That contingent also began demining operations in the immediate vicinity of those bridges. This year the contingent is continuing its reconstruction activities without interruption, in order to facilitate the resumption of normal economic and commercial life in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Likewise, my country has participated in the operations of the International Police Task Force since it was created and at the beginning of this year again increased the number of its personnel serving in the Force.

Nevertheless, we note that the efforts made to improve the economic situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina could be accelerated further if the necessary economic legislation were implemented and if the functioning of the central bodies were made more effective. It is harmful for Bosnia and Herzegovina that the laws which are absolutely necessary for the recovery of the country's economic life have not yet been approved by the competent bodies because of differences in views, a lack of confidence or the absence of political will.

Nor can we fail to underscore the importance of reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for if peace and political and economic stability are not accompanied by the corresponding psychological changes in the citizenry, the situation in the country will remain fragile and the results of the peace process may be reversed. Administering justice, monitoring respect for human rights - including the rights of minorities - education, spreading the values of democracy and a free press could contribute greatly to this process.

We note with satisfaction the arrest in Bosnia and Herzegovina of two more individuals accused of war crimes. We encourage the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Stabilization Force to continue their activities in this sphere, while emphasizing the need to secure the full cooperation of all three communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and of neighbouring countries as well, so that the number of those brought to justice will accurately reflect the true dimensions of the atrocities committed there. It is time we remembered the bitter lessons of this bloody century of ours, recalling the words spoken at Nuremberg in November 1945 by the United States judge Robert Jackson:

(spoke in English)

"The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant and so devastating that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored, because it cannot survive their being repeated".

(spoke in French)

One might well wonder how many times the horrors of the past will have to be repeated. The parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the immediate neighbours of that country must also shoulder their share of the responsibility in efforts to reject vigorously aggressive nationalist, racist and ethnocentric theories - theories that in fact contributed greatly to kindling the inferno in the former Yugoslavia.

We are convinced that in spite of the difficulties and the passage of time, the international community must not turn away from the developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and must maintain its civilian and military presence in that country. Here, Hungary welcomes yesterday's announcement on this matter by the President of the United States, and is prepared to continue to contribute to reaching the objectives of the Dayton Agreement. The Security Council can play an enormous role in the uniquely complex endeavour aimed at restoring normalcy to this sorely tried country.