Statement of Principles, International Conference on Yugoslavia (The London Conference)

• Country/entity

  Bosnia and Herzegovina
  Yugoslavia (former)
  
• Region

  Europe and Eurasia
  Europe and Eurasia
  
• Agreement name

  Statement of Principles, International Conference on Yugoslavia (The London Conference)
• Date

  26 Aug 1992
• Agreement status

  Multiparty signed/agreed
• Interim arrangement

  Yes
• Agreement/conflict level

  Interstate/intrastate conflict(s) ( Balkan Conflicts (1991 - 1995) (1998 - 2001) )
• Stage

  Pre-negotiation/process
• Conflict nature

  Government/territory
• Peace process

  Bosnia peace process
• Parties

  This was convened by Great Britain, which held the presidency of the EC at the time. The Participants were: The SFRY republics, the EC countries, the USA, China, Russia, Japan, Canada, The Republic of Czechoslovakia (as a state which held the presidency of CSCE – Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe) and the neighboring countries: Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania
• Third parties

  -
• Description

  This short agreement is mainly comprised of calls on conflicting parties to comply with international humanitarian law, respect agreed ceasefires and to reach a final settlement on the constitutional status of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

• Agreement document

  BA_920826_Statement of Principles, London Conference.pdf | Download PDF

Groups

Gender

State definition

Governance

Power sharing

Human rights and equality

Rights related issues

Rights institutions

Justice sector reform

Socio-economic reconstruction

Land, property and environment

Security sector

Transitional justice

Implementation

STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES

The London Conference has endorsed the following principles as the basis for a negotiated settlement of the problems of former Yugoslavia:

(i) the imperative need that all parties and others concerned should cease fighting and the use of force, should respect agreed ceasefires and restrain those who commit or seek to provoke breaches of them;

(ii) non-recognition of all advantages gained by force or fait accompli or of any legal consequence thereof;

(iii) the need for all parties concerned to engage actively, directly or through intermediaries, in negotiations on the basis of these principles;

(iv) respect for the highest standards of individual rights and fundamental freedoms in a democratic society, as embodied in the International Covenants of the United Nations on Human Rights, the European Conventim of Human Rights and its protocols and other instruments of the United Nations, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe;

(v) implementation of constitutional guarantees of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons belonging to ethnic and national communities and minorities, the promotion of tolerance and the right to self determination in accordance with the commitments entered into under the CSCE and in the EC Conference on Yugoslavia;

(vi) total condemnation of forcible expulsions, illegal detentions and attempts to change the ethnic composition of populations, and effective promotion of the closure of detention camps, and of the safe return to their homes of all persons displaced by the hostilities who wish this;

(vii) compliance by all persons with their obligations under international humanitarian law and particular the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and the personal responsibility of those who commit or order grave breaches of the Conventions;

(viii) the fundamental obligation to respect the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states in the region;

and to respect the inviolability of all frontiers in accordance with the UN Charter, the SCE Final Act and the Charter of Paris.

Rejection of all efforts to acquire territory and change borders by force;

(ix) the requirement that a final settlement of all question of succession to the fcrmer Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia must be reached by consensus or by arbitration and the commitment of all parties to recognise each other mutually, to respect each others' status and rights under any

such settlement and to share the duties and responsibilities of successor states;

(x) the obligations on all states and parties concerned to comply in full with all UN Security Council Resolutions on the crisis in the former Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia and to do their utmost to secure their implementation;

(xi) the vital need for humanitarian aid to be provided and, under appropriate protection and with the full cooperation of the local authorities, to reach the populations in need, with special consideration for the needs of children;

(xii) the obligation on all parties to cooperate wholeheartedly in the international monitoring, peacekeeping and arms control operations in the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and to contribute constructively to the suppression of violence throughout the area;

(xiii) the need to provide international guarantees to ensure the full implementation of all agreements reached within the framework of the International Conference.