Bosnia
and Herzegovina Project
Independent
Commission on UNPROFOR
Two
members of the Group served on the British-based Independent Commission
on UNPROFOR, which evaluated the overall effectiveness of the UNPROFOR
deployment and made recommendations for improving its ability to
accomplish its mandate.
Draft
UN General Assembly Resolution
Together
with diplomatic representatives of Turkey, Venezuela, Malaysia,
Morocco and Pakistan the Group drafted a UN General Assembly resolution
declaring that the UN arms embargo may not be legitimately applied
to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Bosnia
Electoral Reform
The
Balkan Action Council, a program of PILPG, prepared a report outlining
the electoral obstacles to attaining self-sustaining peace in Bosnia
and recommended several specific reforms to improve the multiethnic
and democratic aspects of the electoral process. The report was
promoted during two trips to Bosnia and during discussions with
U.S. decision-makers. It was also widely disseminated to congressional
staff members, foreign government representatives, the media and
others.
Balkan
Action Council
The
Council, a program of PILPG, implemented an active educational and
advocacy effort on a range of Balkan issues that initially focused
heavily on Dayton implementation. Utilizing an Executive Committee
of former senior U.S. Government officials including Morton Abramowitz,
Zbigniew Brzezinski, Frank Carlucci, Max Kampelman, Jeane Kirkpatrick,
Helmut Sonnenfeldt, and Paul Wolfowitz, the Council developed policy
alternatives and communicated them to officials and the media.
The
Council was particularly active during the Kosovo war, with briefings
for the media, op-eds and discussions with U.S. and NATO officials.
A press conference held at the National Press Club at which several
members of the Executive Committee urged that U.S. ground troops
be considered for Kosovo received prominent coverage in the national
media, including the primary evening news programs and CNN.
The
Council also worked closely with members of the then-Serbian democratic
opposition to encourage broader-based cooperation within Serbia
and U.S. government funding for democratization efforts via the
National Endowment for Democracy. The Council helped organize visits
to Washington by democratic opposition leaders. In a related effort,
the Council provided strong support for measures to uphold the security
of Montenegro, which broke with FRY President Slobodan Milosevic
and served as a crucial base of operations for the Serbian democratic
opposition and media.
Brcko
Arbitration
The
Group provided focused legal and political counsel to the Government
of Bosnia-Herzegovina on matters relating to the arbitration of
the municipality of Brcko.
State
Succession
The
Group provided assistance to the Government of Bosnia-Herzegovina
on matters of state succession related to the Brussels Conference
on State Succession.
Policy
Planning
The
Group participated in a series of policy-planning workshops directed
by the President of Bosnia for the purpose of developing a post-Dayton
policy for peace in the Balkans. The Group also participated in
a number of conferences in Stockholm, Sarajevo, and Dayton designed
to establish a blueprint for a post-Dayton peace in Bosnia.
Asylum
Members
of the Group provided expert testimony concerning the political
asylum applications of refugees from the territory of the former
Yugoslavia.
|
