Arms reduction period ends for former warring Yugoslav republics

VIENNA, 21 November 1997 - The Parties to the Agreement on Sub-Regional Arms Control (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska) have significantly reduced the level of their arms holdings. As of the end of the Agreement's Reduction Period on 31 October, the former warring Parties had destroyed close to 6,600 armaments.

According to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office for the Agreement, Ambassador Vigleik Eide, "this should be considered a milestone in the peace process and all five Parties should be recognized for coming this far."

The Agreement's review body, the Sub-Regional Consultative Commission, which includes Representatives of the Parties, is meeting in Vienna today to discuss the results of the Reduction Period.

At the meeting, Ambassador Eide, who chairs the Commission, announced that the Parties had reduced a total of over 700 battle tanks, 80 armored combat vehicles, 60 combat aircraft, and more than 5700 pieces of artillery. These reductions are even somewhat in excess of the amounts identified by the Parties to meet the ceilings required by the Agreement.

Amb. Eide noted other achievements in implementation which include the establishment of an effective inspection regime whereby 185 inspections were conducted since August 1996; a routine exchange of information on military forces; and a constructive working relationship within the Sub-Regional Consultative Commission.

Under the auspices of the OSCE and chaired by Amb. Eide, negotiations on an arms control agreement, called for under Article IV of Annex 1-B of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Dayton Accords), took place in Vienna between January and June 1996. The resulting "Agreement on Sub-Regional Arms Control" was signed in Florence on 14 June 1996 by the five Parties. In the Agreement, the Parties recognized "the importance of achieving balanced and stable defense force levels at the lowest numbers consistent with their respective security."

Pursuant to the Agreement, ceilings in five categories of conventional armaments (battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, combat aircraft, attack helicopters and artillery pieces) came into effect as of 1 November 1997 and will remain in force for the unlimited duration of the Agreement. Within the specific ceilings, the Parties are free to structure, equip and train their forces as they choose.