"EASTERN SLAVONIA"

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s principal judicial organ, has today rejected both Croatia’s claim of genocide against Serbia and Serbia’s counter-claim of genocide against Croatia. This Court’s judgment is final and cannot be appealed against. ICJ

Goran Hadzic appeared before the International Criminal Court for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) today in the Hague, Netherlands. The former wartime leader pleaded not guilty to the charges of murdering hundreds of Croats and expelling tens of thousands more in one of the first Balkan conflicts. ICTY

The Tribunal welcomed the arrest of Goran Hadžić in Serbia today, the last remaining fugitive who has been at-large for more than seven years. ICTY

A significant number of the 5,000 strong UN Peace-keepers have left Eastern Slavonia after stability has been restored to the area. The delicate problem of refugees and displaced people going back to their villages and finding their homes already occupied by others still has to be sorted out. The UN Civilian Police is working hand in hand with the local police to prevent human rights violations in the region.

The United Nations Transitional Administration

Briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesperson for Secretary-General with audio feed of Secretary-General Kofi Annan from Troutbeck Conference talks on Cyprus.

Briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Briefing by Fred Eckhard, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General; and Samsiah Abdul Majid, Spokesperson for the President of the General Assembly.

Security Council urges early formation of newly elected government in Croatia at the 3775th meeting.

UN peacekeepers and civilian personnel with UNTAES, the United Nations Transitional Administration in Eastern Slavonia, work with local people to ensure peace and tranquility during the transition to Croatian government control. One important project for UNTAES is the removal of more than 800,000 land-mines scattered around Lipovac in Eastern Slavonia during the war.