| UN Security Council Resolution 815 | |
|---|---|
UN troops in Sarajevo | |
| Date | 30 March 1993 |
| Meeting no. | 3,189 |
| Code | S/RES/815 (Document) |
| Subject | Croatia |
Voting summary | 15 voted for None voted against None abstained |
| Result | Adopted |
| Security Council composition | |
Permanent members | |
Non-permanent members | |
United Nations Security Council resolution 815, adopted unanimously on 30 March 1993, after reaffirming Resolution 743 (1992) and all subsequent relevant resolutions concerning the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) including 802 (1993) and 807 (1993), the Council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, extended UNPROFOR's mandate for an additional interim period ending 30 June 1993.
United Nations Security Council resolution 743, adopted unanimously on 21 February 1992, after reaffirming resolutions 713 (1991), 721 (1991), 724 (1991), 727 (1992) and 740 (1992), and considering that the situation in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia constitutes a threat to international peace and stability, the Council established a peacekeeping mission in the country, known as the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), with the aim of reaching a peaceful political settlement in the region.
The United Nations Protection Force, was the first United Nations peacekeeping force in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav Wars. The force was formed in February 1992 and its mandate ended in March 1995, with the peacekeeping mission restructuring into three other forces.
United Nations Security Council resolution 802, adopted unanimously on 25 January 1993, after reaffirming Resolution 713 (1991) and all subsequent relevant resolutions and expressing its concern at offensives by the Croatian Army in the United Nations Protected Areas, the Council demanded the immediate cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of Croatian forces from the areas.
Contents
The Council members also noted that it would reconsider UNPROFOR's mandate one month after the adoption of the current resolution in light of any new developments. It also reaffirmed its support for the Co-Chairmen of the Steering Committee of the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia in their efforts to help to define the future status of those territories comprising the United Nations Protected Areas which are integral parts of Croatia, demanding full respect for the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law in these areas and freedom of movement for UNPROFOR. [1]
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, on the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro to the southeast, sharing a maritime border with Italy. Its capital, Zagreb, forms one of the country's primary subdivisions, along with twenty counties. Croatia has an area of 56,594 square kilometres and a population of 4.28 million, most of whom are Roman Catholics.
The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term Geneva Convention usually denotes the agreements of 1949, negotiated in the aftermath of the Second World War (1939–45), which updated the terms of the two 1929 treaties, and added two new conventions. The Geneva Conventions extensively defined the basic rights of wartime prisoners, established protections for the wounded and sick, and established protections for the civilians in and around a war-zone. The treaties of 1949 were ratified, in whole or with reservations, by 196 countries. Moreover, the Geneva Convention also defines the rights and protections afforded to non-combatants, yet, because the Geneva Conventions are about people in war, the articles do not address warfare proper—the use of weapons of war—which is the subject of the Hague Conventions, and the bio-chemical warfare Geneva Protocol.
International humanitarian law (IHL) is the law that regulates the conduct of war. It is that branch of international law which seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by protecting persons who are not participating in hostilities, and by restricting and regulating the means and methods of warfare available to combatants.
