By: Nemsie Gonzalez

Tensions rise amidst crisis in Bosnia, forcing the Security Council to produce a resolution amongst weeks of infighting. On 8 February 1994, the Secretary-General shared statements from the Bosnian Muslim Government with the Council, “It is clear that the United Nations has no interest in protecting civilians, they support the ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims.” 

This response comes after weeks of infighting within the Security Council over potential solutions. As tensions rise, so too has the desperation of the Security Council. Various solutions have been presented and individual actions taken by participating United Nations Member States which have explicitly gone against the arms embargo placed on the region from Security Council Resolution 713. 

In response to violations of the agreed upon arms embargo, Representative Mariah McKenzie of Nigeria raised concerns to the body and was met with little acknowledgement from the Council. When asked for comment, Representative Mckenzie said, “It is known publicly that Iran has sent weapons to the Muslim Bosnian Faction, there are States in the region letting arms pass through.”

The Bosnian Serbian Rebel group, formally known as Republika Srpska, said when asked about their response to arms embargo violations, “I am not surprised. Several members pretend to be impartial but clearly benefit from NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] arms going to their preferred factions.” 

Conflicts of interest between NATO members have been prevalent throughout the various working sessions, with violations of NATO’s no-fly zone in Bosnia by Brazil, the United States and the Russian Federation through their aid deliveries and resource allocations. “As a result of our operators being strictly peaceful in nature, we will do whatever we have to do to protect the people fulfilling the mission,” said Representative Dante Girolimon of the United Kingdom, in reference to protecting peace keepers. 

“We’re disappointed by our fellow Member States. Some people aren’t holding up their end of the deal,” said Representatives Evan Fisher and Jack Koontz of the Russian Federation, referring to the ongoing violations of the arms embargo.  

When asked about their switch in position between NATO and the Security Council, Representative Talulu Hayes of the United States said, “So we had chosen to change the position in that way as things are going currently because … action needed to be taken .. especially in this case where we were able to aid those that were injured by flying them out .. It is clear to see that this aid is really needed to have an actionable plan. We can’t continue working if things aren’t changing for the people, for those actively dying in the war zone.” At the time of this decision the Council had not passed any resolutions nor had they completed any working papers. They have since passed two working papers to increase aid, armed vehicles, small arms and other resources.   

The Security Council’s inaction can largely be traced back to their commitments to diplomatic neutrality with Member States, as remarked upon by Representative Sadie Frank of Oman who said, “Oman is very focused on maintaining diplomatic neutrality.” 

“Addressing [the crisis in Bosnia] in a timely manner, rather than arguing the nuances, would be more productive,” Representative Anna Palmquist of Rwanda said. Comments were shared amidst a stall in debate where Representatives went back and forth on the logistics of delivering aid while maintaining the appearance of neutrality to all involved rebel groups and government. 

“I believe the commitment to neutrality is aspirational at best and an abandonment of their responsibility the higher priority is not that they be neutral but that they maintain security and when there is a multi-party war ongoing, it becomes difficult to stay neutral innocent bystanders dying in the name of neutrality helps no one. In these cases, ‘neutrality’ means they have chosen a side,” said the Representative of Republika Srpska.

Despite some aid being provided to the Bosnian region by the Representatives Elie Jabbour and Brenna Uppeleger of Brazil, the Representative Claire Czajkowski and Representative Hayes of the United States and from the Representatives Fisher and Koontz of the Russian Federation, all parties of the dispute expressed frustration with the lack of aid getting into Bosnia. “What has been done is not nearly enough. A couple of planes do not rectify anything. At minimum, the United Nations must lift the embargo on arms so we can protect ourselves,” said a Representative of the Bosnian Muslim Government.  

During a consultative session following the invocation of the Parties to the Dispute, Representatives discussed the merits of lifting the arms embargo. The majority of the Council pushed against an end to the arms embargo with few outliers; Representative Brennan Pelletier of Pakistan said, “We are in support of the embargo placed on the Serbs but we are against the one placed on the Bosnian government we believe it is contributing to an uneven distribution of weaponry.” 

When asked to comment on the recent attacks on United Nations safe zones, the Bosnian Serbs said, “We are enforcing our borders while the security council waits to decide what they’ll recognize.” It seems that the Security Council may need to make clear their stance on the legitimacy of involved parties. 

In response to public outcry and criticisms from the Bosnian Muslim Government, the Security Council released a presidential letter reaffirming their stance against ethnic cleansing. Additionally, the Security Council moved to pass two resolutions, one of which provides an increase in small arms for use by the United Nations Protections Force. In a recent press conference, when asked about the potential danger of bringing in arms during the time of an arms embargo, the Representatives Ryan Crissman and Nathan Barber of Djibouti said they “currently do not have a stance” on such matters though they expressed openness to potential sanctions. 

Despite the committee passing two resolutions, warfare continues between all involved parties in Bosnia. Bosnian Muslim civilians have stated feeling “they’re worried the United Nations will abandon them to the Bosnian Serb.” Further the Bosnian government reports over 2000 civilians have recently been killed in an attack from the Bosnian Serbs.