Other peacekeeping-related matters.

• Author: Rutsch, Horst
• Position: Brief Article

Bosnia: European Union Police Mission (EUPM). The Security Council on 5 March hailed the European Union's decision to take over UN police training and monitoring duties following the end of the UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH). Starting on I January 2003, EUPM could be completed by the end of 2005.

Burundi: Refugees return home. UNHCR on 12 March said that 16,000 Burundian refugees living in Tanzanian camps had signed up for voluntary repatriation since the installation last November of the Transitional Government in Bujumbura. UNHCR assists more than 350,000 Burundian refugees living in seven camps. It is not yet promoting organized repatriation due to the prevailing insecurity inside Burundi.

Colombia: Preparations for possible exodus. In response to the breakdown of peace talks, UNHCR said it was preparing for a possible increase in the number of civilians seeking refuge due to the escalation in the 40-year conflict. It currently responds to the needs of some 1 million displaced persons in Colombia, which proportionally has one of the largest displaced populations in the world.

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Council mission to Great Lakes region. A Security Council delegation, led by Ambassador Jean-David Levitte of France, is scheduled to visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other countries in the region-Angola, Rwanda, Burundi, United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda--from 27 April to 7 May. The Inter-Congolese Dialogue, begun in Sun City, South Africa on 25 February, was temporarily suspended following hostilities, but resumed on 21 March after the Government and the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) agreed to withdraw troops from disputed towns. They agreed to withdraw forces from locations in the eastern part of the country: RCD from Moliro within five days and Pweto within 10 days, and the Congolese Armed Forces from Yayama and Kayaya, 120 kilometres west of Pweto, within 10 days. Observers from the Joint Military Committee would monitor the withdrawal.

Georgia: Concern over election plans. The United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) on 1 March reacted with concern to the announcement of elections in Abkhazia, rejecting them as illegitimate. It appealed to the Abkhaz authorities to refrain from "acts that may hamper the peace process, especially at the current crossroads', noting that a UN-prepared document on the distribution of competencies between Tbilisi and Sukhumi was ready for...