Taken at the Meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Permanent Session NATO Headquarters, Brussels, 22 Apr. 1994

Decisions on the Protection of Safe Areas (1) The COUNCIL: condemned the recent Bosnian Serb attacks against the UN-declared safe area of Gorazde and the threats to the other safe areas; reaffirmed the readiness of the Alliance, as stated in the January NATO Summit, to support the UN in its efforts to protect the safe areas, as authorized under UN Security Council Resolutions 824, 836 and 844, noting also Security Council Resolution 913; reaffirmed its support for negotiated settlement of the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina and called for the intensification of the efforts to achieve a peaceful settlement; and in this context, welcomed the coordi- nation and close consultation between the United States, the Russian Federation, the United Nations and the European Union, with the aim of bringing together current diplomatic initiatives; reiterated its determination to carry out its previous decisions in support of UNPROFOR including its decisions of 9th February concerning Sarajevo; supported efforts underway to establish a cease-fire in Bosnia-Herzegovina and called for an immediate end to all Bosnian Serb attacks against the safe areas; demanded strict respect for the safety of UNPROFOR and other UN and relief agency personnel throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina and for the right of free access of all these personnel to UN-designated safe areas, and reaffirmed NATO's readiness to provide close air support in the event Bosnian Serb forces attack UNPROFOR or other UN and relief agency personnel throughout Bosnia Herzegovina or forcibly interface with the conduct of their mandate; agreed that a "military exclusion zone" (within the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina) is established for 20 kilometres around Gorazde, which calls for all Bosnian Serb heavy weapons (including tanks, artillery pieces, mortars, multiple rocket launches, missiles and anti-aircraft weapons) to be withdrawn by 0001 GMT on 27th April 1994; agreed that if the safe areas of Bihac, Srebrenica, Tuzla or Zepa are attacked by heavy weapons from any range or if, in the common judgement of the NATO Military Commanders and UN Military Commanders, there is a concentration or movement of heavy weapons within a radius of 20 kilometres of these areas (within the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina) which threatens those areas they will, for the purposes of this decision and without further action of the Council, be designated, individually or collectively, military exclusion zones, and due public notice to governments and to the parties will be given if and when this happens. The exact line of the perimeter of these areas will be established jointly by UNPROFOR and CINCSOUTH; in pursuit of these objectives, and in response to the request of the UN Secretary General of 18th April 1994, agreed: that, with immediate effect, if any Bosnian Serb attacks involving heavy weapons are carried out on the UN-designated safe areas of Gorazde, Bihac, Srebrenica, Tuzla and Zepa, these weapons and other Bosnian Serb Military assets, as well as their direct and essential military support facilities, including but not limited to fuel installations and munitions sites, will be subject to NATO air strikes, in accordance with the procedural arrangements worked out between NATO and UNPROFOR following the Council's Decisions of the 2nd and 9th August 1993; that, after 0001 GMT on 27th April 1994, if any Bosnian Serb heavy weapons are within any designated military exclusion zone as described above, these weapons and other Bosnian Serb military assets, as well as their direct and essential military support facilities, includ- ing but not limited to fuel installations and munitions sites, will be subject to NATO air strikes, in accordance with the procedural arrangements worked out between NATO and UNPROFOR following the Council's decisions of 2nd and 9th August 1993; that consistent with its decisions of 2nd and 9th August 1993, any violation of the above provisions of this decision will, without further action by the Council, constitute grounds for the NATO Military Authorities to initiate air attacks in conformity with targeting options as mentioned in 9 (a) and (b), including any other military assets directly related to the violation and located in the vicinity of the area concerned. Such attacks will be carried out in coordination with UNPROFOR; that the NATO Military Authorities, if they judge it necessary to respond effectively to a particular violation of the above provisions of this decision, may recommend the initiation of additional air attacks, to be carried out in coordination with UNPROFOR. Such recommendations will be conveyed to the Secretary General through the NATO chain of command for Council decision; that, once air attacks have been carried out against a specific target set pursuant to these decisions, the NATO Military Authorities may continue to carry out, in coordination with UNPROFOR, the attacks against that target set until NATO Military Authorities judge the mission to be accomplished; to reaffirm the Council's decision of 9th February 1994 authorizing the appropriate NATO Military Authorities to initiate air attacks to suppress air defences that would represent a direct threat to NATO aircraft in carrying out the above operations once decided upon. Such attacks will be carried out using the agreed coordination procedures with UNPROFOR. NATO forces will retain their obligation and prerogative to take all necessary and appropriate action for self-defence in the case of an observed hostile act; to instruct the NATO Military Authorities to delegate to CINCSOUTH the necessary authority to implement these decisions, in coordination with UNPROFOR in accordance with the relevant OPLAN, as prescribed by the Council on 2nd and 9th August 1993; called upon the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina not to undertake offensive military action from within the safe areas and, to this end, to cooperate with any UNPROFOR monitoring of their heavy weapons; invited the Secretary General to inform the Secretary General of the United Nations of these decisions. Footnote: Greece recalled her position as stated in the Council.