UN Confidence Restoration Operation (UNCRO)
WARNING: Due to the nature of the conflict and operations in the Balkans, some of these articles may contain graphic or disturbing content. Please use your discretion. If an article adversely affects your mental health, consider seeking help by consulting the agencies listed in the Mental Health Resources section of this website.
UN Confidence Restoration Operation (UNCRO)
In March 1995, a Canadian infantry battalion group began serving with UNCRO. However, Croatians felt that the UN presence was stopping them from reclaiming former Croatian territory from the Serbs. When they attacked and overran the Krajina region, they ordered UN forces to leave. By mid-October, all Canadians had been withdrawn from the area.
UNCRO HQ, Zagreb, Croatia
Established on 31 March 1995 to replace UNPROFOR in Croatia. The troops and observers were deployed in Serb-controlled Western Slavonia, the Krajina region and Eastern Slavonia. Observers were also stationed in the Prevlaka peninsula. The new mandate included: (a) performing the functions envisaged in the cease-fire agreement of 29 March 1994; (b) facilitating implementation of the economic agreement of 2 December 1994; (c) facilitating implementation of all relevant Security Council resolutions; (d) assisting in controlling, by monitoring and reporting, the crossing of military personnel, equipment, supplies and weapons, over the international borders between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) at the border crossings; (e) facilitating the delivery of international humanitarian assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina through the territory of Croatia; and (f) monitoring the demilitarization of the Prevlaka peninsula.
It was decided that UNCRO should be an interim arrangement to create the conditions that would facilitate a negotiated settlement consistent with the territorial integrity of Croatia and which would guarantee the security and rights of all communities living in Croatia. Croatia's reintegration by force of Western Slavonia and the Krajina region in May and August 1995 effectively eliminated the need for United Nations troops in those areas and their withdrawal was initiated. However, in Eastern Slavonia - the last Serb-controlled territory in Croatia - the mandate of UNCRO remained essentially unchanged. The Government of Croatia and the Croatian Serb leadership agreed to resolve the issue of Eastern Slavonia through negotiation. United Nations-sponsored talks concluded with the signing of the Basic Agreement on the Region of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium on 12 November. The Agreement provided for the peaceful integration into Croatia of that region and requested the Security Council to establish a transitional administration to govern the region during the transitional period.
Following the establishment of the United Nations administration, the mandate of UNCRO was terminated on 15 January 1996.
The ribbon consists of a background of UN blue, with a central wide band of red, representing the United Nations Protected Areas (UNPAs), flanked by thin stripes of white. On the left side there is a narrow band of green, representing forests, and on the right side, a narrow band of brown, representing the mountains.
