UNITED NATIONS PROTECTION FORCE

On 8 October 1991, then Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar appointed Mr. Cyrus Vance, former United States Secretary of State, as his Personal Envoy for Yugoslavia. Thereafter, the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy maintained constant contact with all the parties to the conflict, with the Presidency of the European Community, with the Chairman of the CSCE-participating States, with Lord Carrington, then Chairman of the European Community's Conference on Yugoslavia, and with other interested parties in their efforts to find a solution to the crisis. It soon became clear that the most valuable contribution the United Nations could make at that stage was a peace-keeping operation to create the necessary conditions for the pursuit of political negotiations for a peaceful settlement.