U.S. Wants U.N. Edged Out of Bosnia Programs : Aid: Clinton insists on importance of ‘benefits of peace.’ But critics say elbowing aside of world body may hamper civilian relief effort.

Although the spotlight is on the deployment of troops to Bosnia, President Clinton and other policymakers are now also calling attention to the host of unheralded civilian programs that may be as crucial as the military operation in determining whether long-term peace takes hold.

Questions abound about the wisdom and feasibility of the nonmilitary programs set down in the Dayton, Ohio, peace agreement: elections, resettlement of refugees, human rights monitoring, police training and economic reconstruction.

No one denies their importance. Clinton told a group of human rights workers in the White House this week that the military mission of “creating a climate of security” would allow “a separate, broad international relief effort for relief and reconstruction to begin. . . .

“I cannot overstate the importance of that effort,” he went on. “For peace to endure, the people of Bosnia must receive the tangible benefits of peace.”

But some critics believe that the civilian programs, which still lack definition and detailed planning, may be hampered in getting off the ground by the Clinton administration’s insistence that the United Nations--which has worked in Bosnia-Herzegovina for more than three years--be used as little as possible. The world organization has more than 1,000 civilian workers in Bosnia and an infrastructure of communication, transportation, equipment and files. Unless they tap into this source, other agencies may have trouble starting their programs.

Worried about the woeful reputation that the U.N. peacekeepers acquired during the war, administration officials are adamant that the civilian side of the Bosnia mission not look like a U.N. operation.

This has evoked a good deal of bitterness among U.N. officials who argue that their humanitarian work during the war saved the lives of several hundred thousand people in Bosnia. “There is an overwhelming predilection in Washington to look on the U.N. as a scarlet letter,” said a U.N. official in Zagreb, the Croatian capital, with biting sarcasm. “The Americans don’t want to compromise the vigor of the [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] operation.”

*

The same anti-U.N. mood has created a good deal of confusion about the role of the High Representative, the official authorized by the Dayton agreement to coordinate the various civilian missions. Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt is regarded as the leading candidate for the job and is expected to be confirmed for the position today.

But the agreement does not make clear to whom the High Representative will be responsible. The Norwegian government, which is contributing 1,000 troops to the NATO force, proposed recently that U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali select and supervise the High Representative.

Washington dismissed the suggestion. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke, the chief U.S. negotiator at Dayton, told reporters recently that one of the main U.S. demands in the peace negotiations last month was “not to have him [the High Representative] report to New York,” the U.N. headquarters.

The Clinton administration maintains that elections will be the most important of the civilian programs. Holbrooke, in fact, called elections “a test” of the success of the NATO mission.

There are those who doubt the test will succeed. James A. Schear of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, reflecting the view of many scholars like himself who know Bosnia well, said: “It will be very, very difficult to pull them off within the [agreement’s] time frame of six to nine months.”

Registration will be arduous in a country where about 2.7 million people, more than half the prewar population, have fled their hometowns and villages. To complicate matters further, refugees will have the choice of voting either where they are living now or in the constituency from which they fled.

According to the Dayton agreement, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a European-wide association with little staff, will supervise legislative and presidential elections for three governmental components: the Muslim-Croat federation, the Bosnian Serb republic and the loose federation that unites them.

There are some second thoughts now about placing these tense problems in the hands of the European agency, which has no experience running elections. “If the OSCE can’t do this,” Holbrooke said, “we’ve left open the possibility of moving it to the U.N.”

Refugee resettlement is another nettlesome problem. According to the Dayton agreement, refugees will have the right to either return home or receive compensation for the property that was taken from them during the war.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, which handled the enormous problem of refugees during the war, was the logical agency to remain in charge of repatriation. Claims for compensation will be approved by a special commission headed by a chairman appointed by the president of the European Court of Human Rights.

Since “ethnic cleansing” was a hallmark of the war, most outsiders believe that most refugees will not try to go back to homes in areas now controlled by other ethnic groups. But some may try.

NATO wants no part of the resettlement effort. But NATO is charged by the Dayton agreement with creating a secure environment for resettlement attempts.

To set up a system of guaranteeing human rights, the Dayton accord provides for the European security organization to appoint a foreign ombudsman and for the Council of Europe to appoint a foreign majority of members in a Human Rights Chamber. In general, the ombudsman will investigate complaints of violations while the chamber reaches judgments about them. Neither will delve into war crimes.

U.S. officials predicted that the chamber may find itself heavily involved in resolving conflicts among ethnic groups. But it and the ombudsman may also have to discourage members of an ethnic group from unleashing reprisals against those in their midst who are accused of collaborating with the other side during the war.

*

The Dayton accord also calls for an International Police Task Force to train, advise and accompany police forces for the various governments in Bosnia.

The United Nations, which has trained police as part of its peacekeeping missions in Cambodia, El Salvador and other countries, will be in charge of the task force.

Although the Dayton accord does not make it explicit, the World Bank and the European Union will be in charge of the economic reconstruction of Bosnia, which may cost $6 billion over three years.

The Europeans want the U.S. to donate $1 billion, but Secretary of State Warren Christopher has told Congress that the administration intends to spend no more than $600 million over the next three years.