According to figures from the International Red Cross, almost 20,000 people are still missing from the wars in former Yugoslavia. The majority of these disappeared in areas taken by Serb forces. Mr Dole said the question of missing people was a humanitarian, not a political, issue, and he called on all the former warring parties to co-operate in solving it.

"I wish to make it clear that failure to co-operate will not be lost on the international community. And again, if these leaders want the help of the international community, politically or economically, they need to play by the rules."

Mr Dole was speaking after meetings with Bosnian Presidency members, Alija Izetbegovic and Kresimir Zubak. He said both leaders had assured him that they had no hidden detainees and that the exhumation of mass graves would begin again in the spring. Mr Dole said the International Commission on Missing Persons was ready to help in the exhumation process by providing de-mining and forensic assistance. There was no excuse, he said, for failing to deal with the issue of the missing.