Serbia contained provisions guaranteeing the right to privacy, the confidentiality of personal correspondence and personal data and the inviolability of the home. There was no censorship of the mass media and any obstruction to the dissemination of information was prohibited unless it could be established that such information was intended to undermine the established constitutional order, to foment violence or racial hatred or to serve other unconstitutional ends. The use of State media by the ruling party was, however, an intricate issue, and in some republics it had been decided that the editorial board and management of such organs would be elected by parliament. 453. Legal provisions existed to protect children during armed conflict and Yugoslavia was bound by the provisions of various international conventions. Although efforts had been made to evacuate children and provide them with temporary homes, many children had fallen victim to the armed conflict and a high percentage of refugees were children. 454. The right to participate in the conduct of public affairs was fully implemented in Yugoslavia, with the exception of Kosovo where the majority of the Albanian population did not participate in public affairs in the province. That lack of participation was due, however, not to any limitation of their right, but to a deliberate boycott policy. In consequence, it had been necessary to suspend the Parliament of Kosovo and it was now up to the Albanians to take part in elections of the local administrative bodies, to be held later in 1992. Since the Albanian minorities did not recognize the authority of the State, official circles in the Serbian and Yugoslav Governments declined to make any efforts on behalf of the Albanians. The Union of Independent Trade Unions of Kosovo, which consisted solely of ethnic Albanians, had begun a dialogue with the Serbian Government concerning the issue of the dismissal of workers. The Albanian minority had also objected to certain school programmes on the ground that not enough importance had been attached to Albanian history and culture. The number of pupils in schools had decreased slightly and the Albanian-language newspaper as well as several schools had been closed owing the State's financial position. Although the Serbian Government had proposed negotiations with a view to solving all the outstanding problems, representatives of the Albanian minority had stated that they would participate only if the Serbian Government recognized the Republic of Kosovo, which the Serbian Government was unwilling to do. 455. Turning to other questions, the representative explained that an investigation had also been conducted on the question of conscription and had produced no evidence to substantiate claims that a disproportionate number of conscripts had been recruited from among the Hungarian minority. The Hungarian language was widely used in all areas of public life. The new Serbian Constitution recognized Vojvodina as an autonomous province and the rights of all minorities would continue to be respected. The Government had made great efforts in recent years to create an atmosphere of tolerance and cooperation between different ethnic and religious groups, at a time when the interethnic situation was deteriorating. Concluding observations by individual members 456. Members of the Committee expressed their appreciation of the fact that, despite the serious events that had occurred in the country, the federal -109-