FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA

Transcription

1 FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA Ten recommendations to the OSCE for human rights guarantees in the Kosovo Verification Mission Introduction On 16 October 1998 an agreement was signed between Mr Bronislaw Geremek, the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and Mr. ivadin Jovanovi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), to establish the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission, pursuant to a UN Security Council resolution calling on the OSCE to do so. Subsequently, Security Council resolution 1203 of 24 October 1998 endorsed and supported that agreement. The latter envisages a 2,000-strong force of unarmed verifiers to be posted to Kosovo, the largest ever such operation to be mounted by the OSCE. On 15 October 1998 the FRY government also signed an agreement with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to establish the NATO Air Verification Mission in Kosovo. The 16 October agreement between the OSCE and the FRY was the result of intense negotiations, conducted under the threat of military intervention by NATO, leading to an accord between the FRY President, Mr. Slobodan Miloševi, and US Special Envoy, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, announced in Belgrade on 13 October The 16 October agreement binds the OSCE and the FRY government to comply with and contribute to the FRY implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1199 of 23 September That resolution calls for... the withdrawal from Kosovo of security units used for civilian repression. Indeed, the Kosovo Verification Mission of the OSCE is mandated to verify compliance by all parties in Kosovo with resolution 1199 in which the Security Council also expresses, amongst others, being deeply concerned... by reports of increasing violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law, and emphasizing the need to ensure that the rights of all inhabitants of Kosovo are respected. The resolution urges the authorities to facilitate... the safe return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes and allow free and unimpeded access for humanitarian organizations and supplies to Kosovo and Underlines... the need for the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to bring to justice those members of the security forces who have been involved in the mistreatment of civilians and the deliberate destruction of property. And in resolution 1203 of 24 October 1998 the Security Council adds being: Deeply concerned at the recent closure by the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of independent media outlets in the Federal Amnesty International October 1998 AI Index: EUR 70/86/98

2 Republic of Yugoslavia, and emphasizing the need for these to be allowed freely to resume their operations. Amnesty International s Concerns about the October agreements These provisions strengthen Amnesty International in its view that the protection and promotion of human rights should be central to agreements reached with the FRY government about Kosovo, as the organization has urged to be the case in all international peace-keeping operations. Amnesty International reiterates that it takes no position on the political status of Kosovo; it is solely concerned with the protection of human rights of individuals. The organization believes that any agreements regarding Kosovo, whether or not its status is changed, should contain strong provisions that reflect a serious, consistent and long-term commitment to protect and promote human rights effectively in Kosovo, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) as a whole. This, however, is not the case. Amnesty International notes that the 16 October agreement concluded in Belgrade between the OSCE and the FRY pays some attention to human rights, but its provisions are extremely weak. The Verification Mission is mandated to accompany police units in Kosovo in the course of their normal policing roles upon request. However, instead of being firmly entrusted with actively and independently monitoring, protecting and promoting human rights, the agreement merely stipulates that the Mission will receive information from the government about possible human rights violations: the Mission Director will receive periodic updates from the relevant authorities concerning eventual allegations of abusive actions by military or police personnel. Moreover, Amnesty International is concerned that the agreement does not provide for monitors or police training and assistance in international criminal justice and human rights standards such as the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. Although the agreement s Specific Terms of Reference provide for the Mission Director s assistance in the establishment of Kosovo institutions and police force development in Kosovo, neither the nature of that assistance nor the institutions to receive it are specified. Human rights are not mentioned. Furthermore, the agreement provides for humanitarian assistance to displaced persons to facilitate their return to their homes. However, it does not seek to provide adequate security to them or to asylum-seekers wishing to return home, or to provide reparation to those whose houses have been destroyed solely because of their ethnic or political views. Amnesty International s deep concerns about the 16 October agreement are not confined to the weakness of its provisions dealing with human rights. Reports indicate that those being recruited into the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission at this stage are solely persons with a police or military background, and do not yet include people with human rights experience or field experience as human rights monitors although Amnesty International understands that there are proposals to recruit some of them. When negotiations between the Contact Group, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) were being completed in the second week of October, Amnesty International made detailed

3 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Recommendations to the OSCE 3 recommendations for the promotion and protection of human rights in Kosovo, applicable to any international mission, in its paper Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Essential human rights guarantees for Kosovo - Amnesty International s recommendations, 13 October 1998 (AI Index: EUR 70/77/98). In that paper Amnesty International listed essential guarantees that should be incorporated in any agreement concerning Kosovo. These include an effective, clearly mandated, adequately resourced, specialized international human rights verification mechanism, with full guarantees to enable it to function impartially and independently from ongoing political processes. It should be able to receive complaints, to carry out full and unhindered investigations and have access to remote areas where violations are more likely to occur, and have a capacity to ensure that remedial action is taken. There should be an effective and coordinated human rights program involving early and ongoing consultation with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the OSCE s own Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). Amnesty International welcomes reports that the OSCE now has contacts with these bodies with regard to Kosovo since the failure to ensure that ODIHR was an essential component of the planning and implementation of the OSCE mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina contributed to the serious problems which arose over the past three years in efforts to protect and promote human rights in that country. Amnesty International also recommended that long-term peace building methods to rebuild strong, effective and independent institutions be incorporated in the mission s design. These recommendations are still highly relevant to the verification mission now being established in Kosovo and are attached in full in the Appendix to this paper. They are based on Amnesty International s 15-point program for Implementing Human Rights in International Peace-keeping Operations. Time to act for human rights It is not too late to act to incorporate a strong human rights dimension in the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission. Amnesty International is encouraged to see that a proposal for a Human Rights Verification Mechanism to be implemented through a Human Rights Department with a clear mandate for quick, credible and transparent human rights monitoring, has already been put before the OSCE by ODIHR. This envisages the deployment of human rights officers in field offices. International human rights and humanitarian organizations with relevant Kosovo experience have also been contacted. Amnesty International urges the OSCE to place concern for the protection and promotion of human rights in Kosovo at the top of the agenda of the mission s operational program that is now being established and to consider whether such a Human Rights Verification mechanism can be implemented. OSCE experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that Amnesty International October 1998 AI Index: EUR 70/86/98

4 4 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Recommendations to the OSCE of United Nations missions points to building, at the start of a mission of this nature, an effective and well-coordinated human rights program with clearly demarcated responsibilities between the various bodies involved. Building on this experience and the proposals already made, Amnesty International urges the OSCE to take the following steps: Amnesty International s recommends that the OSCE take 10 steps: 1. Ensure that the promotion and protection of human rights is integrated into all aspects of the planning and implementation of the Kosovo Verification Mission, including by full and ongoing involvement of the OHCHR and ODIHR into that process, as recommended in Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Essential human rights guarantees for Kosovo - Amnesty International s recommendations. 2. Ensure that the OSCE and the UN demarcate clear divisions of responsibility and establish mutually supportive working relationships, including by sharing all human rights information and establishing clear channels of reporting. In particular, the OSCE should liaise or continue to liaise with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur to the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the FRY. UN specialized agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as well as governmental and non-governmental experts should also be part of an ongoing consultation process. National and international non-governmental organizations should be part of the consultation process at every stage of the planning and implementation of the mission. 3. Ensure that there are no silent witnesses in the mission and that all staff understand that they are to report human rights violations by government forces and abuses by armed political groups immediately to the head of the mission and share information with relevant intergovernmental organizations, notably the OHCHR. 4. Ensure that highly qualified individuals experienced in human rights, particularly those with human rights field experience, are among those selected for the mission and are deployed in headquarters as well as the various field offices. 5. Ensure that an effective training program in human rights and humanitarian law is developed as a matter of priority for all staff in the mission. The AI Index: EUR 70/86/98 Amnesty International October 1998

5 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Recommendations to the OSCE 5 program should be developed in close cooperation with the OHCHR. It should include a guide for action for mission personnel when confronted with incidents that involve violations or abuses of human rights. Monitors who accompany the police should have the capacity to train the police in these human rights and humanitarian standards. 6. Ensure that the mission has access to all parts of Kosovo, including to places where persons detained in Kosovo are held, as well as to other parts of the FRY to which such detainees are transferred or where internally displaced persons from Kosovo live. Ensure a commitment by all parties to clarify the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared and missing, and to comply fully with the provisions of the UN Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. 7. Ensure that the mission develops effective channels to address the authorities when reports of human rights violations or abuses require prompt intervention to remedy them. 8. Ensure that regular, comprehensive and public reports of the mission s activities and concerning human rights violations and abuses are issued to the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and the Security Council. All such information should be shared with the OHCHR. 9. Ensure that the mission incorporates long-term planning for the rebuilding or creation of national institutions with responsibility for the promotion and protection of human rights, as recommended in Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Essential human rights guarantees for Kosovo - Amnesty International s recommendations (section 4). 10. Ensure that the mission receives all the resources it requires, including all necessary equipment and funding, to promote and protect human rights effectively. Amnesty International October 1998 AI Index: EUR 70/86/98

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7 APPENDIX: Essential human rights guarantees for Kosovo - Amnesty International s Recommendations Introduction This document sets out Amnesty International s recommendations to governments and international organizations for the protection of human rights in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the context of the negotiations over Kosovo between US envoy, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and the Yugoslav President, Slobodan Miloševi. These discussion are taking place in October 1998 in the wake of United Nations Security Council Resolutions and the threat of military intervention by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). On 13 October it was announced that an agreement was taking shape in which some 2,000 observers would be deployed in a verification mission by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in order to verify the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia s (FRY) compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1199 (1998) and avert air-strikes which NATO had threatened. The agreement is expected to call for further negotiations over the crisis in the province. The recommendations which follow are based on Amnesty International s 15 point program for Implementing Human Rights in International Peace-keeping Operations. Amnesty International s recommendations: Amnesty International urges that any agreement concerning the situation in Kosovo address the following concerns: 1. The central place of human rights in agreements Concern for human rights protection and promotion should drive all current efforts towards a settlement of the critical situation in Kosovo. The international community should insist that any agreement between the various parties, which reportedly includes a 2,000 strong verification mission, contains strong provisions that reflect a serious, consistent and long term commitment to protect and promote human rights effectively in Kosovo, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) as a whole.

8 2. Essential guarantees Any settlement agreed should, as a minimum, include: A. A list of specific human rights and standards which the parties agree to observe and protect, including those to which the FRY is already a party. These should include full human rights guaranteed in international and national human rights and criminal justice standards, whichever grants the highest degree of protection. The list of specific rights should include the right of asylum-seekers and internally displaced persons to return to their homes in safety and security as well as the right of all persons to seek, receive and impart information and ideas without interference or threats; B. An effective, clearly mandated, adequately resourced, specialised international human rights verification mechanism, to supervise the observance of this human rights component, with full guarantees to function impartially and independently from ongoing political processes. The mandate of that mechanism should include: receiving complaints, full and unhindered investigations including access to remote areas where violations are more likely to occur, and a capacity to ensure that remedial action is taken. Any investigations should conform to the United Nations (UN) Principles for the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, and follow the Guidelines for the conduct of United Nations inquiries into allegations of massacres; C. An agreement to ratify and implement in law and practice the major human rights treaties, both in respect of international instruments, including the (First) Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and appropriate regional instruments; D. Full and unhindered access by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to carry out its mandate throughout the FRY, and to transfer persons indicted by the ICTY into its custody, in order to ensure that past abuses are effectively investigated and that the perpetrators are brought to justice. With regard to national courts, there must be a commitment by the government to bring those responsible for human rights violations to justice. There can be no lasting peace without justice; E. Prompt access to detainees at risk of torture or ill-treatment and a commitment by all parties to clarify the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared and missing, and to comply fully with the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance;

9 3 F. Effective provisions for fair and adequate reparation to victims of human rights violations, including compensation for deliberate destruction of houses as punishment; G. Effective guarantees for non-governmental organizations to operate freely throughout the country with unhindered access to any areas. 3. An effective and coordinated human rights program The UN s High Commissioner for Human Rights should be involved in the design of any such program. The High Commissioner s Office in the FRY has just been accorded official status under a status agreement being concluded with the FRY authorities and is therefore well placed to play a prominent role in human rights provisions of the agreement. The Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia should also be consulted. Should the OSCE assume a prominent role in supervising the agreement, as currently reported, by employing a several thousand strong verification mission, it would be highly advisable for the Organization to liaise forthwith with the UN High Commissioner and the Commission s Special Rapporteur and with its own Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). The UN and OSCE should demarcate clear divisions of responsibility as well as establish mutually supportive working relationships, including the sharing of all human rights information and clear channels of reporting. Intergovernmental organizations, UN specialized agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as well as governmental and non-governmental experts should also be consulted at an early stage. Should human rights monitors be employed by the OSCE, particular attention should be paid to appointing qualified persons with human rights expertise. All UN or OSCE-led field operations should be instructed to monitor compliance with obligations undertaken to uphold and protect international human rights and humanitarian law. There should be no silent witnesses. Clear and coordinated channels should be established to report on the human rights situation. There should be comprehensive, frequent, and public reports to the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and the Security Council. All human rights information should be shared with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. This will ensure that full human rights information is also available to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights s Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, as well as to the Commission s thematic Rapporteurs and Working Groups. 4. Incorporate long-term peace building methods The agreement should envisage detailed, long-term peace building methods to re-build strong, effective and independent institutions and provide appropriate support for the same. They should include: Amnesty International October 1998 AI Index: EUR 70/86/98 (Appendix)

10 4 A. Measures to facilitate the functioning of an independent and impartial judicial system at all levels; B. The creation of national institutions for human rights protection to which individuals can have immediate access for redress. These might include one or more Ombudspersons who could focus on the implementation of specific human rights commitments and / or a national human rights commission operating on the basis of relevant international standards; C. The recruitment or reconstruction of a balanced and qualified police force that has the full confidence of the local community as well as the training of that force in human rights standards, especially the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the Guidelines for the Effective Implementation of the Code, the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, as well as the Principles for the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions; D. Providing assistance in drafting and revising legislation to make laws and practices comply with international standards; devising, in cooperation with national non-governmental organizations, programs of human rights education among all parties concerned; and a vigorous public information program on human rights, including on the right to freedom of expression and association and the rights of detainees; E. Providing support for national human rights organisations enabling them to contribute to efforts to promote and protect human rights without any form of interference, threat or harassment. Information about Amnesty International s current and recent concerns in Kosovo is provided in the series of documents: A human rights crisis in Kosovo province which have been issued since June AI Index: EUR 70/86/98 (Appendix) Amnesty International October 1998