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Harold Hongju Koh Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Introductory Remarks, Commission on Human Rights 55th Session, Geneva, Switzerland, April 23, 1999

Resolution L-34: Human Rights in the Former Yugoslavia

Madam Chair, it is impossible for me to introduce my country's resolution on the human rights situation in the former Yugoslavia -- L-34 -- without referring to the catastrophic human rights violations taking place in Kosovo.

I have just come from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, where I met with refugees at the Stankovec and Brazda transit camps. What I saw and what I hear reinforced my horror at the massive lawlessness, human rights abuses, and destruction caused by Slobodan Milosevic's savage actions. I heard firsthand from refugees who have been victims of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, a practice which continues even as we speak. Even those who have been watching closely, the scope of the barbarity there is truly shocking. We are witnessing a mass human rights epidemic that includes war crimes, crimes against humanity, grave breaches of international law, and indicators of genocide, as well as rape as a weapon of terror and summary execution. In addition, we have seen new mass strategies for terrorizing and displacing persons, such as the use of human shields and "identity cleansing" -- stripping people of their identities so that they cannot return to their homes. There are also credible reports of adult men being separated from their families and slaughtered.

President Milosevic has used forced expulsions as a political and military tool, first brutally purging the Kosovar Albanian population for their homeland, and then cynically holding thousands hostage within it. Some refugees have suffered multiple cleansings -- driven from their homes, only to be forced to flee again under the threat of death. Hundreds of thousands of displaced persons are scattered across Kosovo, seeking shelter in forests and mountain valleys. We must be prepared for more expulsions that will further strain Macedonia and Albania's ability to cope.

Atrocities of this scale do not just happen, Madam Chair. They are meticulously planned. The logistical burden alone of transporting so many refugees to Albania and Macedonia shows the resources that have been dedicated to executing Milosevic's plan.

Such a massive human rights crisis demands an immediate and major human rights response. Our only choice cannot be to watch ethnic cleansing unfold, then seek accountability after the fact. We must do all we can to alleviate the suffering of refugees and displaced persons. While working to ensure that they can return home, we should also make sure that the conditions of refugee camps are humane and that refugees are treated fairly. All involved governments, especially The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as well as intergovernmental organizations, are working under tremendous burdens to make these goals a reality, even as the number of refugees mounts.

But the refugee crisis is only a symptom of the broader attack on human rights throughout the Former Yugoslavia. Ethnic cleansing now threatens Montenegro. And less than 2 weeks ago, the independent publisher Slavko Curuvija was assassinated in Belgrade, part of a larger, quiet war waged against all Serbian citizens by their government. The only long-term solution is to address the underlying human rights problem in Serbia-Montenegro so that refugees can go home and resume their lives.

Madam Chair, our resolution addresses the human rights problems throughout The Former Yugoslavia, for there are many in Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia-Montenegro which are of major concern to us. It condemns the slaying of Slavko Curuvija and the forcible closing of independent newspapers and radio stations in The Former Yugoslavia and calls on the authorities there to cooperate with the International criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. It welcomes the positive developments in Montenegro with regard to the democratic process and the efforts made there to shelter refugees from Kosovo.

It calls on the authorities in Belgrade to ensure a verifiable end to all military action in Kosovo and the immediate ending of violence and repression against the civilian population there. It calls on them to work on the basis of the Rambouillet Accords to establish a political framework agreement for Kosovo, and condemns the grave, horrendous and ongoing war crimes and abuses of human rights in Kosovo.

As for Croatia, our resolution calls upon the government there to undertake greater efforts to adhere to democratic principles, in particular with respect to persons belonging to minority groups. More specifically, it asks that incidents of harassment, looting and physical attacks against displaced Serbs and other minorities be halted and that serious judicial reforms be undertaken to ensure the independence of the judiciary.

With respect to Bosnia-Herzegovina, it notes the progress made in some areas in the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords, but expresses serious concern about continuing human rights violations there. It condemns in the strongest terms the intimidation and perpetration of violence against minority refugees and internally displaced persons who attempt to return to their homes and calls for the authorities to conduct vigorous investigations to determine the responsibility for such acts and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Finally, our resolution notes, with appreciation, the report made by the Special Rapporteur, Jiri Dienstbier, and renews his mandate for another year.

In sum, we believe that our resolution on the situation of human rights in Serbia-Montenegro, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina accurately reflects the conditions there. More progress must be made to protect the human rights of all the people there.

From Slovenia to Croatia, to Bosnia, and to Kosovo, war has descended 4 separate times on The Former Republics of Yugoslavia in just this decade. We owe it to the hundreds of thousands of victims of those wars to support their basic human rights and to ensure that such atrocities can never occur again.

Thank you.

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Commission on Human Rights | Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
Policy Remarks | Department of State

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