COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE CONSIDERS REPORT OF FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA

MORNING
HR/CAT/98/30
11 November 1998



The Committee against Torture this morning started its consideration of the report of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on how that country implements the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Redzep Hodza, Assistant Federal Minister of Justice of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and head of the delegation, said the constitutional system of his country guaranteed civil and political rights. There was no torture or ill-treatment by competent officers, but only cases of the "inadequate use or overstepping of powers", mostly related to physical force or the truncheon. Cases of overstepping powers were punishable in accordance to the law.

Mr. Hodza said that Albanian terrorism with strong separatist tendencies had in the first nine months of this year carried out 1,500 actions and incidents which killed more than 100 police officers and 152 civilians in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija. In such circumstances, the authorities had had to take "appropriate measures" to suppress terrorism. The activities by the police and other official persons in these as well as in other situations in the territory were fully in accordance with the law.

Alexander Yakovlev, the Committee expert who served as rapporteur on the report, said that it provided data on measures taken by the Government in case of breach of the law by officials involved in instances of abuse of power or use of excessive force. He asked what kind of sentences were imposed if such offenses took place. The Committee was concerned about reports that some instances of maltreatment of detainees had resulted in death. He asked about the composition of disciplinary committees, and what kind of rehabilitation and compensation was offered to victims.

Committee experts put numerous questions to the six-member delegation concerning, among other issues, the human rights education of medical doctors; the large number of torture victims reportedly spread all over the country, especially Romas and Kosovans; impunity against those who practised torture; whether military courts had jurisdiction over civilian courts in any circumstances; the mutilation of bodies of non-combatants in Kosovo; and reports of summary executions of detainees.

Also this morning, Committee expert Bent Sorensen presented a report on the progress of the Working Group for the optional protocol of the Convention. The Working Group met from 28 September to 9 October 1998. The Committee also discussed setting up a list of issues which were recurrent in its dialogue with State parties and which could be provided to delegations to facilitate their work and provide them with a general idea of what they should expect.

The Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon to hear the response of the delegation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to the questions which were raised. The Committee will issue its concluding observations and recommendations on the report at 10 a.m. on Monday, 16 November.

Report of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

The initial report of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (document CAT/C/16/Add.7) reviews efforts to implement the Convention against Torture on an article-by-article basis, and also contains background information on the provisions of the national Constitution. Among other things, the report reviews the application of the law on criminal procedure which maintains that "any extortion of a confession or statement from an accused person or any other person involved in the proceedings shall be forbidden and punishable". The report says that in practice, detention is not ordered frequently. Persons accused of criminal offences could be detained between 30 to 60 days, with detention exceeding 30 days being decided only in individual cases. Protection against torture and/or degrading treatment or punishment is laid down primarily in the criminal legislation of Yugoslavia. Although the term torture does not exist in the criminal legislation, protection against its practise has been regulated under a number of statutory provisions.

According to the report, the State has ratified a large number of international treaties, especially in the field of human rights. The country's Constitution lays down that "the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia shall fulfil in good faith the obligations contained in international treaties to which it is a party". It affirms that any adoption of regulations, documents or individual enactments introducing cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment shall be in contravention not only of the Constitution and the law but of the overall spirit of the Yugoslav legislature and the legal system as a whole.

The report also details the responsibilities of courts of law, administrative authorities and parliamentary bodies. Under the section on court and police procedures, the report states that between 1991 and 1996, there were 1,527 complaints against police members of abuse in the line of duty. Out of these cases, there were 468 indictments and 234 sentences.

Introduction of Report of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

REDZEP HODZA, Assistant Federal Minister of Justice and head of the delegation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, introduced his country's report, saying that the outbreak of a civil war that was waged in neighbouring countries and the imposition of the most severe sanctions on the country had had an adverse effect on the fulfilment of obligations under international conventions to which the country was a State party. Despite this, the Government had succeeded in preserving its internal stability and the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural character of the society despite a very unfavourable situation.

Mr. Hodza said the constitutional system of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia guaranteed civil and political rights such as the right to life, equality and prohibition of discrimination, the right to physical integrity and prohibition of torture, the right to freedom, and the right to a fair trial. Yugoslav legislation had been harmonized with the Convention against Torture. There was no torture or ill-treatment by competent officers, but only cases of the inadequate use or overstepping of powers, mostly related to physical force or the truncheon. Cases of overstepping powers were punishable in accordance to the law.

Referring to the situation in the southern province of Kosovo and Metohija, Mr. Hodza said the constitutional and legal provisions on minority rights had been harmonized with international standards. The application of these provisions could be seen in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija where Albanian political parties and associations operated freely, numerous daily and weekly newspapers as well as books were published, and a large number of programmes and shows in the Albanian language were broadcast by the electronic media. Persons belonging to the Albanian national minority could enjoy all the rights under the Constitution unhindered.

Mr. Hodza noted that a considerable number of persons belonging to the Albanian national minority did not participate in the social and political life of the country. Albanian terrorism with strong separatist tendencies had also been operational in the territory. In the first nine months of this year, Albanian terrorists had carried out 1,500 actions and incidents which killed more than 100 police officers and 152 civilians. In such circumstances, the authorities had had to take appropriate measures to suppress terrorism. The activities by the police and other official persons in these as well as in other situations in the territory were fully in accordance with the law.

In conclusion, Mr. Hodza said the political agreement reached recently between President Slobodan Milosevic and Special Representative of the United States Richard Holbrooke constituted a political framework and set time limits for the political settlement of the issue of Kosovo and Metohija. The Government was determined to consistently implement all the agreements undertaken in order to reach a peaceful political settlement in the territory as soon as possible.

Discussion

Alexander Yakovlev, the Committee expert who served as rapporteur on the report, said the Committee supported that no internal or external circumstances could be invoked with the intention to justify instances of breach of the Convention, if such breaches occurred. Among positive aspects in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, he said article 25 of the Constitution forbade any violence against a person deprived of liberty, any extortion of a confession or statement, declaring that such acts shall be punishable. This Constitutional norm proclaimed that no one may be subjected to torture, degrading treatment or punishment.

Mr. Yakovlev said that the report provided data on measures taken by the Government in case of breach of the law by officials involved in instances of abuse of power or use of excessive force. He asked what kind of sentences were imposed if such offenses took place. The Committee was concerned about reports that some instances of maltreatment of detainees had resulted in death. He asked about the composition of disciplinary committees, and what kind of rehabilitation and compensation was offered to victims? Were judges and police officials educated about human rights, in particular the Convention against Torture? An important institution which discouraged torture was the inadmissibility of evidence obtained under torture. He asked for examples of court procedures where this kind of evidence was not permitted to be presented.

Bostjan Zupancic, Committee expert who served as co-rapporteur on the report, reiterated the importance of the definition of the crime of torture as present in article 1 of the Convention as well as the obligation of the State party to incorporate it into its own legal system and criminal code. At the same time, he said the attempt to commit torture and complicity must also be punishable. Since Yugoslavia was considering a new criminal code, perhaps this was a good opportunity to introduce the definition of torture. The strict enforcement of stopping the use of evidence obtained under torture in courts was important and was the best systematic legal weapon against torture. What was the State party planning in the draft criminal code concerning this exclusionary rule?

Mr. Zupancic asked if the Constitutional Court had the competence and jurisdiction to receive individual complaints and asked for examples of such cases. He also noted that the longer the detention period before a detainee was presented before an investigation officer, the greater the possibility of abuse. He said the initial report of the State party could have added more statistics and examples to help the Committee.

Other Committee experts raised further questions. An expert said article 10 of the Convention called for the education and training of police, army soldiers and medical doctors in human rights issues. The education and training of doctors was especially important because they treated torture victims and falsified the records. Had the prohibition of torture been introduced in the pre-graduate curriculum for medical doctors? There were reports of high numbers of torture victims spread all over the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He was speaking only of torture, and not of killings or unfair trials which were not under the competence of this Committee. When the State party said it would take "appropriate measures" against terrorism, the Committee agreed because it abhorred terrorism. But there must be no torture. There were discrepancies between the State party's report and reports by reliable non-governmental organizations which described the physical ill-treatment of political activists, journalists, human rights activists, teachers and students. The problem of impunity was also important and the expert stressed that those who carried out torture had to be punished.

Another expert hoped for a settlement of the situation in Kosovo which protected the territorial integrity of the State party but also gave rights to minorities. Why had the presentation of the report to the Committee been delayed? The report was "very rosy" and did not mention Kosovo, although the delegation referred to the situation there. When there was a situation like that in Kosovo, there was always a danger of eruption of violence and counter violence. Did military courts have jurisdiction over civilian courts under any circumstances? What was meant in the report when it spoke of police being allowed "use of coercion"?

An expert said the Committee was preoccupied by the situation in Kosovo because it was current and because of the media and NGO reports of atrocities and acts of torture that were being committed there. There were reports of summary executions of people in detention, and an investigation was required to find those responsible for these alleged atrocities and hold them accountable before the law. Did the State party accept the competence of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in Kosovo and what measures had it taken to facilitate the investigations of the Tribunal? This issue had everything to do with combatting the culture of impunity.

Concerning detention, an expert said he understood that at present, after the first 24 hours of detention, it was up to the detainee to ask for the intervention of a judge. According to the Convention, this should automatically take place. Did the new draft code of criminal procedure change this? He also asked about the competence and powers of military tribunals.

Questions were raised about the Serbian Special Police, their powers and their chain of command. Who was this Special Police unit accountable to? If a state of emergency was declared, what effect did it have on preexisting legal protections? Were they suspended? In Kosovo, there were many documented instances of body mutilations of non-combatants. Had they been investigated and with what results? One NGO said that detainees were routinely tortured and mutilated in Kosovo, and that between March and August 1998, five persons had died in detention. What was the response of the delegation to these allegations? Were reporters allowed to operate freely in Yugoslavia? How independent was the judiciary in the State party, how were they appointed and what was their tenure? There were also many documented instances of torture, especially of Roma and Kosovan detainees.