ADDRESS BY THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS TO THE HUMANITARIAN ISSUES WORKING GROUP OF THE PEACE IMPLEMENTATION COUNCIL

Geneva, 20 November 1998




Madam High Commissioner, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is a terribly disappointing day, when considered in the light of human rights. We should be celebrating a year in which hundreds of thousands of dislocated citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia finally returned to their homes, finally returned to the livelihoods which they were forced so cruelly to abandon, finally recovered the lives which they had led, in peace, for years, until the outbreak of war this decade. Nearly as much time has passed now, from the signing of peace agreements in 1995, as passed during the previous years of conflict, and yet countries that once were part of Yugoslavia remain societies in which ethnic and national differences predominate, and people are unable to live together. I must strongly condemn the slow pace of returns which the High Commissioner for Refugees has described. The questions of freedom to choose one's place of residence, and freedom to live free from discrimination, are fundamental questions of human rights. These rights are still being violated on a wide scale in the societies we are concerned here with here today, and I am deeply troubled that we must again face this reality at the end of 1998.

The world has meanwhile witnessed the suffering that has taken place this year in Kosovo, in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The forcible uprooting of tens of thousands of families, the brutal killings at places such as Klecka and Glodjane, and all the abductions and mistreatment that have taken place in Kosovo have done great damage to human rights, and caused us personal anguish. While I recognize the political difficulties which have led to this situation, as High Commissioner I must stress that politics cannot serve as an excuse for the deep injustices which have been borne by innocent men, women and children, mostly Kosovo Albanians but also Serbs, in Kosovo. I have spoken out frequently on my views over what has taken place, and I am heartened that a path has apparently now been opened toward a return to peace and, eventually, a normal way of life in the region. But there is so long to go, to secure the human rights of the people of Kosovo, and I hope that we might count upon the best efforts of the responsible authorities to ensure that these rights are respected.

Our small but dedicated group of human rights officers in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has been working, in often trying circumstances, with Governments in the region to improve the situation of human rights. One of our projects has been to work in the area of administration of justice, since the courts and the police are so fundamental to securing human rights and creating a climate of confidence for all, especially returnees, regardless of national background. In Kosovo in recent weeks, human rights officers have followed a large number of criminal proceedings in Prizren, Pec, Kosovska Mitrovica and elsewhere, hoping to ensure that the rights of accused anti-State conspirators are respected by the authorities. Indeed, I am happy to say that we have established a good line of communication with the Yugoslav and Serbian authorities, bringing to their attention the cases of persons who have been wrongfully detained, or even, in many cases, evidently tortured while in State custody. Still, however, far too many cases go unaddressed. I have been given great cause for concern, for example, by the report I have just received of severe beatings inflicted on a group of 26 detainees in the custody of Serbian police, while en route from Prizren to the prison at Lipljan, in Kosovo. I hope that we can build on a constructive relationship with the Government, especially in light of the Memorandum of Understanding that I was pleased to sign with Ambassador Brankovic in Geneva earlier this month, to prevent against such instances in the future.

In Croatia, and in Bosnia-Herzegovina, human rights officers have been actively engaged in monitoring trials of accused war criminals and ensuring that human rights standards, including those implied by amnesty provisions, are fully respected. I am pleased to note that, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, professionals of OHCHR seconded to the Office of the High Representative have played a major part in strengthening the effectiveness of judicial protections across inter-Entity boundary lines, and have worked to maximize the effectiveness of the human-rights institutions created by the Dayton Agreement. There has been some notable progress. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, the national human-rights institutions, including the Human Rights Chamber, the Ombudsperson and the Federation Ombudsmen, have received increasing cooperation from authorities in both the Federation and Republika Srpska, although there is still much room for further advances. In the case of Croatia, I should like to recognize for example the Government's good record of cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal. Still, however, the conduct of national war-crimes prosecutions indicates that accused Croatian Serbs are far more likely to face conviction than alleged Croatian war-criminals.

Though not perpetrated by State actors, I am deeply troubled by acts of violence which go unredressed in different countries in the region. My office in Belgrade has gathered ample data on abductions of Serbs by forces of the Kosovo Liberation Army, which cannot be ignored by the intenational community even though they may not constitute human rights violations in the strictly legal sense. In Bosnia-Herzegovina numerous cases, including the recurrent violence committed against intending Bosniak Muslim returnees to the area of Stolac, are gravely damaging to the restoration of confidence. I call upon the responsible Bosnian Croat authorities of the Federation to take strong action against those who would deprive innocent families of their right to reclaim possession of their homes.

I must say that I am encouraged by recent developments which would strengthen the ability of my Office to contribute to improved respect for human rights in the countries in which we now have a presence. I refer especially to the agreement which we have now reached with the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. I refer also to Bosnia-Herzegovina, where I look forward to the cooperation which we hope formally to establish, later today, with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mrs. Elisabeth Rehn, whereby our field office will be integrated into the office of the SRSG, with full respect for our respective mandates. With and through Mrs. Rehn's office, we hope to assist all UN actors in the region to pursue programs which include among their concerns the areas of gender rights, freedom from discrimination, and rule of law. It is, of course, especially gratifying to be able to reach such an agreement with a distinguished former Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights.

Concerning Croatia, we are making good progress with the Government in finalizing on agreement on technical cooperation with my Office. I fully trust that we will be able to maintain a constructive relationship with Croatia, with which we have had a record of good cooperation dating back to 1993.

Madam High Commissioner, I do believe it is time to begin considering the question of respect for human rights in the different countries of the former Yugoslavia with particular consideration for the distinctions among these countries. The old term "former Yugoslavia" is no longer satisfactory, as all five of these five States now have very different policies and realities, incuding in the area of respect for human rights, which must be taken into account. Concerning Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, I believe that we should look to he conclusions of the current Special Rapporteur, Mr. Jiri Dienstbier, to learn his analysis of the state of human rights in these different societies. But on this occasion of the meeting of the Humanitarian Issues Working Group, at a time when we might have hoped that humanitarian issues would be well on their way toward satisfactory resolution, as High Commissioner for Human Rights I must say that I remain deeply troubled, for I do not see evidence to support the conclusion that the right to freedom from discrimination based on national or ethnic origin, that the prime importance of the rule of law, is fully respected anywhere in these societies. As you consider UNHCR's approach to the vital question of returns, I hope that we might be of assistance in underlining the essential importance of respect for human rights in restoring confidence, especially among those of minority backgrounds, who wish to return to their original homes. Refugees' and displaced persons' rights, after all, are human rights. I look forward to working with UNHCR and our other international partners and NGOs to promote full-scale return, now -- we must say -- in 1999. But I would say that I especially look forward to working with the Governments of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, to achieve the realization of human rights for their citizens to which they are each committed by international obligations, and to which they have expressed their firm commitment, on many different occasions, to the United Nations.

Thank you very much.