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Croatia Narrowing the Impunity Gap Trials before Bosnia’s War Crimes Chamber This 61-page report evaluates the chamber’s work in conducting trials. Although a relatively new institution, the chamber has made substantial headway in trying cases, including the trial of 11 defendants charged with genocide for their role in the Srebrenica massacre. Other important accomplishments include introducing support for witnesses in the pre-indictment phase and establishing an effective defense office committed to assisting defendants in trials before the chamber. HRW Index No.: D1901 February 12, 2007 Also available in 
Download PDF, 406 KB, 58 pgs Purchase online Download E-Book Weighing the Evidence Lessons from the Slobodan Milosevic Trial This 76-page report examines key evidence introduced at trial, the most comprehensive account to date of the conflicts in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. The report finds that the trial revealed how leaders in Belgrade and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia financed the wars; how they provided material to Croatian and Bosnian Serbs; and how they created administrative and personnel structures to support the Croatian Serb and Bosnian Serb armies. The report traces the mechanisms, some of which were previously secret, by which Belgrade fueled the conflicts. HRW Index No.: D1810 December 14, 2006 Also available in 
Download PDF, 339 KB, 80 pgs Purchase online Download E-Book Croatia: A Decade of Disappointment Continuing Obstacles to the Reintegration of Serb Returnees This 41-page report analyzes the key human rights problems affecting Serbs returning to Croatia, including violence and intimidation, the loss of housing rights and limited access to state employment. Successive government programs to assist returning Serbs have failed to deliver real benefits, with the qualified exception of a program to rebuild war-damaged homes. HRW Index No.: D1807 September 5, 2006 Download PDF, 317 KB, 43 pgs Purchase online Download E-Book Justice at Risk: War Crimes Trials in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia and Montenegro This 31-page report examines domestic war crimes trials that have taken place since 2000 for crimes committed during the armed conflicts of the 1990s in the former Yugoslavia. Human Rights Watch has also monitored various of these trials. HRW Index No.: D1607 October 14, 2004 Also available in 
Download PDF, 318 KB, 34 pgs Purchase online Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Topical Digests of the Case Law of the ICTR and the ICTY This 285-page book organizes the tribunals’ decisions by topic, including genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, individual criminal responsibility, command responsibility and sentencing. HRW Index No.: 1564322955 February 20, 2004 Download PDF, 996 KB, 285 pgs Purchase online Broken Promises Impediments to Refugee Return to Croatia Eight years after the end of the war in Croatia, ethnic discrimination continues to impede the return of hundreds of thousands of Croatian Serbs displaced by the war. This 61-page report describes the plight of displaced Croatian Serbs and urges that progress on return be made a condition of Croatia’s application to join the European Union. The report is based on two years of research involving a comprehensive review of local legislation and extensive interviews with returned refugees, temporary occupants of their houses, and representatives of Serb civic associations, national and local governmental bodies, international organizations, and Croatian human rights groups. The report includes recommendations to the Croatian government and the international community to facilitate the return of Serb refugees. HRW Index No.: D1506 September 3, 2003 Download PDF Purchase online Croatia: Child Soldier Global Report 2001 From the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers There are indications of under-18s in government armed forces as voluntary recruitment is permitted from the age of 16. The state reserves the right to conscript 16-year-olds at times of imminent threat. June 12, 2001 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 From the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers There was considerable evidence of the use of child soldiers by armed opposition groups, especially the KLA, UCPMB and Free Montenegro group, during the past conflict. Under 18-year-old members of ethnic Albanian separatist groups continue to be apprehended. Government-allied paramilitaries have also recruited and deployed children under 18 in past conflict situations. Information on minimum recruitment age indicates that there may currently be under-18s in the government armed forces. June 12, 2001 Croatia: Landmine Monitor Report 2000 Key developments since March 1999: A total of almost $24.4 million was spent on mine action in 1999, an increase of 80% over 1998. Estimates of mined or suspected mined areas have been revised down to 4,500 square kilometers. A total of 23.59 square kilometers of land was cleared of mines or declared not to contain mines. The ICRC and Croatian Red Cross organized mine awareness programs in 1999 in all fourteen mine-affected counties, reaching 66,612 residents in 3,165 presentations. CROMAC estimates that in 1999 there were fifty-one new mine victims, compared to seventy-seven casualties in 1998. Croatia destroyed its first 3,434 stockpiled mines in June 1999, but has reported no destruction since then. It plans to retain 17,500 mines, apparently more than any other nation. August 1, 2000 Croatia's Democracy Deficit: A Pre-Electoral Assessment In the run-up to important parliamentary elections, civil and political rights are seriously restricted in Croatia, Human Rights Watch said in this report. The report describes this political repression as the "human rights legacy" of the late President Franjo Tudjman, who died earlier this month. Parliamentary elections in Croatia are scheduled for January 3, 2000. The Croatian government limits freedom of the press, especially in the case of television, which gives a disproportionate amount of airtime to the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), both on the main evening news and across all programming. HRW Index No.: D1116 December 1, 1999 Purchase online Second Class Citizens: The Serbs of Croatia On January 15, 1998, the United Nations transferred authority over Eastern Slavonia, Baranja andWestern Sirmium (hereafter, Eastern Slavonia) to the Croatian government, bringing the lastremaining Serb-held territory of Croatia back under Croatian control Despite positivedevelopments in terms of the repeal of some discriminatory legislation, and a generally stablesecurity situation, Serbs remain second class citizens in Croatia. They are frequently unable toexercise the most basic rights: to live in their own homes, to receive pensionsand social securitybenefits after a lifetime of work, to be recognized as citizens in the country of their birth, and inmany cases, to return to andlive freely in Croatia. As a result of discriminatory laws, and aboveall discriminatory practices, Croatian Serbs do not enjoy their civil rights as Croatian citizens. Thisis particularly true for Serbs living in the four former United Nations Protected Areas (UNPAs) inEastern Slavonia andWestern Slavonia, the Krajina, and Banija-Kordun (former Sector North),which formed the self-declared "Republika Srpska Krajina," and whichare the focus of thisreport. HRW Index No.: D1103 March 1, 1999 Purchase online Croatia Second Class Citizens: The Serbs of Croatia The continued flight of Serbs from the region illustrates one of Croatia's most pressing human rights problems: the poor treatment of its Serb minority. Despite positive developments in terms of the repeal of some discriminatory legislation, and a generally stable security situation, Serbs remain second class citizens in Croatia. They are frequently unable to exercise the most basic rights: to live in their own homes, to receive pensions and social security benefits after a lifetime of work, to be recognized as citizens in the country of their birth, and in many cases, to return to and live freely in Croatia. As a result of discriminatory laws, and above all discriminatory practices, Croatian Serbs do not enjoy their civil rights as Croatian citizens. This is particularly true for Serbs living in the four former United Nations Protected Areas (UNPAs) in Eastern Slavonia and Western Slavonia, the Krajina, and Banija-Kordun (former Sector North), which formed the self-declared ARepublika Srpska Krajina, and which are the focus of this report. March 1, 1999 Download PDF, 552 KB, 84 pgs Printer friendly version Human Rights in Eastern Slavonia During and After the Transition of Authority Eastern Slavonia, the only remaining Serb-held region of Croatia, was scheduled to revert to Croatian control by July 15, 1997. Some 120,000 to 150,000 Serbs who lived in that region will come under the authority of their bitter opponent during the war. While the transition of authority in Eastern Slavonia was designed to be carried out peacefully under the auspices of a U.N. peace-keeping operation, we were concerned that the transition would be accompanied or followed by serious violations. The Croatian government issued numerous widely publicized statements and pledges, enthusiastically welcomed by the international community, that guaranteeed the rights of ethnic Serbs in Eastern Slavonia, but it failed to take the steps necessary to permit the exercise of some of the most fundamental of these rights. HRW Index No.: D906 April 1, 1997 Purchase online Human Rights In Eastern Slavonia During And After The Transition Of Authority Eastern Slavonia, the only remaining Serb-held region of Croatia, is scheduled to revert to Croatian control by July 15, 1997. Some 120,000 to 150,000 Serbs living in that region will then come under the authority of their bitter opponent during the war. The transition of authority in Eastern Slavonia is designed to be carried out peacefully under the auspices of a United Nations peace-keeping operation. However, there remain concerns that the transition may be accompanied or followed by serious violations of human rights, as occurred after Croatia recaptured the Krajina, or by a mass exodus of Serbs in the region, repeating on a much broader scale the problems that arose during the transition of authority in Sarajevo=s suburbs last year. The Croatian government has issued numerous widely publicized statements and pledges, enthusiastically welcomed by the international community, guaranteeing the rights of ethnic Serbs in Eastern Slavonia. Yet, it has failed to take the steps necessary to permit the exercise of some of the most fundamental of these rights. Nearly half of these Serbs have already been displaced once, after the Croatian military offensives in 1995 that recaptured the other Serb-held areas of Croatia. If another mass exodus is to be avoided and widespread human rights abuses prevented, the Croatian government must undertake concrete measures that will give meaning to otherwise empty declarations of the right of displaced Serbs to return to their original homes or to remain in Eastern Slavonia. In addition, the international community must pressure Croatia to fulfill its human rights obligations to facilitate the right of return as well to undertake measures necessary to enable ethnic Serbs to stay in Eastern Slavonia. April 1, 1997 Download PDF, 231 KB, 24 pgs Printer friendly version Impunity for Abuses Committed During "Operation Storm" and the Denial of the Right of Refugees to Return to the Krajina On August 4, 1995, the Croatian Army launched "Operation Storm," an offensive to retake the Krajina region, which had been controlled by separatist ethnic Serbs since early 1991. The offensive, which lasted a mere thirty-six hours, resulted in the death of an estimated 526 Serbs, 116 of whom were reportedly civilians, and in the displacement of an estimated 200,000 who fled in the immediate aftermath. However, while the Croatian military committed violations of humanitarian law during the course of the offensive such as the bombardment of a column of retreating Serbian civilians and soldiers which caused deaths among the civilians, the vast majority of the abuses committed by Croatian forces occurred after the area had been captured. These abuses by Croatian government forces, which continued on a large scale even months after the area had been secured by Croatian authorities, included summary executions of elderly and infirm Serbs who remained behind and the wholesale burning and destruction of Serbian villages and property. In the months following the August offensive, at least 150 Serb civilians were summarily executed and another 110 persons forcibly disappeared. HRW Index No.: D813 August 1, 1996 Impunity for Abuses Committed during "Operation Storm" and the Denial of the Right of Refugees to Return to the Krajina One year ago, on August 4, 1995, the Croatian Army launched AOperation Storm, an offensive to retake the Krajina region, which had been controlled by separatist ethnic Serbs since early 1991. The offensive, which lasted a mere thirty-six hours, resulted in the death of an estimated 526 Serbs, 116 of whom were reportedly civilians, and in the displacement of an estimated 200,000 who fled in the immediate aftermath. However, while the Croatian military committed violations of humanitarian law during the course of the offensive such as the bombardment of a column of retreating Serbian civilians and soldiers which caused deaths among the civilians, the vast majority of the abuses committed by Croatian forces occurred after the area had been captured. These abuses by Croatian government forces, which continued on a large scale even months after the area had been secured by Croatian authorities, included summary executions of elderly and infirm Serbs who remained behind and the wholesale burning and destruction of Serbian villages and property. In the months following the August offensive, at least 150 Serb civilians were summarily executed and another 110 persons forcibly disappeared. To create a safe environment for repatriation, it is particularly important that those responsible for serious abuses in the Krajina region be punished for their deeds. Without such justice -- without the emergence of rudimentary rule of law -- few refugees will be willing to attempt to rebuild their lives in Croatia. August 1, 1996 Download PDF, 372 KB, 48 pgs Printer friendly version Civil and Political Rights in Croatia The Croatian government has taken steps to correct some of the abuses of human rights that had marked Croatia's first two years of independence, but violations of civil and political rights by reason of ethnic identity and political dissent continue.1 On February 13, 1992, Human Rights Watch/Helsinki (formerly Helsinki Watch) sent a letter to Croatian President Franjo Tudjman delineating violations of human rights and humanitarian law in Croatia during 1990 and 1991. This report describes the status of civil and political rights in Croatia since then. This report does not address violations of the rules of war perpetrated by Croatian and Serbian armed forces in Croatia nor does it address the situation of human rights in Serbian-controlled areas of Croatia. Both subjects have been addressed in previous Human Rights Watch/Helsinki reports and will be addressed in forthcoming reports. Furthermore, this report does not deal with violations by Croatian or Bosnian Croat forces in Bosnia-Hercegovina, which Human Rights Watch/Helsinki has documented and will continue to report.3 However, this report addresses the treatment of Bosnian refugees living in Croatia. October 2, 1995 Download PDF, 680 KB, 167 pgs Printer friendly version Civil and Political Rights in Croatia While the Croatian government has taken steps to correct some of the abuses of human rights that had marked Croatia's first two years of independence, violations of civil and political rights by reason of ethnic identity and political dissent continue. This report describes the status of civil and political rights in Croatia from mid-1992 to mid-1995, and offers a series of recommendations aimed at improving human rights in Croatia. Although attacks against Serbs and their property had decreased since mid-1992, the harassment and intimidation of Serbs, the destruction of Serbian property, and the burning of Serbian villages increased markedly following the Croatian government's recapture of areas formerly held by rebel Serb forces in Croatia in 1995. The forcible repatriation of Bosnian men and, at times, discrimination between Bosnian Croats and Muslims seeking refuge in Croatia has marred Croatia's generally good treatment of refugees. The Croatian Interior Ministry has taken steps since 1992 to purge its ranks of abusive police officers, yet prosecution of such officers and, more particularly, of abusive members of the Croatian Army remains inadequate. HRW Index No.: 1487 October 1, 1995 Croatia The Croatian Army Offensive in Western Slavonia and its Aftermath On May 1, 1995, Croatian Army troops launched an offensive aimed at regaining control of Serb-held lands in western Slavonia, an area designated as a "United Nations Protected Area" (UNPA). By May 4, Croatian government troops had recaptured the area. During the week of May 8, Human Rights Watch/Helsinki representatives traveled to Croatia to assess the behavior of Croatian troops during and immediately after the offensive. Based on information gathered during that trip and additional evidence made available as of June 10, violations of the rules of war appear not to have been widespread. But violations of humanitarian and human rights law did take place during and after the offensive, and many allegations require still further investigation. July 2, 1995 Download PDF, 183 KB, 18 pgs Printer friendly version The Croatian Army Offensive in Western Slavonia and Its Aftermath On May 1, 1995, Croatian Army troops launched an offensive aimed at regaining control of Serb-held lands in western Slavonia, an area designated as a "United Nations Protected Area." By May 4, Croatian government troops had recaptured the area. During the week of May 8, we traveled to Croatia to assess the behavior of Croatian troops during and immediately after the offensive. Based on information gathered during that trip and additional evidence made available as of June 10, violations of the rules of war appear not to have been widespread. But violations of humanitarian and human rights law did take place during and after the offensive, and many allegations require still further investigation. HRW Index No.: D711 July 1, 1995 |
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