To the Yugoslav Government:1
Compliance With Humanitarian Law
· stop the disproportionate use of force against the civilian population and the specific targeting of civilians during military operations;

· halt all long-range artillery shelling, and other military operations that are being used to target or indiscriminately fire on civilians;

· stop the systematic destruction of civilian property. This includes the burning and destruction of homes, the burning of crops and the killing of livestock;

· put an end to summary executions and prosecute any person found to have executed people in detention;

· take all necessary steps to protect civilian populations form the effects of military operations;

· withdraw immediately from the region all Serbian special police forces and any paramilitary units that have or are suspected of having perpetrated human rights or humanitarian law violations;

· conduct an investigation and hold accountable those members of the police and security forces found responsible for violations of human rights and international humanitarian law;

· cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in its efforts to investigate alleged violations of international humanitarian law on both sides in Kosovo.

Access for Human Rights and Humanitarian Organizations

· guarantee safe passage and unincumbered access for humanitarian aid delivery and distribution;

· provide unrestricted access for the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Former Yugoslavia to investigate violations of humanitarian law by both sides in the crisis region, as well as human rights violations;

· grant independent human rights monitors immediate full and unfettered access to the crisis region in order to investigate allegations of humanitarian and human rights violations;

· readmit the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) long-term monitoring mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

· provide immediate access for teams of independent forensic experts to carry out investigations into allegations of mass graves and other atrocities in the region, including in Klecka, Orahovac, Glodjane and Prekaz.

· grant full and unimpeded access to journalists covering the conflict in Kosovo.

Treatment of and Access to Detainees

· fully disclose the names of those currently detained in the course of the conflict, their ages, where they were captured, where they are being detained, and other relevant details;

· allow the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) unhindered and ongoing access to all detainees, including those who are currently being investigated but have not been charged with a crime;

· guarantee that detainees have regular access to their lawyers and family members, that they are able to meet with their lawyers in private, and have adequate resources and time to prepare their defense;

· conduct an investigation into the allegations of widespread torture and ill-treatment in detention, including in particular allegations of the deaths of at least five persons as a result of torture by police. Those found responsible for such abuse should be held accountable before the law.

· undertake efforts to guarantee fair trials for all those currently in detention.

Treatment of Internally Displaced Persons
Internally displaced persons have fundamental, non-derogable rights to life and freedom from torture and other ill-treatment; rights that must be respected and ensured by any authorities on whose territory they may seek refuge. Human Rights Watch therefore calls on the responsible government officials in areas in which IDPs seek refuge to:

· receive and ensure the security and well-being of Kosovar Albanians who seek refuge in their territory. All Kosovar Albanians have a right to remain within the territory of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia if they so choose, and may not be deported to other countries against their will;

· keep all internal borders open for and provide refuge to Kosovar Albanians who are displaced by the conflict. Displaced persons from Kosovo should only return to their homes if they voluntarily decide to do so without any government coercion.

To the Kosovo Liberation Army:

Because the fighting in Kosovo is an internal armed conflict covered by international humanitarian law, both government forces and the KLA are obliged to respect, at a minimum, the provisions of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which require that civilians and other protected persons be treated humanely, with specific prohibitions on murder, torture, or cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment. Human Rights Watch, therefore, calls on the KLA to:

· respect its obligations under international law. In particular, the KLA should release all civilians in detention, refrain from attacks on members of the civilian population and from using any detainees or civilians as hostages, and treat humanely Serbian soldiers or policemen in custody;

· condemn hostage-taking and the ill-treatment of civilians or others placed hors de combat and renounce such tactics;

· impose a code of military conduct that punishes KLA hostage-taking, using humans as shields, and other conduct prohibited by international humanitarian law; take steps to inform troops of binding rules that violators among KLA troops will be held accountable;

· bring to justice commanders and troops guilty of these violations in conformity with international standards of due process;

· grant humanitarian organizations full and ongoing access to the conflict zone under KLA control and to people in KLA detention.

The Role of the International Community and Recommendations for Action
The international community has issued strong statements but has failed to apply the pressure necessary to convince President Slobodan Miloševic to stop his abusive campaign. With Serbian forces continuing a major offensive in the region, it is critical for the United States, the European Union, and other members of the international community to exert strong and sustained pressure on the Yugoslav leadership. Specifically, Human Rights Watch urges the international community to:

· take decisive action to stop the atrocities being committed against civilians and to ensure that the conditions set out in the Contact Group statement of March 9, including among other things the withdrawal of special police units and cessation of action by the security forces targeting the civilian population, are immediately implemented by the Yugoslav government;

· support the establishment of an international human rights monitoring mission for Kosovo under the auspices of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and insist that it be given immediate and unconditional access to the region;

· insist on immediate access for international forensic experts to undertake an investigation into allegations of mass graves and other atrocities in Kosovo;

· guarantee ongoing financial and political support to ensure that the ICTY can immediately undertake such an investigation. Further, all governments conducting intelligence operations in and around Kosovo should provide the ICTY with any evidence they obtain relating to the commission of war crimes.

· use satellite intelligence methods to monitor the region and convey relevant information to the ICTY;

· ensure that military attaches who conducted ad hoc monitoring missions to Kosovo from Belgrade on a daily basis starting in the early spring convey relevant information gathered to the ICTY;

· attach humanitarian law and human rights experts to Kosovo Diplomatic Observer Mission (KDOM), so that their inspections can be tailored to the needs of the ICTY;

· ensure that all evidence and intelligence related to Slobodan Miloševic’s responsibility for war crimes in Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, and in Kosovo is turned over to the ICTY for investigation;

· send a clear message that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide will not be tolerated by arresting those already indicted by the ICTY for atrocities committed during the wars in Croatia and Bosnia;

· provide all necessary financial and political support for an intensified investigation effort by the ICTY into war crimes in Kosovo. In particular, insist that the ICTY representatives be allowed to conduct investigations, including forensic investigations, in Kosovo with unimpeded access to all sites and witnesses;

· provide all necessary financial and political support for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to increase its presence on the ground;

· insist that the ICRC is granted immediate and complete access to territory and all detainees and ensure that the government of FRY does not create artificial obstacles to impede their efforts to provide medical and other assistance to the population;

·insist that the ICRC and other humanitarian agencies are provided radio licences and allowed to import their supplies without restriction;

· raise awareness about the mandate of the Tribunal and the obligations created by international humanitarian law in both the Serbian and Albanian languages, through e.g. publicity campaigns;

· press parties to acknowledge international humanitarian law obligations and agree to abide by them;

·
impose a moratorium on return of refugees, rejected asylum seekers and others to the territory of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia;

· provide adequate international assistance so that refugees and displaced persons can be received in Bosnia, Albania, Montenegro and other countries to which they may flee; and

· increase financial assistance to organizations providing humanitarian relief in Kosovo.

In addition to the recommendations to the international community at large, Human Rights Watch calls on the following international actors to use the authority of their respective institutions or governments to address the serious human rights crisis in Kosovo. Specifically,

To the United Nations:

The ongoing conflict in Kosovo—with the mounting evidence of atrocities and concomitant displacement of the population—is a dangerous threat to regional stability and security. Human Rights Watch, therefore, calls on the United Nations Security Council to implement the recommendations made above to the international community at large, and to:

· ensure the implementation of its own resolutions 1160 and 1199, of March and September 1998 respectively, which called for, among other things, an immediate cessation of hostilities and for the president of FRY to implement his own commitments from the June 16 joint statement with the president of the Russian Federation not to carry out any repressive actions against the peaceful population, to facilitate refugee return, and to cooperate with the ICTY;

· on the occasion of the next secretary-general’s report on the situation in Kosovo, hold an open debate within the Security Council to discuss the contents of that report and the necessary steps to remedy the abuses documented therein;

· call on the government of Slobodan Miloševic to invite the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions and the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Working Group on Disappearances urgently to conduct an investigation in Kosovo and report back to the Security Council;

· facilitate and encourage the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia to investigate alleged violations of international humanitarian law in Kosovo and guarantee ongoing financial and political support to ensure that the Tribunal can immediately undertake such an investigation;

· compel the FRY government to cooperate with the ICTY by adopting measures necessary under Yugoslav law to implement the provisions of Security Council Resolution 827 and the statutes of the Tribunal, transferring to the Tribunal custody those indicted persons on Yugoslav territory, and facilitate an independent investigation in to allegations of war crimes in the recent conflict in Kosovo.

To the U.N. General Assembly:

Human Rights Watch calls on the General Assembly of the United Nations, which will be considering the

report by the Special Rapporteur on the Former Yugoslavia later this fall, to:

·condemn the ongoing commission of atrocities and address any of the outstanding human rights and humanitarian issues in Kosovo;

·call on the Yugoslav government to accept, and the U.N. to fund, the establishment of a monitoring office based in Priština under the auspices of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

To the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights:

Human Rights Watch urges the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson to:

·seek to establish an office in Kosovo to monitor abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law;

·use her authority to encourage U.N. treaty bodies and mechanisms to be engaged in Kosovo and to facilitate their access to the region.

To the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia:
· dispatch a high-level delegation, including Chief Justice Arbour, to Belgrade and Priština to put both sides on notice of the Tribunal’s jurisdiction and the likely repercussions of international humanitarian law violations;

· intensify efforts to investigate atrocities being committed in Kosovo, including by dispatching teams of investigators to Kosovo, as well as to refugee-receiving areas such as Montenegro, Macedonia, and Albania to interview victims and eye witnesses to atrocities;

· ensure that witnesses, particularly those still based in Kosovo, are provided with adequate protection;

To the United State Government:
·work with allies to enforce sanctions and hold firm on conditions set for lifting of any sanctions;
·continue and enhance support for the ICTY;

·ensure that efforts to provide humanitarian assistance entail adequate security measures for displaced persons;

To the European Union:
·agree to a moratorium on the return of refugees, rejected asylum seekers and displaced persons to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia;

·provide assistance to enable adequate protection in region so that refugees and displaced persons can be received in Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania and other countries to which they may flee;

·take steps to improve sanctions, including prompt and unwavering imposition of all future sanctions endorsed by the Contact Group, the Security Council and other multilateral fora;

To the Russian Federation:
·cease obstruction of international efforts to sanction and condemn the violence in Kosovo;

·use its special relationship with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to communicate to authorities that international humanitarian law and human rights violations in Kosovo cannot be tolerated and to obtain agreement by the FRY government on measures outlined above.

To the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe:
· insist that Kosovo is a primary focus of the Special Representative of the OSCE to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Felipe Gonzalez;

· ensure that OSCE monitors stationed in northern Albania, Montenegro and Macedonia convey to the Tribunal relevant information, including, for example, any evidence they have of the use of air power on fleeing civilians;

To the Council of Europe:
· send a clear message to the government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia that there will be no consideration of its application for accession to the Council of Europe until it stops committing atrocities in Kosovo and makes a sincere commitment to abide by the Council’s human rights standards throughout its territory.