Human Rights in Kosovo

June 16, 1999

Human rights investigators are returning to Kosovo this week on the heels of NATO peacekeepers as Serb forces withdraw from the region following the recent peace accord. As they return, the investigators continue to gather information that confirms many of the atrocities reported in refugee testimonials. In this fourth briefing of the International Migration Policy Program's series on Kosovo, Mort Halperin, director of policy planning at the U.S. Department of State, joined Leonard Rubenstein, executive director of Physicians for Human Rights, and Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, to discuss the extent of destruction within Kosovo.

This report summarizes their remarks, as well as those of moderator Kathleen Newland, senior associate and co-director of the International Migration Policy Program, and members of the audience.

Kenneth Roth, Leonard Rubenstein, Kathleen Newland and Mort Halperin

"One of most chilling things about this crisis has been the dearth of concrete, verifiable information about what is happening to the people inside Kosovo," said Kathleen Newland. After the withdrawal of journalists, international and nongovernmental organizations in March, Kosovo became a "black hole" for independent reporting, and the only sources of information were the accounts of refugees themselves. "Now investigators are learning, as they go back into Kosovo, how accurate those testimonials are. These speakers are responsible for gathering that information," she said.

Kenneth Roth said that he felt it was "an odd moment" to speak about current events in Kosovo. "I feel like I was one of those mythical prisoners in a cell, watching shadows on the wall pass by. For so long, I knew only shadows. But suddenly I am liberated -- and the reality is always much more stark and vivid than the shadows."

Roth said that Human Rights Watch has had teams of investigators in Macedonia and Albania since the fighting between Serbs and Kosovar rebels escalated in February 1998. Previously, Human Rights Watch had been working in Kosovo for 10 years. According to Roth, teams tried even before the peace agreement allowed them access to confirm human rights and humanitarian violations through systematic interviews with refugees coming across borders. Human Rights Watch considered accounts to be confirmed when three to five witnesses repeated the same series of events independently of each other.

"We found a systematic, well-planned, highly-organized campaign to expel as many Kosovar Albanians from Kosovo as possible," he said. The Yugoslav's logistically complicated plan was carried out "rather efficiently" as Serb forces moved into particular regions and began terrorizing small villages. "They would round up people and move them to a larger town nearby," often using "demonstration executions" to catalyze movement, said Roth. In many cases, Serb forces provided buses; other times, people were expected to transport themselves. Roth said that in addition to a systematic effort to destroy identity documents, there was widespread burning of Albanian shops and homes, and extensive looting. "So far we are able to identify 10 massacre sites at which at least 20 people were murdered," said Roth. The largest known site is in the village of Meha, where over 200 people were killed.

In Human Rights Watch's efforts to discern a pattern to the massacres, the group has noticed that most seem to be reprisals in Kosovo Liberation Army strongholds where Serb soldiers have been killed. Otherwise, they may just be "superfluous, random killings," said Roth. On the question of systematic rape, he said that Human Rights Watch has interviewed only four rape victims who were willing to describe their experiences -- "not a large enough number to constitute 'systematic' rape, although obviously an abuse."

Looking ahead, Roth cited a number of "key problems:"

• WAR CRIMES: The atrocities he described are war crimes and crimes against humanity; thus, the international community must secure the sites of these crimes and continue to collect evidence for prosecution. Five of those massacres documented by Human Rights Watch were included in the International Tribunal's indictment of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. One advantage the Kosovo situation enjoys in comparison to Bosnia is the tribunal's determination and ability to pursue immediate, "real time" investigation. These circumstances may also give the U.S. Defense Department reason and opportunity to reconsider its opposition to the International Criminal Court.
• PROTECTION: Ethnic Albanians are at risk of attack by remaining Serb paramilitaries and troops, but also, remaining Serb civilians are at risk of reprisals. The KLA is sending mixed signals about its understanding of or respect for humanitarian law. Since a civilian police force will take months to develop, the international deployment (KFOR) "must act now to protect all in Kosovo" in order to prevent "a serious security void." When the civilian police force is established, it will be composed mostly of decommissioned KLA soldiers for whom individual background information is lacking. It will therefore be important to do human rights vetting and provide training to prevent new abuses by the police force.
• DEMINING: The United States again faces a situation where the greatest threat to its troops is landmines. In Vietnam, for example, two-thirds of all casualties were due to anti-personnel landmines.
• REFUGEE RETURNS: Although many refugees are returning voluntarily now, it is important they be given information about conditions in Kosovo so that they can make the best decision. It is also important that the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and host countries abide by the principle of nonrefoulement to assure that premature return is not forced on refugees.
• NATO SCRUTINY: The organization should take this moment to launch an independent commission to examine its own conduct. A number of NATO's actions were controversial and may have overstepped the bounds of humanitarian law, such as: the use of cluster bombs, the targeting of civilian factories, attacks on electricity, and the practice of high-altitude bombing. NATO should draw the appropriate lessons from this reassessment.

Leonard Rubenstein presented a newly released study by Physicians for Human Rights based on interviews with 1100 Kosovar Albanian refugees in Macedonia and Albania. He said he hadn't anticipated that on the day of the study's release the media would be going into Kosovo and filing reports that validate the study's observations. The study was the first population-based survey in the field of human rights, according to Rubenstein. This methodology demonstrates "the growth and sophistication of the human rights community" and should produce a discussion of further social science methods in human rights investigations, he said.

The study's motivation was concern about what was happening inside Kosovo during the period when human rights monitors could not enter the area. What was going on in communities? Why were people leaving? What was the level of violence?

In April, Physicians for Human Rights sent a team of eight to refugee camps in Albania and Macedonia. The team interviewed approximately 1200 people with only a two-percent decline rate. Among its data, the study found that one-third of all households reported having experienced violence. Interviewed refugees reported 59 deaths, 400 beatings and 21 incidents of torture, which took place both before and during NATO airstrikes. One-third had had their homes burned, of which a significant number had watched as their homes went up in flames. They also reported targeted executions designed to scare and force people out of their communities. "But the killing and brutality went beyond intimidation," said Rubenstein.

He said the study's conclusions highlight the need for protection, the difficulty of future reconciliation between Serbs and ethnic Albanians, the reality that Kosovar Albanians cannot be subject to control by federal authorities of Yugoslavia, and "the enormity of the trauma of violence," which will require attention for refugees' emotional and psychological needs.

Rubenstein stressed that over the past decade, part of the attack on Kosovar Albanians has been on civil society institutions, including universities, schools, and especially the medical system. In response to discrimination, the ethnic Albanian population had fostered alternative systems, but Serb forces began attacking these facilities well before the NATO bombing. According to Rubenstein, Serbs put ethnic-Albanian doctors on trial for providing health care to "terrorist" KLA members -- a violation of humanitarian law. Others were fired from public health facilities. And 20 percent of interviewed refugees reported seeing the removal of patients or doctors from medical clinics. Rubenstein made a final recommendation that when reconstruction begins in Kosovo, the outpouring of humanitarian aid should be linked to rebuilding the indigenous medical system.

Mort Halperin said that the Clinton Administration concluded early on in the conflict that massive human rights violations were taking place in Kosovo. "The data is now clear that they started before the [NATO] bombing. It is clear that Milosevic had a plan," he said. The Administration also decided that only the conditions laid out in the contact group meeting at Rambouillet could stop the process of ethnic cleansing. "We made it clear that there would be no negotiation to change those essential conditions," said Halperin, adding that the Administration maintained this position throughout the bombing campaign. "Unfortunately, we had to add to that list the return of refugees."

Halperin called the recent peace agreement "a peculiar set of documents," because it includes a political agreement with the Yugoslav parliament, a U.N. Security Council resolution and a military agreement.

He noted that KFOR's mandate represents the first time a Security Council resolution has explicitly charged peacekeepers with a policing function. "This force has gone in knowing they will have to perform basic police functions for some months," Halperin said.

KFOR is also unique in its responsibility to the International Tribunal in the Hague. Forensic specialists and other investigators were given priority to begin work in the region.

"In the broader context, it is important that we have no exit strategy and no timetable for the withdrawal of NATO troops," said Halperin. "No one suggested we go in and get out quickly… We have an integration strategy."

In addition to the condition of refugee return, the current agreement's most significant change from demands made at Rambouillet is the Security Council's commitment to establishing Kosovo's autonomy. "There is no role for the Yugoslav or Serb governments in Kosovo," said Halperin. He said it was significant that there were no negotiations with Milosevic and "no consideration of amnesty at any time." It was made clear to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia that Milosevic's indictment was "a decision that the tribunal should take on its own terms."

Halperin said that the Administration also made clear that "Serbia will not be part of reconstruction efforts until it has a government not based on ethnic hatred." The harder question is: "What kind of aid should be given to Serbia until there is a change of government?" He explained that it can be difficult to delimit humanitarian aid and to decide which sanctions to leave in effect. The Administration must also "figure out how to give aid to democratic opposition parties" in Serbia.

Finally, Halperin countered Roth's concern that refugees will be forced back too soon. "I think the real concern is the opposite -- that we will not be able to prevent them from going back. Our view is that a substantial number would be safer if they spend winter where they are rather than moving back to Kosovo," he said. Although it has made no physical efforts to block refugees' return, the Administration has been " urging refugees not to start going back," according to Halperin.

Questions & Answers

Jim Hooper with the Balkan Action Council asked Mort Halperin whether human rights abuses will be difficult to address in any region where Russian forces have a zone of unilateral operation compared to other units of KFOR.

Halperin said that "very complicated and delicate negotiations" are underway between KFOR and Russia. He expressed his confidence that an agreement would be reached. In the meantime, the Secretary of State has stated a fundamental principle that every inch of Kosovo will be subject to the KFOR commander, who will "do what is necessary to enforce rules of engagement," according to Halperin.

Kathleen Newland asked the human rights representatives to comment on reports of widespread arson. "What is that status of that crime before the ICTY and in the hierarchy of indictments you hope to see brought?" she asked.

Rubenstein said that crimes such as arson and attacks on health clinics should be prosecuted by the tribunal. "We shouldn’t think of prosecutable offenses as restricted to massacres," he said, calling the crimes "deliberate destruction across an entire region." Rubenstein added that there is a movement to prosecute systematic destruction that is similar to the one that recognized rape as a war crime.

Susan Blaustein of the International Crisis Group asked the speakers if the primacy of human rights and humanitarian concerns demonstrated in the Kosovo mission sets a precedent for future interventions.

Roth said the mission "clearly is better for future humanitarian interventions," but repeated his call for NATO's self-scrutiny since "there were aspects of the intervention that were questionable for humanitarians."

Rubenstein said that at one point he had wondered if Clinton's phrase "never again" meant never intervening on humanitarian and human rights grounds again. "We need people on the ground to protect against massive human rights abuses, and we need to examine how that can be accomplished earlier in a conflict. That is one lesson we’ve learned," said Rubenstein.

Halperin responded: "The President has said that where there are human rights violations we have an obligation to act."

To request a copy of the study by Physicians for Human Rights, "War Crimes in Kosovo: A Population-Based Assessment of Human Rights Violations of Kosovar Albanians by Serb Forces," please call Holly Burkhalter, Advocacy Director, at (202) 547-9881.  For other information about Physicians for Human Rights, visit their web site: http://www.phrusa.org

For more information about Human Rights Watch, go to: http://www.hrw.org