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Doc. 8419
19 May 1999
Violation of the norms of international humanitarian law by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Motion for a resolution
presented by Mr Glotov and others
This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only the members who have signed it |
1. The Assembly states with deep regret that the use of force by NATO against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) has caused numerous victims among the civilian population of this country, mass destruction of non-military facilities including residential areas, bridges and other facilities. Many enterprises which do not manufacture products for military use have been destroyed. A number of power stations and fuel storage installations have been demolished. As a result of air strikes a great number of residents of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia have been forced to leave their places of permanent residence and become refugees and forced migrants. The Assembly also condemns « large-scale ethnic cleansing » regardless of the perpetrators.
2. The Assembly is of the opinion that the use of force by NATO member states aimed against the civilian population of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and civilian installations constitutes a serious violation of the norms of international humanitarian law and must be condemned by the international community.
3. The Assembly reminds of the general principle of protection of civilian population against the dangers of military actions.
4. The Assembly confirms the applicability to the developments in the FRY of the norm that the civilian population must remain constantly protected by the principles of international law which are based on established customs, principles of humanity and the requirements of public perceptions.
5. The Assembly confirms the priority of the principle of international law according to which the right of the parties in armed conflict to choose methods and means of waging a war is not unlimited, as well as of the principle prohibiting the use of weapons, projectiles and warfare agents, and methods of warfare which may cause excessive injuries and sufferings.
6. The Assembly proceeds from the fact that civilised states must recognise the principle of prohibition of air strikes aimed at terrorising civilian population, destroying or causing damage to private property which is not used for military purposes and killing non-combatants. This principle presupposes payment of compensation for damage caused to persons and property as a result of the above mentioned actions. Equally must be considered as prohibited any bombings of unprotected cities, villages, living quarters or constructions.
7. In many cases air strikes against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia cause serious negative impact on the environment. As a result such actions have created a threat to environmental security not only for the FRY but for neighbouring countries as well.
8. The Assembly states that NATO actions in the FRY contradict the Convention of the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques of 1977.
9. The bombing of the FRY territory by NATO forces, aimed at destroying and setting on fire fuel storage facilities in densely populated areas, contradict the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions of Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects of 1980, as such actions are aimed at destroying non-military facilities.
10. The Assembly reminds that the use of methods and means of warfare aimed at long-term and large-scale damage to the environment is prohibited. In this connection the provisions of the Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques of 1977, of the Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 as well as the UN Resolution A47/37 (1992) « On the Protection of the Environment in the Period of Armed Conflicts » are most relevant.
11. The Assembly states with deep concern that during the bombing of the territory of the FRY, weapons which cause injuries by fragments undetectable in the human body by X-rays were used. The Assembly stresses that such actions are explicitly prohibited by the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed To Be Excessively Injurious or To Have Indiscriminate Effects (1980).
12. The Assembly draws attention to the fact that the NATO actions in the FRY create a real threat to cultural sites as well as to historical monuments and scientific and cultural institutions protected by the 1954 Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the 1935 Treaty on the Protection of Scientific and Cultural Institutions as well as Historical Monuments.
13. The Assembly reminds that NATO actions against the FRY are violating the principles of the 1949 Convention on the Protection of the Civilian Population During War.
14. The Assembly notes with deep concern that NATO air strikes on the territory of the FRY aimed at supporting the Albanian separatists violate the rules established by the Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Convention of August 12, 1949, concerning the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts. Facilities important for the survival of the population, such as food storage facilities, crops, cattle, water supply installations and drinking water reserves, are being destroyed. Air strikes are targeted against facilities containing toxic substances. For example, the agricultural complex in Sjenitse was destroyed.
15. The Assembly notes that the NATO actions against the FRY affecting security and the lives of the civilian population violate the basic principles laid down in Articles 2 and 3 of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. The bombings create a threat to the lives of the FRY civilian population including refugees. A bomb strike against the column of Albanian refugees in Kosovo which caused numerous deaths proves the indiscriminate nature of NATO actions.
16. The NATO air strikes against the FRY have caused the destruction of many power stations which supply electricity to the civilian population. A combined cycle power plan in Krushevatz, a hydro-electric station in Nova Vyrosh and a number of electrical transmission lines are among those destroyed. As a result of air strikes, numerous fuel storage facilities and oil processing plants, such as oil refineries in Pancevo and Novi Sad, fuel storage facilities in Bogutovtse, Sombor, Pristina and Smeredovo, were destroyed as well.
17. The NATO air attacks and cruise missile strikes have brought damage to civilian industrial facilities including the aircraft plant in Pancevo, the home appliances enterprise in Cacak, the chemical plant in Lucan, tobacco factories in Vranje and Gnilan, machine-building plants in Novi Sad, Belgrade and Nis, shock-absorber and car battery plants in Pristina and Gnilan, automobile plants in Kragujevac and a factory manufacturing plastic products for automobiles in Pristina, timber factories in Raska and Vranje, textile mill in Vranje.
18. The Assembly states with deep regret that the bombings of the FRY territory have caused damage and destruction of transport links including Belgrade-Bar, Kraljevo-Kraguevac, Uzice-Priboy, Kralevo-Kosovo Pole, Bugojevo-Vukovar, Nis-Kosovo Pole railway roads. The bridges in Lozno, between Novi Sad and Petrovariadin, Novi Sad and Sremska Kamenica, Kralevo and Rasks, Kursumlija and Prokuplo, Pristina and Nic, Prijepole and Priboy, in Ribaric, Strumce, Brvenike were destroyed. The bridges across the Danube in Backa Planaka, between Bogojevo and Erdut, and in Novi Sad were damaged.
19. A NATO air strike targeted at the international passenger train Belgrade-Saloniki caused numerous victims among the civilian population.
20. The NATO actions caused the destruction of the telecommunications system, in particular, the relay stations in Loznica, Tsrno, Vrhu, Irshkom Vens, Bukuli, Tornika, Obilic.
21. The Assembly emphasises that as a result of the NATO bombing damage has been caused to more than 220 Yugoslavian schools.
22. Taking into consideration the situation that has been developing in the FRY as a result of NATO bombing and damage to civilian facilities and the population, the Assembly expresses readiness to provide support to all political forces concerned with a view to putting an end to mass and gross violations of international law on the part of NATO and proposes that :
i. NATO should immediately stop the air strikes against the FRY ;
ii. the FRY leadership should invite a UN peace-keeping force not involving any country participating in the NATO aggression as well as to provide guarantees for the safe return of refugees ;
iii. all Council of Europe countries should extend assistance to the process of peaceful settlement to the Balkan crisis ;
iv. the Council of Europe should take part in consultations on defining the status of the autonomy in Kosovo in the framework of the FRY and Serbia territorial integrity ;
v. the Council of Europe should provide assistance to all civilian victims of the conflict including refugees and displaced persons from Kosovo as well as the victims of NATO military actions through increasing allocations from the Social Development Fund ;
vi. the FRY Parliament should be invited to receive a PACE delegation in order to find a peaceful solution and to help all civilian victims of the conflict :
Signed : 1
Glotov, Russia, UEL
Kharitonov, Russia, UEL
Melnikov, Russia, UEL
Shuba, Russia, EPP/CD
Khunov, Ukraine, UEL
Zhebrovsky, Russia, NR
Oliynyk, Ukraine, UEL
Kuznetsov, Russia, EPP/CD
Maltsev, Russia, UEL
Korakas, Greece, UEL
Ziuganov, Russia, UEL
Rakhansky, Ukraine, UEL
1 SOC: Socialist Group
EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party
EDG: European Democratic Group
LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group
UEL: Group of the Unified European Left
NR: not registered in a group