Doc. 8218 revised

15 October 1998

Emergency action plan for children in Kosovo

Motion for a recommendation

presented by Mrs Pozza Tasca and others

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only the members who have signed it

      The Assembly,

      Noting that the humanitarian situation in Kosovo has now reached emergency level : according to estimates from the Institute of Statistics and Demography in Kosovo, 228 villages have been destroyed during the six months of war in Kosovo, driving out 500 000 residents and killing 600 ; 500 more are reported missing, and the damage to property is in excess of 3 billion lire ;

      Noting that the Berlin newspaper « Tageszeitung » has quoted eye witness reports of the massacre of 430 children in the Orahovac area alone by anti-terrorist troops sent by the Ministry of the Interior in Belgrade ;

      Noting that the Council of Europe has a duty to act immediately and use all the means at its disposal to prevent any further violence and ensure respect for human rights ;

      Taking full account of the New York Convention of 1989, the European Charter of the Rights of the Child of 1992 and the Recommendation on the European Childhood Strategy adopted by the Council of Europe on 24 January 1996 ;

      Taking note of the Final Declaration of the Second Summit of Heads of State and Government signed in Strasbourg on 11 October 1997, aimed at reinforcing co-operation between member states to improve the legal protection of minors ;

      Recommends that the Committee of Ministers adopt an emergency action plan for children in Kosovo providing for :

a. immediately setting up a task force to monitor the situation of minors in Kosovo and verify the accuracy of the information on the massacres by the Serbian military ;

b. creating a photographic register of children who have lost their families, enabling them, their families and places of residence to be identified;

c. guaranteeing that minors are not directly involved in hostilities ;

d. preserving the right to education and medical assistance ;

e. adopting any measures required to protect children from any form of economic or sexual exploitation ;

f. placing special emphasis on respect for the rights of minors in European training programmes for the Albanian police ;

g. finalising specific training activities for all persons dealing with minors, viz teachers, social workers, government and voluntary staff, complementing general teaching skills with specialisation in managing war trauma, in terms of both providing psychological therapy for the children and permanently monitoring their reintegration into their communities of origin.

Signed¹ :

Pozza Tasca, Italy, LDR

Besostri, Italy, SOC

De Carolis, Italy, SOC

Evin, France, SOC

Gnaga, Italy, NR

Maximus, Belgium, SOC

Pollo, Albania,EPP/CD

Poptodorova, Bulgaria, SOC

Pulgar, Spain, EPP/CD

Squarcialupi, Italy, SOC

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