13. juni 2000:
Amnesty International Public document
AI Index EUR 70/029/2000
News Service Nr. 116
Amnesty International's initial comments on the review by the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia of NATO's
Operation Allied Force
The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
has
published today the Final Report to the Prosecutor by the Committee
Established to Review the NATO Bombing Campaign Against the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia. The report examines general issues and five
specific incidents and recommends to the ICTY Prosecutor not to
commence
a criminal investigation "in relation to the NATO bombing campaign or
incidents occurring during the campaign" (para 91).
Ms Carla Del Ponte, ICTY's Prosecutor, informed the United Nations'
Security Council on 2 June 2000 that she had decided to accept this
recommendation. She specifies that although some mistakes were made by
NATO, "the Prosecutor is satisfied that there was no deliberate
targeting of civilians or unlawful military targets by NATO during the
campaign".
Amnesty International has received a copy of the 45-page ICTY report
and
is examining it carefully. All five incidents examined in the report
by
ICTY's review committee were included in the Amnesty International
report, Collateral Damage or Unlawful Killings?, Violations of the
Laws
of War by NATO during Operation Allied Force, published last week (AI
Index: EUR 70/18/00).
Amnesty International welcomes the unusual publication by the ICTY of
the reasoning behind the decision not to open an investigation related
to NATO's bombing campaign. The organization believes that this step
contributes greatly to the Tribunal's transparency, offering important
perspectives on the interpretation of the laws of war.
Amnesty International also respects the discretion enjoyed by the
ICTY's
Prosecutor in deciding whether or not to open criminal investigations.
The organization understands that, as with other cases, the Prosecutor
may still decide to open an investigation into the NATO bombing should
additional relevant information become available.
Amnesty International notes that the report of the ICTY assessment
indicates that when NATO was requested "to answer specific questions
about specific incidents, the NATO reply was couched in general terms
and failed to address the specific incidents." The report also points
out that the "committee has not spoken to those involved in directing
or
carrying out the bombing campaign". These facts must have contributed
to
the information gaps that the committee itself acknowledges in its
report. Amnesty International also notes the following overall
conclusion of the review committee (para 90):
"NATO has admitted that mistakes did occur during the bombing
campaign;
errors of judgment may also have occurred. Selection of certain
objectives for attack may be subject to legal debate. On the basis of
the information reviewed, however, the committee is of the opinion
that
neither an in-depth investigation related to the bombing campaign as a
whole nor investigations related to specific incidents are justified.
In
all cases, either the law is not sufficiently clear or investigations
are unlikely to result in the acquisition of sufficient evidence to
substantiate charges against high level accused or against lower
accused
for particularly heinous offences."
The report does not explain what difficulties are envisaged by the
Office of the Prosecutor in gathering sufficient evidence against any
NATO or NATO member state official.
With regard to the bombing of the headquarters and studios of Serbian
state television and radio (Radio Televisija Srbije, RTS) in Belgrade
on
23 April 1999, the report states (para 76):
"The committee finds that if the attack on the RTS was justified by
reference to its propaganda purpose alone, its legality might well be
questioned by some experts in the field of international humanitarian
law. It appears, however, that NATO's targeting of the RTS building
for
propaganda purposes was an incidental (albeit complementary) aim of
its
primary goal of disabling the Serbian military command and control
system and to destroy the nerve system and apparatus that keeps
Milosevic in power."
Earlier (para 55) the report made the following observation regarding
the role of the media in general:
"The media as such is not a traditional target category. To the extent
particular media components are part of the C3 (command, control and
communications) network they are military objectives. If media
components are not part of the C3 network then they may become
military
objectives depending upon their use. As a bottom line, civilians,
civilian objects and civilian morale as such are not legitimate
military
objectives. The media does have an effect on civilian morale. If that
effect is merely to foster support for the war effort, the media is
not
a legitimate military objective. If the media is used to incite
crimes,
as in Rwanda, it can become a legitimate military objective. If the
media is the nerve system that keeps a war-monger in power and thus
perpetuates the war effort, it may fall within the definition of a
legitimate military objective."
Amnesty International reiterates that the explanation it sought and
received by NATO regarding the attack on the RTS headquarters was that
the attack was carried out because the RTS was a propaganda organ. In
a
letter to Amnesty International dated 17 May 1999 and quoted in ICTY's
report (para 73), NATO's then Secretary General Javier Solana said
that
NATO made "every possible effort to avoid civilian casualties and
collateral damage by exclusively and carefully targeting the military
infrastructure of President Milocevic", adding that the RTS facilities
"are being used as radio relay stations and transmitters to support
the
activities of the FRY military and special police forces, and
therefore
they represented legitimate military targets". However, as also
indicated in the Amnesty International report published last week, at
a
meeting with Amnesty International in Brussels on 14 February 2000
NATO
officials clarified that this reference to relay stations and
transmitters was to other attacks on RTS infrastructure and not this
particular attack on the RTS headquarters. They insisted that the
attack
on the RTS headquarters was carried out because RTS was a propaganda
organ and argued that propaganda is direct support for military
action.
The point relating to propaganda has been made repeatedly, most
recently
by General Wesley Clark, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe at the
time
of Operation Allied Force. In an address at the Brookings Institution
on
8 June 2000 he is quoted as saying:
"I noticed on the news today there is criticism of the attack on the
Serb media. Well, of course, that was a controversial target. But the
Serb media engine was feeding the war. It was a crucial instrument of
Milosevic's control over the Serb population. And it exported fear,
hatred and instability into neighbouring regions. And so it was a
legitimate target of war, validated by lawyers in many countries and
validated by the International Criminal Tribunal. But it sure eased
our
minds a lot to know that our elected political leaders took the
responsibility for that strike."
As explained in its report last week, Amnesty International recognizes
that disrupting government propaganda may help to undermine the morale
of the population and the armed forces. However, the organization
believes that justifying an attack on such grounds stretches the
meaning
of "effective contribution to military action" and "definite military
advantage" -- essential requirements of the definition of a military
objective -- beyond the acceptable bounds of interpretation. As such,
Amnesty International takes the view that the attack on the RTS
headquarters was directed at a civilian object and points out that
"[I]ntentionally directing attacks against civilian objects" is a war
crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Amnesty International regrets the lack of full cooperation by NATO in
resposnding to ICTY's inquiries. The organization stresses that the
fact
that the ICTY Prosecutor has decided not to open a criminal
investigation against NATO should not lead NATO to ignore the detailed
and nuanced contents of the ICTY report, or dismiss recommendations
made
by Amnesty International and other organizations.
Amnesty International calls again on NATO and NATO member states to
heed
the recommendations it made in its report published last week,
including
the need for all NATO member states to ratify without reservations
Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949; ensure a
common
interpretation of international humanitarian law in line with the
highest international standards; reflect these standards in NATO's
rules
of engagement; and clarify NATO's chain of command, so as to ensure
clear lines of responsibility.
NATO and NATO member states should also conduct their own
investigation
into reported breaches of the rules of war during Operation Allied
Force, whether or not they may amount to war crimes, so as to take
appropriate measures against anyone found responsible, provide
redress,
including compensation, to victims of such violations, and learn
lessons
for the future. ...
ENDS.../
Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street,
WC1X 8DJ, London, United Kingdom
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