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"the emphasis is not on the individual victim but rather on the collective, the individual being victimised not because of his individual attributes but rather because of his membership of a targeted civilian population. This has been interpreted to mean, as elaborated below, that the acts must occur on a widespread or systematic basis, that there must be some form of a governmental, organizational or group policy to commit these acts and that the perpetrator must know of the context within which his actions are taken, as well as the requirement imported by the Secretary-General and members of the Security Council that the actions be taken on discriminatory grounds."

It should be emphasised that the Trial Chamber determined that, in order to constitute crimes against humanity, the relevant crimes can occur on either a widespread basis, referring to number of victims, or in a systematic manner, indicating a pattern or methodical plan. As long as one of these two conditions is met, this is sufficient to exclude isolated or random acts. Similarly, "[e]ven an isolated act can constitute a crime against humanity if it is the product of a political system based on terror or persecution."

The Trial Chamber also stated that the concept of crimes against humanity necessarily implies a policy element, although this policy need not be explicitly formulated, nor need it be the policy of a State.

"Importantly, however, such a policy need not be formalized and can be deduced from the way in which the acts occur. Notably, if the acts occur on a widespread or systematic basis that demonstrates a policy to commit those acts, whether formalized or not."

It is with all of these considerations in mind that the report presents the campaign of the Serbian/FRY security forces and the violations of international humanitarian law which characterise it. It is the view here advocated that each of the attacks and incidents described in the following text are illustrative of a criminal policy on the part of the Serbian/FRY authorities and, as such, clearly constitute crimes against humanity within the jurisdiction of the International Tribunal by virtue of Article 5 of the Statute.

It is thus the intention of the present report to analyse the events of the Kosovo conflict in the context of Articles 3 and 5 of the Statute. This reflects a caution designed to ensure that the findings of the report are stated in the strongest possible terms, without there being any possible question as to the jurisdiction of the International Tribunal over the events discussed.

Before continuing, however, it is necessary to settle the matter of the existence of an armed conflict in Kosovo in 1998, for, as has been revealed above, this is a prerequisite for the application of both Articles 3 and 5.