Report on the Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law in Kosovo

government statements, United Nations resolutions and declarations from regional and international organisations have condemned the violence in Kosovo, from the beginning of the clamp-down by Serbian/FRY forces in February 1998, until the present time. The level of fighting between the UCK and the Serbian/FRY authorities has far exceeded the isolated or sporadic attacks characteristic of a civil disturbance and the massive deployment of special police forces, as well as Yugoslav Army units, utilising a sophisticated array of weaponry and equipment, indicates the truly military nature of the response to the UCK mounted by the regime in Belgrade.

Indeed, on 31 March 1998, the UN Security Council imposed an arms embargo on the FRY, utilising Chapter VII of the UN Charter. Moreover, by 23 September, the Security Council was calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the maintenance of a cease-fire in Kosovo, indicating the widespread view that what was occurring in the province was no less than an armed conflict.

The present report does not, however, seek to make a determination of when exactly this armed conflict commenced and, in an excess of caution, avoids an extensive discussion of events which took place in the first half of 1998, concentrating instead on the campaigns of July, August and September. It must be emphasised that the purpose of this limitation is merely to ensure that there can be no question as to the jurisdiction of the ICTY at least over some of the events which occurred in Kosovo, and is not intended as a judgement that there was not an armed conflict, in the legal sense, prior to this time, or that the ICTY should not investigate, prosecute and punish any violations of international humanitarian law which might have been committed earlier in the year.

III. CAMPAIGN BY THE SERBIAN/FRY FORCES

While it is not possible to document every incident during the course of the conflict in Kosovo which might be considered to constitute a violation of international humanitarian law, the current report seeks to provide a picture of the campaign mounted by the Serbian/FRY authorities and their forces during 1998. By engaging in a systematic review of several incidents which took place in the chosen time period, in the context of the conflict as a whole, the report demonstrates that these events must be regarded as part of a wider policy on the part of the Serbian/FRY authorities. The Belgrade regime, including President Milutinovic of the Republic of Serbia and President Milosevic of the FRY, sought to crush the Kosovo Liberation Army through direct attacks on their bases and strongholds, as well as the targeting of their support network among the civilian population by instigating a campaign designed to terrorise the Kosovar population as a whole. This fundamental aim dictated all of the events which occurred in Kosovo and involved the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian law by personnel acting under the authority of the leaders of both the Republic of Serbia and the FRY.

As is demonstrated below, the course of events in Kosovo, from the spring, through the summer and into the autumn of 1998 can only be regarded as a military campaign on the part of the Serbian/FRY forces under the control of both Serbia and the leadership of the FRY. The most sensational atrocities that have characterised this campaign and which have been reported sporadically in the media, as well as the less notorious violations of