U.S. Decision to Certify Yugoslavia "Premature"

(New York, May 21, 2002) - The Bush administration is seriously premature in certifying Yugoslavia for renewed U.S. aid, Human Rights Watch said today.

The Yugoslav and Serbian governments have facilitated the surrender of indictees to the Tribunal, but they continue to withhold crucial evidence necessary to try those alleged war criminals Richard Dicker   Director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch

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.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said today that Belgrade had satisfied conditions set by the U.S. Congress for the resumption of American aid, which was suspended in March pending Yugoslav cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.  
 
"The Yugoslav and Serbian governments have facilitated the surrender of indictees to the Tribunal, but they continue to withhold crucial evidence necessary to try those alleged war criminals," said Richard Dicker, director of the International Justice program at Human Rights Watch.  
 
Dicker said the U.S. should press the Belgrade authorities to show clear progress on access to documents and witnesses by the time of a donor conference for Yugoslavia scheduled for late June.  
 
"The certification means that aid can flow," said Dicker. "But how much and when that aid flows should depend on further progress on the key issue of access to documents and other relevant evidence."