Recommendations on the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission

Pre-deployment Benchmarks
The Mandate of the Verification Mission
Conclusion

In light of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's (FRY) poor record of cooperation with the international community, Human Rights Watch is concerned that the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission, established to monitor compliance with Security Council Resolutions 1160 and 1199, may face serious incidents of non-compliance and obstruction of its work.

It is critically important therefore, that the international community establish clear benchmarks toward which substantial progress must be made before the OSCE mission is deployed--expending OSCE political capital and putting a substantial number of unarmed civilian personnel at risk. It is also essential that once deployed, the mission has a strong, pro-active human rights orientation. This briefing paper details Human Rights Watch's specific recommendations regarding necessary pre-deployment compliance and the human rights activities of the mission.

Pre-deployment Benchmarks:

The recent history of peace-making in the Balkans has been a story of broken promises. Since the conflict in Kosovo broke out last February, the government of Slobodan Milosevic has repeatedly promised compliance with international demands, only promptly to renege and renew its abusive campaign against the Kosovo Albanians. The current failure of Milosevic to make promised troop withdrawals--causing NATO to extend its deadline for compliance from October 17 to October 27--is a worrisome sign that the pattern may continue. Equally troubling is evidence that the KLA has broken its ceasefire.

By pursuing their mandate aggressively and publicly, the proposed OSCE monitors may help create an environment in which civilians feel less at risk. But as unarmed civilians, with their authority ultimately limited to verification, the OSCE personnel may be powerless to stop abuses and may even become targets themselves.

Before the OSCE puts its imprimatur on the peace process and its personnel at risk, it must insist on several key indicators of FRY's good faith implementation of its commitments. The existing Kosovo Diplomatic Observer Mission (KDOM) is well placed to provide this interim verification. Human Rights Watch believes that, at a minimum, the OSCE should receive clear indication of substantial progress toward fulfillment of the following important benchmarks prior to the deployment:

Withdrawal of all Serbian special police forces and any paramilitary units that have or are suspected of having perpetrated human rights or humanitarian law violations in Kosovo; and disclosure of information regarding the command structure for all remaining forces, including the identities and locations of all commanding officers.
Guaranteed safe passage and unincumbered access for humanitarian aid delivery and distribution to displaced persons throughout Kosovo.
Full cooperation with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in her investigation into alleged atrocities committed in Kosovo, including the provision of unrestricted access to the territory and full investigatory rights.

Disclosure of all current places of detention where persons detained in connection with the conflict are being held; disclosure of the names of all individuals detained during the course of the conflict and their current whereabouts; and provision of full and unfettered access for humanitarian organizations to all detainees, including those who are currently being investigated but have not been charged with a crime.

Only upon compliance with these minimum requirements for a lasting peace can the OSCE verification mission hope to be successfully deployed.

The Mandate of the Verification Mission:

Human Rights Watch believes that the OSCE mission must maintain a strong human rights orientation for its work. The U.N.'s conclusions in a recent non-paper on lessons learned from the UNTAES mission to Croatia are instructive:

In Eastern Slavonia, the establishment of a safe and secure environment was essential to the return of refugees and displaced persons.
The monitoring of human rights was closely associated with the return of refugees and displaced persons. As the level of respect for human rights rose, so did the rate of return of refugees and displaced persons.
The constant presence of CIVPOL in all police stations provided an essential reassurance to local residents that their basic human rights would be protected during criminal investigations and when in police custody.
OSCE and ECMM together with CIVPOL worked closely in monitoring human rights, thereby demonstrating the consensus in the international community on the importance of respect for human rights.
It was essential for the future of the region to improve the professionalism and knowledge of the region's TPF in the field of human rights by providing on-site training, special courses on identification of, investigation and reporting on, human rights violations.(1)

Similarly, in Kosovo, the humanitarian crisis that has driven recent peacemaking efforts can only be solved if the Verification Mission effectively addresses the human rights violations that caused the crisis in the first place. To do so, the mission must be authorized and obliged to investigate and monitor ongoing human rights and humanitarian law violations, collect information on past abuses, cooperate with international organizations, including the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and regularly publicize its activities and findings. These activities have been implicitly agreed in the October 16 agreement between the Yugoslav authorities and the OSCE, as they are essential to fulfillment of the Mission's mandate to, inter alia, facilitate the return of displaced persons, monitor the conduct of the police, and facilitate ICRC access to detainees.

Drawing from our experience in other peace-keeping and -implementing missions throughout the world, Human Rights Watch believes that the human rights responsibilities of the mission should be coordinated by a specialized unit, well-staffed by persons with the necessary expertise and operating under the direct supervision of the head of mission. All members of the OSCE mission should receive training in human rights monitoring and the mission should include staff with field experience in monitoring human rights abuses and interviewing victims and witnesses of atrocities, including torture, rape, and sexual abuse; forensic experts; legal experts knowledgeable in international human rights and humanitarian law; specialists in police and military methodology; and those knowledgeable in building civil society and democratic institutions. The Mission's periodic reports to the Security Council and Permanent Council should contain a specific section devoted to human rights-related developments, and these findings and recommendations should be publicly available.

The human rights mandate of the mission should be clearly set forth in a mission statement of the OSCE prior to the deployment of its monitors. Specifically, the human rights mandate of the OSCE mission should empower and oblige the mission to:

Freely monitor and investigate human rights conditions:

Receive complaints of human rights abuses from any person or group in Kosovo.
Travel freely and visit any site, including any suspected or known places of detention.
Interview persons freely and in private, including detainees who have not yet been charged with a crime.

Monitor, report, and publicize abuses committed by the security forces:

Monitor the behavior of the Serbian police and Yugoslav Army and investigate incidents of harassment or violence against the population; raise cases of abuse with the appropriate authorities; recommend corrective action, including dismissal or prosecution; and publicize the abuses, particularly in cases where the authorities fail to take appropriate corrective action.

Monitor, report, and publicize KLA abuses:

Monitor and investigate any harassment or abuse by the Kosovo Liberation Army against ethnic Albanians, Serbs, and others; report those abuses to the KLA and the Yugoslav authorities; recommend accountability or other corrective action in conformity with international standards; and publicize the abuses, particularly where the KLA or Yugoslav authorities fail to take appropriate corrective action.

Monitor, report, and publicize conditions of detention:

In cooperation with ICRC, monitor the treatment of those in detention through regular visits to prisons and police stations and suspected places of detention, including those located outside of Kosovo but holding persons detained in connection with the conflict; interview detainees, freely and in private, including those who have not yet been charged with a crime; raise objections with the authorities when access to detention facilities is denied or conditions deviate from international standards; recommend corrective action, including dismissal or prosecution; and publicize those conditions when the authorities fail to take corrective action, including the prosecution of responsible officials.

Monitor, report, and publicize conduct of trials:

Observe trials, especially those of ethnic Albanians accused of "terrorism" or other crimes related to state security; raise objections with the authorities when access to trials is denied and when procedural irregularities are identified; recommend remedial measures; and publicize procedural violations, particularly when the authorities fail to take remedial action.

Monitor, report, and publicize conditions for return of displaced persons:

Monitor and investigate obstacles to the right of return for the estimated 250,000 internally displaced persons in Kosovo; bring those obstacles to the attention of the authorities; recommend remedial measures; and publicize the problem, particularly when the authorities fail to remedy it.

Monitor, report, and publicize restrictions on the media:

Monitor and investigate restrictions on freedom of the press in Serbia, both on the Albanian- and Serbian-language media; publicize deficiencies in freedom of expression and recommend needed reform to the authorities.

Work with local and international human rights organizations:

Maintain close contact with local and international human rights organizations working in Kosovo and develop procedures for regular consultation and information sharing.

Cooperate with the ICTY:

Cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia by identifying possible witnesses and evidence of violations of international humanitarian law. To facilitate this cooperation, Mission members should be briefed on the specific evidentiary needs of the ICTY and instructed to forward relevant information.

Contribute to human rights institution building:

Lead or participate in efforts to assist in the development of national institutions--both governmental and nongovernmental--which can protect and promote human rights after the international monitoring has ended.

Vet the police force for human right abusers:

As part of police force development envisioned by the agreement, ensure that all police officers responsible for war crimes or other serious human rights violations are not allowed to serve in any capacity in law enforcement. For purposes of the vetting of police officers, the OSCE should seek information regarding individual police officers' human rights record from the ICTY, local and international human rights groups, the public, as well as from the OSCE's own human rights monitors.

In conclusion, Human Rights Watch notes that the OSCE should not limit its engagement in FRY to the verification mission. First, the new OSCE mission to Kosovo should not be considered a replacement for the long-term, Yugoslav-wide OSCE mission that was expelled from the country in 1992. Such a mission to monitor human rights conditions throughout Yugoslavia is essential to any viable long-term political solution in FRY and should remain a central demand of the international community. Second, recognizing limitations on his mandate, Human Rights Watch believes that the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities might play an important role in Kosovo, providing an early warning mechanism for possible renewed violence stemming from abuses committed against Albanians, Serbs or other minorities resident in the region. Finally, the OSCE should support recent efforts of its Representative on Freedom of the Media to address the serious violations of free expression that undermine prospects for any lasting political solution in FRY.

1. Non-Paper, "Lessons Learned from the United Nations Transitional Administration in Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) and Cooperation Between the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe," p.30, May 1998.