In 1992-95, the Balkans were the scene of a horrible war that caused untold suffering to hundreds of thousands of people, the vast majority noncombatant civilians. Although hostilities have abated since the 1995 Dayton Accords, the conflict remains largely unresolved and might easily be reignited in the months or years to come. The development and maintenance of an offensive chemical weapons program by states of the former Yugoslavia may contribute to the breakdown of the fragile peace that prevails today, and the deployment and use of such weapons during a future conflict, a clear violation of international humanitarian law, is bound to lead to more suffering to combatants and noncombatants alike.
The international community has done much to bring the belligerents to the negotiating table and enforce the Dayton peace accords. It therefore has a responsibility to see to it that the republics of the former Yugoslavia abide by their commitments under these accords. These commitments extend to an obligation to comply with the standards of international humanitarian law, prohibiting the use of chemical weapons. The international community not only has a responsibility to enforce compliance with international humanitarian law standards, it also has the ability to ensure that the republics of the former Yugoslavia abandon any offensive chemical weapons programs and prevent thepotential use of chemical weapons in a future conflict in the Balkans. It is in this context that we make the following recommendations:
To the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro):
· Sign and ratify the 1993 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (Chemical Weapons Convention).
· End all production and development of chemical munitions. Declare and destroy all stockpiles of chemical munitions and agents. Declare and dismantle all chemical agent production and filling equipment.
· Urge the Bosnian Serb leadership to declare and end all production and development of chemical munitions, and declare and destroy all stockpiles of chemical munitions and agents.
To the Government of the Republic of Bosnia and Hercegovina:
· Ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention.
· Ensure that the two constitutive entities of the Republic of Bosnia and Hercegovina—the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina—declare and end all production and development of chemical munitions, and declare and destroy all stockpiles of chemical munitions and agents.
To the Government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia:
· Sign and ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention.
To the Government of the Republic of Slovenia:
· Ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention.
To the Government of the Republic of Croatia:
· Declare and destroy any stockpiles of chemical munitions and agents as might still be in existence.
To the International Community:
· Urge the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to sign and ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention. Urge the Republic of Bosnia and Hercegovina (comprising the constitutive entities of the Republica Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina) to quickly ratify the convention. Link ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention, and adherence to the treaty, to any further guarantees of security assistance. If the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or the Republic of Bosnia and Hercegovina do not ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention, State Parties to the convention should immediately suspend export to them of chemicals listed in Schedule I to the convention, and require end-use statements from these governments for chemicals exported to them that are listed in Schedules II and III, as required by the treaty.
· Demand that these states and entities declare and end all development and production of chemical weapons, and declare and destroy any stockpiles of chemical munitions or agents.
· Instruct the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to monitor and inspect the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention by the republics of the former Yugoslavia once these republics have ratified the convention and the convention has come into effect (on April 29, 1997). Ensure that the OPCW can operate in the countries of the former Yugoslavia freely and fully within its mandate.
· Release all information on the development, production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons in the former Yugoslavia which the United Nations and its member states, including members of the Stabilization Force, may have in their possession. Encourage greater candor and transparency on chemical weapons use and proliferation.
To the Government of the United States:
· Ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention.
· Release all information on the development, production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons in the former Yugoslavia which the United States government may have in its possession.
· Urge the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to dismantle its chemical weapons production facilities, and assign high priority to republics of the former Yugoslavia in planning special operations designed to seize or recover chemical weapons under the Department of Defense’s “counterproliferation” program.
· Investigate, as required by U.S. Public Law 102-182, the “Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Elimination Act of 1991,” whether chemical weapons have been used in the former Yugoslavia. If a determination is made that chemical weapons were used, impose sanctions as mandated by P.L. 102-182.