Situation of Human Rights in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia Violations of Human Rights in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montengro)

A/RES/48/153View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, published in 1994.

What’s in this document?

46 operative paragraphs

Resolution 217 A (III).

Resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.

Resolution 2106 A (XX), annex.

Resolution 44/25, annex.

Resolution 260 A (III).

Resolution 39/46, annex.

United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, Nos. 970-973.

Ibid., vol. 1125, Nos. 17512 and 17513.

See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1992, Supplement No. 2A (E/1992/22/Add.1/Rev.1), chap. II.

See E/1992/22/Add.2-E/CN.4/1992/84/Add.2.

See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1993, Supplement No. 3 (E/1993/23), chap. II, sect. A.

See S/26383, S/26415 and S/26469.

Commends the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the territories of the successor States of the former Yugoslavia for his reports; 12/

Expresses its grave concern at the Special Rapporteur's detailed reports of massive and systematic violations of human rights and humanitarian law in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro);

Notes with grave concern the Special Rapporteur's conclusions about the impending humanitarian disaster in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina this winter;

Condemns in the strongest terms all violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) by all sides to the conflict, recognizing that the leadership in territory under the control of Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, the commanders of Serb paramilitary forces and political and military leaders in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) bear primary responsibility for most of those violations;

Condemns also the specific violations identified by the Special Rapporteur, most of which are committed in connection with "ethnic cleansing", and which include killings, torture, beatings, arbitrary searches, rape, disappearances, destruction of houses and other acts or threats of violence aimed at forcing individuals to leave their homes, as well as reports of violations of human rights in connection with detention;

Condemns further the indiscriminate shelling of cities and civilian areas, the systematic terrorization and murder of non-combatants, the destruction of vital services and besieging of cities and the use of military force against civilian populations and relief operations by all sides, recognizing that the main responsibility lies with the Bosnian Serbs, who have used such tactics as a matter of policy, and the Bosnian Croats;

Supports the determination of the Security Council that all persons who perpetrate or authorize violations of international humanitarian law are individually responsible for those breaches and that the international community shall exert every effort to bring them to justice;

Urges all States, United Nations bodies, including the specialized agencies, the Special Rapporteur and, as appropriate, international humanitarian organizations to make available substantiated information in their possession or submitted to them relating to violations and the perpetrators of such violations of international humanitarian law, including grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) to the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, established by Security Council resolution 827 (1993), for prosecution, as appropriate, by the Chief Prosecutor;

Expresses deep concern at the number of disappearances and missing persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), and reiterates calls on all parties to make all possible efforts to account for those missing;

Urges that an immediate end be brought to the continuing practice of "ethnic cleansing", and in particular that the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) use their influence with the self-proclaimed Serbian authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia to bring the practice of "ethnic cleansing" to an immediate end and to reverse the effects of that practice;

Urges the Government of Croatia to use its influence with the self-proclaimed Croatian authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to bring the practice of "ethnic cleansing" to an immediate end and to reverse the effects of that practice;

Reaffirms that States are to be held accountable for violations of human rights which their agents commit on their own territory or on the territory of another State;

Expresses its complete support for the victims of those violations, reaffirms the right of all persons to return to their homes in safety and dignity, considers invalid all acts made under duress affecting ownership of property and other related questions, recognizes the right of victims of "ethnic cleansing" to receive just reparation for their losses, and urges all parties to fulfil their agreements to this end;

Condemns in particular the violations of human rights and humanitarian law in connection with detention, including killings, torture and the systematic practice of rape, and urges the immediate, internationally supervised release of all persons arbitrarily or illegally detained in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro);

Calls for the immediate closure of all detention facilities not in compliance with the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949;

Urges all parties to notify immediately the International Committee of the Red Cross of the locations of all camps, prisons and other places of detention within Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), and urges that the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Special Rapporteur and his staff, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the monitoring and other missions of the European Union and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and other relevant international and regional organizations be granted immediate, unimpeded and continued access to such places of detention;

Expresses its grave concern at the deteriorating human rights situation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), particularly in Kosovo, as described in the reports of the Special Rapporteur, and strongly condemns the violations of human rights occurring there;

Strongly condemns in particular the measures and practices of discrimination and the violations of the human rights of the ethnic Albanians of Kosovo, as well as the large-scale repression committed by the Serbian authorities, including:

Police brutality against ethnic Albanians, arbitrary searches, seizures and arrests, torture and ill-treatment during detention and discrimination in the administration of justice, which leads to a climate of lawlessness in which criminal acts, particularly against ethnic Albanians, take place with impunity;

The discriminatory removal of ethnic Albanian officials, especially from the police and judiciary, the mass dismissal of ethnic Albanians from professional, administrative and other skilled positions in State-owned enterprises and public institutions, including teachers from the Serb-run school system, and the closure of Albanian high schools and universities;

Arbitrary imprisonment of ethnic Albanian journalists, the closure of Albanian-language mass media and the discriminatory removal of ethnic Albanian staff from local radio and television stations;

Repression by the Serbian police and military;

Urges the authorities in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro):

To take all necessary measures to bring to an immediate end the human rights violations inflicted on the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, including, in particular, discriminatory measures and practices, arbitrary detention and the use of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and the occurrence of summary executions;

To revoke all discriminatory legislation, in particular that which has entered into force since 1989;

To re-establish the democratic institutions of Kosovo, including the Parliament and the judiciary;

To resume dialogue with the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, including under the auspices of the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia;

Also urges the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, and expresses the view that the best means to safeguard human rights in Kosovo is to restore its autonomy;

Expresses its grave concern at the report by the Special Rapporteur of violations of human rights occurring in Sandjak and Vojvodina, particularly acts of physical harassment, abductions, the burning of homes, warrantless searches, confiscation of property, arbitrary arrests, the closure of political parties, and other discriminatory practices in favour of the Serbian population, which are intended to change the ethnic structure of those areas;

Calls upon the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) to allow the immediate entry of an international human rights monitoring presence into the country, particularly into Kosovo, and strongly urges them to reconsider their refusal to allow the continuation of the activities of the missions of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in Kosovo, Sandjak and Vojvodina and to cooperate with the Conference by taking the practical steps needed for the resumption of the activities of those missions, called for by the Security Council in its resolution 855 (1993) of 22 February 1993, in order to prevent the extension of the conflict to those areas;

Reaffirms that all parties to the conflict in the territories of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) share the responsibility for finding a peaceful solution through negotiations under the auspices of the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia, urges that human rights concerns be given proper priority in the peace process, and calls upon the parties to implement immediately all commitments made in the framework of the Conference and to reach a just and durable solution as soon as possible;

Urges all United Nations bodies, including the United Nations Protection Force, the United Nations human rights treaty bodies and the specialized agencies, and Governments and informed intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur and in particular to provide him on a continuing basis with all relevant and accurate information in their possession on the situation of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro);

Urges all States and competent organizations to consider implementation of the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur in his recent reports, and in particular:

Welcomes the call of the Special Rapporteur for the opening of humanitarian relief corridors to prevent the imminent death of tens of thousands of persons, especially in view of the lack of access to many areas in the face of the coming winter;

Supports the call of the Special Rapporteur for the immediate release of detainees into conditions of safety;

Draws the attention of the international community to the need for an effective response to counter the policy of "ethnic cleansing" perpetrated by any side, particularly the Bosnian Serb forces, who have used such tactics as a matter of policy, and Bosnian Croat forces;

Supports the request of the Special Rapporteur to the Croatian authorities to take action against those who have committed human rights violations and contravened international humanitarian standards in the Medak Pocket and to take steps to punish those responsible to prevent such incidents in the future;

Welcomes the signing of the Joint Declaration with respect to Freedom of Movement of 18 November 1993, in which the signatories have solemnly agreed to ensure complete and secure freedom of movement for all personnel of the United Nations and international humanitarian organizations and which was solemnly renewed at a meeting held at Geneva on 29 November 1993 within the framework of the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia;

Urges the Secretary-General to take all necessary steps to ensure the full and effective coordination of the activities of all United Nations bodies in implementing the present resolution, and urges those bodies concerned with the situation in the territories of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) to coordinate closely with the Special Rapporteur and the International Tribunal;

Also urges the Secretary-General, within existing resources, to make all necessary resources available for the Special Rapporteur to carry out his mandate and in particular to provide him with adequate staff based in the territories of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) to ensure effective continuous monitoring of the human rights situation there and coordination with other United Nations bodies involved, including the United Nations Protection Force;

Requests the Secretary-General to give all other necessary assistance to the Special Rapporteur to enable him to fulfil his mandate;

Calls upon the States concerned to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur so as to enable him to fulfil his mandate;

Invites the Chief Prosecutor of the International Tribunal to consider the appointment to his office of experts in the prosecution of crimes of sexual violence;

Calls upon States to put experts, including experts in the prosecution of crimes of sexual violence, at the disposal of the Chief Prosecutor and the International Tribunal;

Invites the Commission on Human Rights at its fiftieth session to request the Special Rapporteur to report to the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session;

Decides to continue its examination of this question at its forty-ninth session under the item entitled "Human rights questions".

Situation of Human Rights in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia Violations of Human Rights in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montengro)

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