Hi friends,
Please do include BART STAES in your thanks as he is the Belgian MEP who initiated the draft resolution.
Ernst Gulcher
>>> Wolfgang Plarre <wplarre@bndlg.de> 09/20/99 08:34 >>>
with many thanks to Ernst Guelcher for his engaged work !
-------- Original Message --------
Betreff: Re: URGENT: GREEN RESOLUTION ON KOSOVAR PRISONERS
Datum: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 15:19:16 +0200
Von: "Ernst Guelcher" <eguelcher@europarl.eu.int>
An: <wplarre@bndlg.de>adopted on 16 September 1999
Resolution on the imprisoned citizens of Kovoso
The European Parliament,
- having regard to its previous resolutions on Kosovo and former Yugoslavia, in particular its resolution of 22 July 1999 ,
- having regard to the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights of 7 September 1999 on the human rights situation in Kosovo,
A. whereas during the conflict in Kosovo many thousands of Kosovars were detained by Yugoslav forces and paramilitary troops,
B. whereas according to reports by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at least 5000 persons are still being detained in connection with various phases of court proceedings on terrorism charges,
C. whereas according to a list compiled by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) based on information from the Serbian Ministry of Justice, approximately 2000 ethnic Albanians are in Serbian prisons, including people who were arrested on charges of anti-state activities before the NATO campaign,
D. concerned that all these prisoners are being held on the basis of one-month police-detention orders, which were enforced under martial law in Yugoslavia during the Kosovo conflict and officially expired on 15 June, since when these orders seem to have been extended indefinitely without any prospect of a proper trial or release,
E. noting that in Kosovo recently there have been over a hundred cases of kidnapping and abduction of persons from minority groups and that allegations concerning the existence of KLA detention centres have been made regularly,
F. whereas the status of detainees and missing persons was not addressed in the Kumanovo Agreement between NATO and the Yugoslav government nor in Security Council Resolution 1244/99 which mandated the international presence in Kosovo,
G. stressing that the full protection of basic human rights has to be an essential element of the process of reconstruction in Kosovo and the whole of South-East Europe,
1. Calls on the Serbian Government to immediately inform family members of detainees and missing persons believed to be in custody of the location of detainees and the reason for their detention;
2. Urges the Serbian Government to release immediately all those detained after 24 March 1999;
3. Calls on the UN Civil Administrator Bernard Kouchner, as well as on the OSCE, to bring forward comprehensive proposals for the release of these prisoners;
4. Welcomes the decision to establish a Subcommission on Prisoners and Detainees in the framework of the Kosovo Transitional Council;
5. Urges the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution which makes it clear to the Serbian authorities that no progress can be made in the peace talks on the future of the region until these prisoners are released;
6. Urges the Finnish EU Presidency to hold direct talks with the Serbian government on the early release of all prisoners;
7. Urges all those involved in the process of reconstruction of South-East Europe to draw up long-term strategies for the promotion and protection of basic human rights and to promote a culture of respect for human rights and tolerance;
8. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission, the authorities of Serbia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the UN Administrator for Kosovo, the OSCE and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
senden