Amnesty International concerns over NATO bombings

Reply-To: [email protected]
Sender: [email protected]
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 21:30:59 +0300 (EET DST)
Message-Id: <[email protected]>
Subject: Amnesty International concerns over NATO bombings

From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

Original sender: Greek Helsinki Monitor <[email protected]>

Amnesty International concerns over NATO bombings


News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International
News Service: 097/99
AI INDEX: EUR 70/69/99
18 May 1999

KOSOVO

Amnesty International Concerns Relating to NATO Bombings

Following the NATO bombing of Korisa which killed at least 79
civilians, Amnesty International said today that the reported presence
of legitimate military objectives in the village does not absolve NATO
of its responsibility under international humanitarian law to take all
possible precautions to avoid harming civilians.

NATO has stated that its attack on Korisa was aimed at legitimate
military targets including an armoured personnel carrier and artillery
pieces and that it selected these targets based on up-to-date
intelligence. But the number of civilian vehicles hit and civilian
casualties raises serious doubts about the quality of the intelligence
and whether this objective's military value was proportionate to the
risk to civilians.

If civilians in the area were being used as human shields by Yugoslav
forces this would constitute a breach of international humanitarian
law, but in that case, an attack by NATO would have been
disproportionate and therefore also unlawful.

Amnesty International has written repeatedly to NATO to express
concern as to whether earlier incidents may have been unlawful
attacks. These incidents include: the 12 April bombing of a rail road
bridge which struck a passenger train and killed at least 10
civilians; the attacks on the refugee convoys near Djakovica on 14
April which killed as many as 72 civilians; the 23 April attack on
Serbian state television headquarters in Belgrade in which 15
civilians were killed; the bombing on 1 May of a bridge near Luzane
which struck a passenger bus and killed 23 people; the 7 May bombing
of a civilian market and hospital in Nis during which 15 civilians
were killed; and the bombing on 8 May of the Chinese embassy which
killed three civilians.

Following each of these attacks, Amnesty International wrote to NATO
Secretary General Javier Solana with specific questions about the
adherence of NATO forces fundamental rules of humanitarian law. These
include the prohibition of direct attacks on civilians and civilian
objects and the prohibition of attacks on military targets expected to
cause incidental loss of civilian life "which would be excessive in
relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated."
Other rules require specific precautions to be taken when launching
attacks, including desisting from an attack if it becomes apparent
that the objective is not a military one or the attack risks being
disproportionate.

Amnesty International has expressed concern that these incidents may
indicate that not all precautions are being taken to protect civilians
because priority is being given to ensuring pilots' safety. Amnesty
International has raised concerns as to whether NATO is taking
sufficient precautions in selecting and vetting targets, in choosing
the timing of these attacks, in the manner in which these attacks are
being executed, and whether civilians are being given advance warning
when possible.

Amnesty International has not received relevant details of the rules
of engagement and other relevant instructions from NATO, which it has
repeatedly requested in order to allow an assessment as to whether
they comply with international humanitarian law. NATO has given
general assurances that every effort to avoid civilian casualties is
being made but has not provided Amnesty International with substantive
answers to its questions on specific incidents.

Kukes media contact: Brendan Paddy
Local tel: 2500
Satellite tel: +873 761 917 322, E-mail: [email protected]

Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street,
WC1X 8DJ, London, United Kingdom

Past and current Amnesty news services can be found at
<http://www.amnesty.org/news/>. Visit <http://www.amnesty.org> for
information about Amnesty International and for other AI publications.
Contact [email protected] if you need to get in touch with the
International Secretariat of Amnesty International.


-- 
==============================================================
MINELRES - a forum for discussion on minorities in Central&Eastern
Europe

Submissions: [email protected]  
Subscription/inquiries: [email protected] 
List archive: http://www.riga.lv/minelres/archive.htm
==============================================================