[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 7 (Wednesday, February 2, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: February 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
YUGOSLAVIA WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL
Mr. PELL. Mr. President, the international tribunal for the
prosecution of war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia is
currently meeting in The Hague. This is a fact of great significance
for the rule of law and the prospects for peace in this area of the
world. I applaud the leadership Ambassador Albright and the Clinton
administration have shown at the United Nations in the creation of this
important tribunal.
The tribunal has three fundamental goals. First, it is intended to
deter the committal of further crimes in the former Yugoslavia. Second,
it has the responsibility to bring to justice the persons responsible
for those crimes. Finally, by providing for prosecution and judgment
under the rule of law, the tribunal will contribute to the restoration
and maintenance of peace.
The tribunal convened for the first time on November 17, 1993, in The
Hague. During this first, 2-week session, the court's 11 judges elected
Antonio Cassese of Italy as their President, and Mrs. Odio Benito of
Costa Rica as their Vice President. I am pleased to note that an
American, Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, was chosen as President of one
of the tribunal's two trial chambers. Also during this first session,
the judges proceeded to examine the Rules of Procedure and Evidence and
set their agenda for 1994.
The tribunal's second session began on January 17. The main issue
currently being considered at this session is the Rules of Procedure.
The tribunal expects to be able to come to a final determination on
this issue and to be in a position to conduct trials by late spring.
Meanwhile, the prosecutor's office set up under the tribunal hopes to
be fully operational by the end of April. I hope the tribunal and the
prosecutor can quickly resolve any outstanding procedural and
organizational issues so that they can begin their work as soon as
possible.
On a personal note, I want to mention that my father, the late
Herbert C. Pell, a former congressman from New York City, and a former
U.S. Minister, was President Franklin Roosevelt's representative on the
U.N. War Crimes Commission that recommended establishment of the
Nuremberg Tribunal. There was opposition to this recommendation at the
time, and my father fought hard to assure that the historic World War
II tribunals would come into being.
Mr. President, while substantial progress has been made in
establishing the current tribunal, much remains to be done. My biggest
concern with regard to the tribunal's ability to function effectively
is its ability to obtain custody of suspected violators of
international law. At the end of World War II, the Nuremberg and Tokyo
Tribunals were established following the decisive military defeat of
the offending parties. In the case of the former Yugoslavia, no such
defeat appears imminent.
I am encouraged by the provision of the Tribunal statute which states
that the Tribunal will be endowed with the power to call for measures
through the Security Council which, failing voluntary cooperation of
member States, would ensure compliance with its requests of judicial
assistance.
Nevertheless, in the face of resistance from parties to the conflict,
it will be difficult for the Prosecutor to make arrests. This makes it
imperative that the United States and the other U.N. members maintain a
strong commitment to the Tribunal, and that we place unswerving
pressure on the warring factions to comply with appropriate U.N. war
crimes resolutions.
Madeleine Albright, the American Ambassador to the United Nations,
visited The Hague on January 16 and called on governments to ``consider
what resources--financial, material, personnel, investigatory--they can
contribute to the important work of the Tribunal in the months and
years ahead.'' Specifically, she urged States to make relevant
information in their possession available to the United Nations, and
she encouraged countries which have taken in refugees from the conflict
to arrange for them to be interviewed if they have witnessed war
crimes. I hope that the international community will heed Ambassador
Albright's call to support the Tribunal.
For its part, the United States has done more than any other
government to assist the Tribunal. Ambassador Albright announced in The
Hague that the United States will soon deliver to the Tribunal about
900 reports of interviews with refugees. The administration also plans
to contribute $3 million for the start-up costs of the Tribunal and to
begin drawing down some of the $25 million authorized for the Tribunal
by Public Law 103-87. In addition, Ambassador Albright announced that
the United States is willing to contribute a substantial number of
expert personnel at no cost to the United Nations. I commend the
administration for these efforts and hope the will set an example for
others.
The United States has named as war criminals several leaders from the
former Yugoslavia, including some of the same people who are currently
involved in U.N.-sponsored peace negotiations. Some have argued that
the establishment of a war crimes Tribunal complicates these peace
efforts by precluding a possible concession of amnesty to leaders
accused of crimes. I believe this view misses the point. The real
problem is not that the Tribunal undermines the peace talks, but that
we are forced to discuss a peace settlement with the perpetrators of
heinous atrocities.
Peace cannot be separated from justice. Unless the persons
responsible for the outrageous crimes being committed are brought to
justice, any peace agreement will remain hollow. A genuine and lasting
peace will come to the lands of the former Yugoslavia only with the
restoration of respect for international law and human rights, which
provide the basis for international peace and stability.
In this context, I remain hopeful that a real peace accord can be
reached that will put an end to the crimes and the killing. I believe
that the United Nations war crimes Tribunal, if allowed to function
properly, can contribute significantly to the conclusion of such an
agreement.
At this point I ask unanimous consent that Ambassador Albright's
statement of January 16 be entered into the Record.
There being no objection, the statement was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Statement of Ambassador Madeleine K. Albright, U.S. Permanent
Representative to the United Nations
Almost two weeks ago I began a tour of Central and Eastern
Europe capitals in the Balkans, a region blighted by the
spector of war crimes. I visited Vukovar, Croatia, a pathetic
symbol of the man's inhumanity to man. Hardly a single
building was left undamaged from the months of bombing
inflicted upon the city in 1991. Thousands of civilians were
killed, maimed, or forced to flee their homes. Near Vukovar
is Ovcara, a wind-swept field where we have reason to believe
hundreds of Croatians from a Vukovar hospital were murdered
in cold blood and hastily buried en masse in a garbage dump.
What I saw in the mud of that rural garbage dump sickened me.
On the field of Ovcara, the rule of law and the basic
principles that guide civilized life were abandoned one evil
day two years ago. But that has not been uncommon in the
senseless war that continues to be waged in the Balkans.
It is fitting, then, that I end my European trip here at
the Hague, where 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 (the ``International
Tribunal'') has been established by the Security Council to
render justice against the war criminals who have shamed
European civilization at the close of the 20th Century. If
the cowards who slaughtered their neighbors at Ovcara are
indicted and stand trial before this Tribunal, then I intend
to return to witness them buckle under the weight of the
International law the Tribunal is charged to enforce.
I visited today with the President of the International
Tribunal, Judge Antonio Cassese, and with Judge Garbrielle
Kirk McDonald from the United States, who is President of one
of the two Trial Chambers of the Tribunal. President Clinton
and I are very proud of Judge McDonald and her dedication to
this historic task. I thank both judges for their kindness in
seeing me on a Sunday, which was necessitated by our tight
travel schedule and my need to return to my work at the
United Nations. I also want to thank Sir Robert Jennings,
President of the International Court of Justice, for seeing
me this morning as well.
I wish to announce today that the United States shortly
will deliver to the Tribunal reports from about 400 refugee
interviews (comprising over 1,000 pages) arranged by U.S.
officials which provide extensive information about events
throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina, particularly around Prijedor,
Brcko, and Foca. Nearly all contain first-hand information
relating to atrocities; most are eyewitness accounts of
atrocities or of the conduct of ethnic cleansing activities.
Individuals accused of war crimes are identified. The reports
from about 500 additional refugee interviews will be
delivered to the Tribunal in several weeks. These are grim
reports of almost unspeakable atrocities. Out of respect for
the work of the Prosecutor, who will receive these reports,
we will not release them publicly at this time.
The United States has been and will continue to be an
active contributor to the investigative and judicial efforts
that have been underway since 1992 with respect to war crimes
in the former Yugoslavia. We have provided diplomatic
support, money, personnel, material, and information. We
worked very hard for the establishment of the U.N. Commission
of Experts to investigate war crimes in 1992 and for the
International Tribunal in 1993, and we have provided draft
proposals for the Tribunal's statute and its rules of
procedure and evidence.
The United States has contributed almost $800,000 to the
Commission of Experts, consisting of a $500,000 cash
contribution, over $150,000 in material for the planned
exhumation of the Ovcara mass grave, the transportation of
all materials for the exhumation to Zagreb, and associated
personnel salaries and expenses. We plan to contribute $3
million for the start-up costs of the Tribunal and to begin
drawing down some of the $25 million authorized by the Fiscal
Year 1994 Foreign Affairs Authorization Act to provide goods
and services to the Tribunal. We have consulted with the
Prosecutor on the possibility of contributing staff to his
office. We are prepared to contribute a substantial number of
experienced professionals (prosecutors, investigators,
regional specialists) at no expense to the United Nations.
Last June the National Security Council established a group
of experts, comprised of all relevant agencies in the U.S.
Government, to collate and analyze information about war
crimes collected by U.S. sources and to provide a wide range
of assistance to the United Nations. The NSC group has
undertaken major projects and has delivered and will continue
to deliver the results of its work to the United Nations.
In addition to our eight public reports on war crimes and
the refugee interview reports I have announced today, we have
already given the Commission of Experts several hundred
unclassified reports and arranged for Commission personnel to
have access to classified information. We are conducting
investigations in cooperation with the Commission and will
continue to do so with the Tribunal as the Prosecutor
commences his work.
The United States has repeatedly urged states and
international entities to provide necessary support to these
investigative and judicial efforts. Unfortunately, I can
report today that the response has been spotty. Certain
governments--such as the Dutch Government--have been very
forthcoming and we appreciate their dedication to this
process. But other governments have held back. I reiterate
today our appeal to all governments to consider what
resources--financial, material, personnel, investigatory--
they can contribute to the important work of the Tribunal in
the months and years ahead.
It is essential, for example, that governments which have
collected information about war crimes make that information
available to the United Nations as soon as possible. It is
also important that governments of states where refugees from
the Balkans conflict are located arrange for interviewing
those refugees who witnessed war crimes. We appreciate that
this is no simple undertaking, but the information from
witnesses is invaluable and governments need to work urgently
and efficiently to gather it.
Finally, I want to reiterate a view I expressed after my
visit to Ovcara. The United States Government believes that
those individuals and government authorities who are
responsible for hindering or obstructing in any way the work
of the Commission of Experts or the Tribunal should be held
accountable by the Tribunal and, if necessary, the Security
Council, which can enforce the Tribunal's orders. Further,
the United States has consistently taken the position that
attempts to interfere with humanitarian assistance shipments
in the former Yugoslavia might constitute violations of
international humanitarian law and should fall within the
Tribunal's jurisdiction. As a Permanent Member of the U.N.
Security Council, the United States will examine any effort
to ease or lift sanctions against Serbia-Montenegro in the
context of whether there has been full compliance with, inter
alia, Security Council resolutions relating to war crimes,
with the work of the Commission of Experts and of the
Tribunal, and with Security Council resolutions relating to
the delivery of humanitarian aid.
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