[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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