[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 24, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E67-E68]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 EXTRADITION OF INDICTED WAR CRIMINALS

                                 ______


                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 24, 1996

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise this afternoon to 
express my solid support for language contained in H.R. 1530, the 
National Defense Authorization Act, providing for the extradition of 
indicted war criminals from the United States to the International 
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda in the Hague. This 
legislation provides the legal basis for the surrender of such persons 
and closes a technical loophole which could undermine efforts to 
prosecute those responsible for the commission of war crimes. Adoption 
of this provision should serve as an example to other countries to 
undertake similar action consistent with our obligations to cooperate 
fully with the important work of the Tribunal. To date more than 50 
individuals from the former Yugoslavia have been indicted, including 
the Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic. Last 
November, I had an opportunity to meet with Chief Prosecutor Richard 
Goldstone to discuss his on-going investigations. He stressed that 
those responsible for war crimes must be held personally accountable, 
regardless of their relationship to peace negotiations.
  As Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, I urge my colleagues to 
demonstrate their firm commitment to the pursuit of justice in the 
former Yugoslavia and Rwanda by passing this implementing legislation 
and ensuring that the Tribunal receives the resources it needs to 
accomplish the vital tasks it has been given. Mr. Speaker, I ask that 
the text of a letter to the President on this matter be included in the 
Record.
         Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe,
                                 Washington, DC, February 8, 1995.
     The President,
     The White House, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: As members of the Commission on 
     Security and Cooperation in Europe, we have been following 
     with great 

[[Page E68]]
     concern all aspects of the former Yugoslavia's violent disintegration. 
     In this regard, our Commission held a hearing on January 31, 
     at which we received compelling testimony from the Bosnian 
     Prime Minister, Haris Silajdzic. Although the Prime Minister 
     raised a number of issues regarding the crisis, we would like 
     to focus on one issue in particular: the International 
     Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
       After overcoming considerable barriers to its establishment 
     and staffing, the Tribunal issued its first indictment in 
     early November, is proceeding with investigations and is 
     expected to bring cases to trial later this year. We 
     understand that the Tribunal's UN budget will be under review 
     during the second half of this month and that officials from 
     the Tribunal have requested a $28 million budget for the 
     coming year to proceed with the work they have begun.
       Non-governmental experts have already suggested that this 
     figure may be too low given the costs of gathering testimony 
     from the thousands of victims of, and witnesses to, war 
     crimes and in light of the on-site investigations that the 
     effective prosecution of war criminals will require. 
     Nevertheless, it appears that securing even these funds may 
     be an uphill battle with the UN bureaucracy.
       We urge you to instruct the U.S. delegation to the United 
     Nations to press vigorously at these upcoming budget meetings 
     to ensure adequate funding for the Tribunal. The 
     establishment of this body, in spite of considerable 
     political resistance and technical complications, is a credit 
     to strong U.S. leadership. But, without proper funding, the 
     Tribunal will never be able to execute the historic tasks 
     that have been set for it.
       We also support an additional voluntary contribution to the 
     Tribunal by the United States of an amount not less than the 
     $3 million cash contribution provided last year. Monetary, as 
     well as personnel or other in-kind donations, enhance the 
     ability of the United States to foster the effectiveness of 
     the Tribunal by strengthening specific aspects of its work. 
     In addition, this would enable the United States to play a 
     leadership role in urging other UN member states to make 
     similar contributions. If the United States, at this 
     juncture, inexplicably reduces the level of financial support 
     it has provided to the Tribunal, it might send a regrettable 
     signal of weakening U.S. resolve to see war criminals held 
     truly accountable.
       We would also like to take this opportunity to raise the 
     issue of implementing legislation. UN member states are 
     already bound as a matter of international law to deliver to 
     the Hague persons indicted by the Tribunal. But most 
     countries--including the United States--will require the 
     passage of implementing legislation to ensure that a national 
     legal basis exists for doing so; without such legislation, a 
     technical loophole would exist in most countries that would 
     give indicted persons the legal grounds to challenge 
     jurisdiction and avoid trial.
       Convinced of the importance of this issue, a bipartisan 
     U.S. delegation to the 1994 CSCE Parliamentary Assembly 
     achieved agreement to review, at future meetings of the 
     Assembly, steps that the CSCE (now OSCE) participating States 
     have taken to ensure that they are able to comply with the 
     orders of the Tribunal. As Members of Congress, we feel a 
     special responsibility to ensure that the necessary 
     implementing legislation is passed. It is possible that some 
     countries--states likely to find themselves with war 
     criminals in their territories--will need international 
     prodding if they are to cooperate with the Tribunal. Passage 
     of U.S. implementing legislation will enable our country to 
     foster compliance by others.
       We understand that the Department of Justice has been 
     working on draft implementing legislation for over a year. We 
     urge you to communicate to the Department of Justice the high 
     degree of urgency that you, as President, attach to the tasks 
     of bringing war criminals to justice and of taking concrete 
     legislative measures to that end. To follow up on the 
     Commission's inquiry of April 1994, we would like to know 
     when the administration anticipates presenting such 
     legislation to Congress.
       Finally, we again call for the appointment of a CSCE (OSCE) 
     Special Reapporteur on the War Crimes, Tribunal, a Commission 
     proposal that was endorsed at the 1994 meeting of the CSCE 
     Parliamentary Assembly. A Special Rapporteur would be tasked 
     with monitoring the participating States' required 
     cooperation with the Tribunal and reporting back to the 
     decision-making bodies of the OSCE for further action in 
     cases of willful noncompliance.
       We understand that the U.S. delegation to the 1994 CSCE 
     (OSCE) Budapest Conference included this proposal in a 
     package of ideas addressing the many urgent crises in the 
     former Yugoslavia but that, regrettably, this package was not 
     adopted. We urge the United States to pursue the adoption of 
     this proposal as a priority matter at the on-going OSCE 
     meetings in Vienna, where negotiations on Bosnia-related 
     questions continue.
       Mr. President, we cannot sufficiently underscore our 
     conviction that holding war criminals accountable for the 
     heinous crimes they have committed in this conflict will be 
     an essential element for any long-term resolution of this 
     tragedy. To this end, we look forward to hearing from you on 
     these matters.
           Sincerely,
     Christopher H. Smith,
                                                         Chairman.
     Alfonse D'Amato,
                                                      Co-Chairman.
     Steny H. Hoyer,
     Member of Congress.

                          ____________________