Authorities Cooperate with ICTY Only to the Minimal Extent Needed to Obtain US Financial Assistance

Belgrade, Vienna, 30 May 2002. The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) and the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia are urging the government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), in order to establish individual guilt for crimes against humanity and to assist Serbian society to understand the tragic events of the past decade in the Balkans.

Following a meeting in Belgrade of the IHF's Executive Committee, the IHF and the Helsinki Committee in Serbia stated that they were "not satisfied" with the level and spirit of cooperation with the Tribunal. "If the leaders of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and of Serbia care for the future of their society and their peoples, they will cooperate fully with the ICTY and give the Tribunal strong and public support, even if doing so would be unpopular. This is essential to establishing accountability, responsibility, the rule of law, and moral recovery."

While the Yugoslav and Serbian governments have facilitated the surrender of several important indictees and established a National Council on Cooperation with the ICTY, on balance cooperation with the Tribunal has been ambiguous and weak. The Law on Cooperation allows the extradition only of those publicly indicted, and does not allow extradition of those who may be indicted in the future. The ICTY lacks access to documentation and archives that are being withheld by Yugoslav authorities; while former president and indictee Slobodan Milosevic has access to information, the archives are treated as "state secrets."

The message sent to the citizens is that the State cooperates only to the extent minimally necessary in order to obtain financial assistance from the United States; there is little genuine moral support and a lack of genuine commitment to the process. No effort is made to explain the need for the war crimes trials to the public; no effort is made to remove suspicions about the ICTY that have been encouraged by the Milosevic regime and indeed nurtured by nationalist State positions since its demise.

The IHF and the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia are calling on donor countries and organizations to take into account the obstacles to justice posed by the foregoing, as they consider how best to help the citizens come to terms with the past and move toward normalization. Additional assistance should be linked to performance as a means to encourage a positive policy of cooperation and transparency. The IHF and the Serbian Committee call in particular upon the European Union to condition its aid on these factors.

For more information:

Sonja Biserko,
Chair, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia: +381-11-637 542 Aaron Rhodes,
IHF Executive Director: +43-1-408 88 22 or +43-676-635 6612 (mobile)

Helsinki Comittee for Human Rights in Serbia
Zmaj Jovina 7/1, YU 11000 Belgrade
Tel. +381-11-637 542 or 637 116 or 637 294
Fax +381-11-636 429
e-mail: biserkos@eunet.yu
Internet: http://www.helsinki.org.yu