Yugoslavia: Information on military training, ranks and reserves. Information on whether a member of the military reserves requires official permission to travel abroad
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 May 1991 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | YUG8492 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Yugoslavia: Information on military training, ranks and reserves. Information on whether a member of the military reserves requires official permission to travel abroad, 1 May 1991, YUG8492, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6acfd78.html [accessed 2 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The information provided in this response relates to procedures in Yugoslavia before the upheavals in the country over the past two years. Because of the current situation in Yugoslavia, there is a degree of uncertainty regarding the status and procedures of the military and military reserves. According to a representative from Human Rights Watch, it is difficult to know if past procedures are still in place (10 May 1991). This source indicated that the governments in the Republics are not following central government policies on a number of issues (Ibid.). A Research Associate of the Centre for Russian and East European Studies in Toronto also stated that everything in Yugoslavia is uncertain at the moment (14 May 1991). The Republics have been passing new laws, although few as yet deal with the military (Ibid.).
Please find attached an excerpt from Yugoslavia: a Country Study for information on military training, ranks and reserves in Yugoslavia and three recent newspaper articles related to military service in Yugoslavia. For additional information on this topic, please see the responses to Information Requests YUG1127, YUG1638, YUG1695 and YUG3104.
According to a Representative from Human Rights Watch, members of the military reserves do not require official permission to travel abroad (10 May 1991). A Research Associate with the Centre for Russian and East European Studies stated that there are no restrictions on travel abroad for those eligible for military service (13 May 1991). It is permitted for a young man who is eligible for military service to leave the country as long as it is not with the express intention of avoiding a call-up to military service. When applying for a passport, one of the documents which a young man must present is a statement from the local [military] authorities stating that he is not expected to be called up for military service within the following two months. The passport is then valid for five years. If a young man does leave to avoid military service but returns voluntarily before the age of twenty-seven, there is no penalty applied. Depending upon the circumstances of his departure, if a man returns after this period, he may face a trial and a possible penalty of one year in a minimum security facility; however, the Research Associate stated that this rarely happens (Ibid.).
Bibliography
Representative of Human Rights Watch, New York. 10 May 1991. Telephone interview.
Research Associate of the Centre for Russian and East European Studies, University of Toronto. 14 May 1991. Telephone interview.
Attachments
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 9 March 1991. "Slovene Assembly Approves Moratorium on Military Service in Yugoslav Army." (NEXIS)
The Independent. 17 March 1991. "Yugoslav Republics go on Alert." P.12. (NEXIS)
Le Monde. 23 January 1991. "Yougoslavie."
Nyrop, Richard N. 1982. Yugoslavia: a Country Study. Washington: U.S. Government.
