Situation of human rights in Kosovo.

The Commission on Human Rights,

Guided by the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the international covenants and conventions on human rights, the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the Additional Protocols thereto of 1977, as well as other instruments of international humanitarian law,

Expressing deep concern at the continued campaign of repression and the gross and systematic violations of the human rights of the Kosovars following the revocation of autonomy by the Serbian authorities,

Strongly condemning the policy of ethnic cleansing against the Kosovars being perpetrated by the Belgrade and Serbian authorities,

Condemning also the massive military operations launched by the Serbian authorities against the unarmed civilians in Kosovo, resulting in large-scale killings, systematic and planned massacres, destruction of homes and property,

and forced mass exoduses to neighbouring countries, as well as internal displacement,

Alarmed by the reports of recent enforced and involuntary disappearances of large numbers of Kosovars, as well as by reports of detention and execution of several members of the Kosovar political leadership,

Recognizing that the people of Kosovo must be allowed to determine freely their own future as envisaged in the provisions of the Rambouillet agreement,

1. Condemns strongly the widespread and systematic practice of ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the Belgrade and Serbian authorities against the Kosovars, and the risk of destabilization of neighbouring countries;

2. Demands an immediate halt to all repressive actions undertaken in Kosovo by the Serbian authorities which have led to further ethnic cleansing in the region, massive criminal violations of international human rights and humanitarian law inflicted against the Kosovars, including summary executions, mass forced exoduses, destruction of personal identity documents, records, homes and property, as well as their agricultural capacity, with the aim of preventing their return, and also demands the immediate and complete withdrawal of the Belgrade army and the Serbian military and paramilitary forces from Kosovo;

3. Calls upon the international community and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to bring to justice the perpetrators of international war crimes and crimes against humanity, in particular those responsible for acts of ethnic cleansing and identity elimination in Kosovo;

4. Demands that the Serbian authorities immediately sign, and implement all aspects of the Rambouillet agreement;

5. Welcomes the decision of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in view of the gravity of the situation, to dispatch human rights monitors immediately to the region to assess the human rights and humanitarian crisis caused by the Serbian policy and practice of ethnic cleansing and to ensure compliance with international human rights and international humanitarian law;

6. Appeals to the international community, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to extend urgently humanitarian assistance to refugees from Kosovo and the internally displaced, and in this context commends the efforts being made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees;

7. Underscores the right of all refugees and internally displaced persons to return to their homes in safety and honour;

8. Requests the High Commissioner for Human Rights to report to the Commission on Human Rights urgently on the situation of human rights and the humanitarian crisis relating to Kosovo and on the implementation of the provisions of the present resolution.

30^th meeting
13 April 1999

[Adopted by a roll-call vote of 44 votes to 1, with 6 abstentions.]