IN OUR HANDS

The effectiveness of human rights protection 50 years after the Universal Declaration

European regional colloquy

organized by the Council of Europe as a contribution to the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1998 review of the implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action

Strasburg, September 2/4, 1998

Discussion Group 1: Prevention of and responses to structural or large-scale human rights violations

INTERVENTION OF NIKOLAJ KHRAMOV, SECRETARY OF THE ANTI-MILITARIST RADICAL ASSOCIATION (RUSSIA)

Mr. Chairman,

Unlike many other speakers here who represent governments or institutions, I will speak as a free citizen both of the world and my own country, Russian Federation, as well as a representative of two NGOs: the ARA which is Russian-based organization campaigning against militarism, for conscientious objectors' rights, and the Transnational Radical Party which is an international NGO registered at the UN in 1st category consultative status. That's why I probably may speak more direct or even more sharp. I would ask your pardon, if my intervention would seem too much practical.

I would like to point out one of the moments, reflected in Recommendations of the yesterday's NGO forum: exactly, the question of impunity of those guilty in large-scale human rights violations, moreover - guilty in war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. I mean the situation in ex-Yugoslavia.

Of course, it's very important now to press the governments to ratify the Treaty of International Criminal Court, to achieve the independent and effective ICC enabled as soon as possible. In order - let me say it as a Russian citizen - to punish also those responsible for war crimes committed by Russian army in Chechnya.

But I'm speaking now about the crimes which were committed in ex-Yugoslavia since 1991, first in Croatia, then in Bosnia, and which are currently being committed in Kossova, right now, when we are working in this hall.

If we look at the situation openly and frankly, we should be obliged to realize that there is a person, a politician who is basically responsible for all this events. His name is Slobodan Milosevic, president of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Yet ten years ago President Milosevic launched to the world his platform of intolerance and hatred, his promises of war, death and destruction. Since then, the former Yugoslavia, which has suffered Miloscevic's policy of destruction and ethnic cleansing, has experienced a dramatic barbarity situation that the world now knows. From Vukovar to Dubrovnik, from the concentration camps of Prijedor and Omarska to Srebrenica, his ethnic cleansing policy has been applied everywhere, through the most violent and inhuman means. During these 10 years, Kosovo has not been spared. A "soft" but systematic repression, imposed by the Belgrade regime, has deprived two million Albanians from their rights; two million individuals, who - nevertheless - still want to live in the country that they consider their own.

We must overthrow the National-Communist regime of Belgrade. We must end the aggression of the Belgrade regime against Kosovo. We must give the possibility to Serbs to establish democracy and the rule of law in their country. For these reasons we must stop President Milosevic. We must neutralize him, once for all. We must indict for genocide and crimes against humanity the person who, for the last years, has been the 'big director' and the instigator of the Balkan tragedy. We must do it now!

Otherwise any possibility of eventual freedom, democracy and respect for human rights for Kosovo, as for Yugoslavia itself, for the Kosovars as well as for the Serbs will be lost. If we do not act now we will miss an opportunity for justice, the rule of law and the international community as a whole.

This is exactly what the Transnational Radical Party acts now for, launching its international campaign to collect signatures under appeal for formal indictment of Milosevic.

We gathered here for a very important forum, which raises important theoretical questions. But let me use this possibility to invite you, as free individuals, citizens of different nations, to undertake a little but important concrete and practical step: to support this international appeal to the Tribunal for ex-Yugoslavia in order to indict formally president Milosevic. I would invite those willing to support this initiative to contact me during these days.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.