A3-0225/94

Resolution on the creation of an international criminal tribunal

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mr Arbeloa Muru on the setting up of an International War Crimes Tribunal (B3-0317/93),

-having regard to its resolutions of 11 March 1993 on the rape of women in former Yugoslavia, 27 May 1993 on the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 16 September 1993 on the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 15 December 1993 on the European Council and questions relating to the CFSP and 20 January 1994 on the continuing war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, concerning, inter alia, the International Tribunal for War Crimes in Former Yugoslavia,

-having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Security (A3-0225/94),

A.bearing in mind the important documents produced on the subject of international criminal jurisdiction by authoritative international assemblies such as the Council of Europe (1992), the International Commission of Jurists (1993) and the Legal Committee of the UN (1993),

B.having regard to the outcome of the conference on the International Tribunal held at the EP on 3 and 4 March 1994 under the joint sponsorship of the Belgrade-based Anti-War Centre and the Croatian Helsinki Committee and attended by jurists and non-governmental bodies from all parts of former Yugoslavia,

C.convinced of the urgent need to strengthen the international legal system, equipped with appropriate and effective sanctions,

D.whereas the International Tribunal must be completely independent of political pressure and opportunism, to enable it to establish a name for itself as a legal institution,

E.expressing appreciation of the outstanding initiatives and decisions taken by the Secretary-General, the Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations with regard to punishing crimes against humanity committed in the former Yugoslavia, in particular Security Council resolutions 808 (1993) of 22 February 1993 and 827 (1993) of 25 May 1993,

F.whereas the UN Security Council's decision to set up an International Tribunal for War Crimes in Former Yugoslavia is potentially of enormous legal and political value and sets a precedent for further developments towards a permanent form of international criminal jurisdiction,

G.whereas an international tribunal may be a major instrument for the prevention of crimes against humanity and the promotion of the legal order,

with regard to the International Tribunal for War Crimes in Former Yugoslavia:

1.Welcomes the establishment and installation of the International Tribunal for War Crimes in Former Yugoslavia in The Hague on 17 November 1993 and considers that it could constitute an extremely important contribution by the international community to restoring confidence in the law among the victims of the war in former Yugoslavia;

2.Considers that the Tribunal should be an impartial and effective legal body whose activities must be brought to a conclusion in all cases, regardless of any political settlement of the conflict, since individual criminal responsibility must be punished at all levels and may not be a matter for political bargaining;

3.Considers that the success or otherwise of this institution will make a significant contribution to determining whether the prospect of a just international order gains or loses credibility and will exert great influence on the future of international law;

4.Appeals urgently to the United Nations to provide the Tribunal with an effective public prosecutor's office in order to end the current state of uncertainty;

5.Considers that the political weight and effectiveness of the Tribunal depend to a great extent on how much is known about its activities and on the democratic support it elicits from governments and the general public and therefore calls on all the media to devote attention to the activities of the International Tribunal;

6.Considers that the European Union should make every effort to ensure that the Tribunal can carry out its tasks fully and asks that to this end the Union should without delay include active support for the Tribunal - in the ways suggested here and in any other appropriate way - in the 'joint action in matters covered by the foreign and security policy' within the meaning of Title V of the Treaty on European Union;

7.Congratulates those Member States (for example, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg) which have already adopted important measures in support of the Tribunal and calls on the Union and all the Member States to support the work of the Tribunal for War Crimes in Former Yugoslavia in judicial terms, politically, financially and practically, by means of:

(a)legislative and government acts implementing the decisions of the tribunal, with particular reference to the summoning of defendants and witnesses, the arrest and handing over of those against whom warrants for arrest have been issued, the necessary international judicial assistance and the measures required to guarantee that those who are sentenced are actually punished;

(b)the immediate provision of the funds needed for the work of the Tribunal via the payment - by the Member States of the Union - of the sum required for at least the first year of operation, into the special trust account set up by the UN Secretary General and guaranteed assistance in the international efforts needed to cover expenses in the future too,

(c)the provision, at the Tribunal's request, of specialized staff, documentation and data processing equipment, data and information collected by the police and other national judicial bodies, infrastructure (including prisons) and anything else which may prove necessary for the efficient operation of the Tribunal;

8.Considers that similar initiatives should be promoted jointly by the Member States of the Union within international institutions, in particular the Council of Europe and the CSCE, and congratulates those states - for example, the United States and Finland - which have already offered tangible support;

9.Calls on the Union and the Member States to provide a substantial contribution to the overall budget of the Tribunal (currently set at US$33 m) and to use their influence in the United Nations with a view to ensuring that the budget is approved and the necessary provision is made to finance it;

10.Calls on the European Union and its Member States to take steps in international fora to ensure that the issue of compensation is presented to the Tribunal in an appropriate way;

11.Instructs the Commission to draw up proposals for measures to support the civilian and non-governmental organizations involved, in the various regions of former Yugoslavia, in democratic activities, reconciliation work and in supporting the International Tribunal, helping these bodies to carry out work leading to the supplying of information, allegations and documentation to the Tribunal itself; calls on the Commission to release appropriate funds for the above purposes, using budget heading B7-52;

12.Considers that the work of the Bassouni Committee set up by UN Security Council resolution 780(1992) and confirmed by resolution 787(1992) should not be considered complete following the establishment of the ad hoc Tribunal and hopes that this committee of experts will continue its vital task of investigating and documenting cases which could be described as crimes against humanity and prosecuted as such;

with regard to the setting up of a permanent international criminal tribunal:

13.Considers that the time has come for international law to include a permanent international criminal tribunal, with clearly defined jurisdiction over crimes with special supranational implications ('international crimes'), including incitement to and perpetration of ethnic cleansing, to be defined by unequivocal sources of international law;

14.Recommends that the Union and all the international institutions use the setting up of the Tribunal for War Crimes in Former Yugoslavia as an opportunity for promoting the development of a permanent international criminal tribunal;

15.Notes with great interest the valuable preparatory work already carried out in this area with a view to the formulation of an international legal code and a draft statute for the tribunal, which is currently being examined by the General Assembly of the United Nations, and urges the governments of the Member States to back this initiative in the Legal Committee (Sixth Committee) of the United Nations General Assembly and ensure that the draft can be submitted to the General Assembly in 1994;

16.Calls on the Council of the Union to take steps in all international fora to promote the development of new international jurisdictional bodies in the criminal sphere, and to draw up a common position on this subject pursuant to Articles J.1 to J.3 of Title V of the Treaty on European Union and to make it the subject of joint action in the sphere of foreign and security policy;

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17.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and the Council, requesting that they inform its relevant committee as soon as possible of the action taken on paragraphs 6, 9 and 16 in particular, and to forward it to the Secretaries General of the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the CSCE, the President of the International Tribunal for War Crimes in Former Yugoslavia and to the parliaments and governments of the republics of former Yugoslavia.