STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG

 
Nato accused of violating international law in Kosovo 
By Andrew Marshall in Washington 
7 February 2000

Nato breached international law in its air attacks on Yugoslavia last
year, a respected human rights body says in a report issued today.
The report, by Human Rights Watch, is particularly critical of the use
of cluster-bombs. The United States stopped using the munitions halfway
through the war, but Britain continued using them, raising serious
issues about the Government's concern for civilian casualties.
Nato killed at least 500 civilians during the Kosovo conflict, the
report concludes after visits to the sites of many of the attacks.
"Human Rights Watch has found no evidence of war crimes," it says. But,
it adds, "the investigation did conclude that Nato violated
international humanitarian law".
The report says that Nato may have breached the Geneva Convention in
five areas: it conducted air attacks using cluster-bombs near populated
areas; attacked targets of questionable military legitimacy; did not
take adequate measures to warn civilians of strikes; took insufficient
precautions to identify the presence of civilians when attacking mobile
targets; and caused excessive civilian casualties by not taking
sufficient measures to verify that targets did not have concentrations
of civilians.
Most of the attacks resulted from missing military targets. But "nine
incidents were a result of strikes on non-military targets that Human
Rights Watch believes were illegitimate", including Serb Radio and
Television in Belgrade.
At least one-fifth of those who died were killed by cluster-bombs, which
spray bomblets over a wide area. "Overall, cluster-bomb use by the
United States and Britain can be confirmed in seven incidents throughout
Yugoslavia [another five are possible butunconfirmed]," the report says.
"Some 90 to 150 civiliansdied from the use of these weapons."
It reveals the United States stopped using the weapons after a hitherto
secret presidential order. "Widespread reports of civilian casualties
from the use of cluster-bombs and international criticism of these
weapons as potentially indiscriminate, in effect, led ... to an
unprecedented US executive order in the middle of May to cease their
further use in the conflict," the report says. "The White House issued
the order only days after civilians were killed by Nato cluster-bombs in
the city of Nis on May 7."
But Britain, according to the RAF's own reports, continued to use the
weapons. "Cluster-bombs should not have been used in attacks in
populated areas, let alone urban targets, given the risks," it says.
"Nevertheless, the [RAF] continued to drop cluster-bombs, indicating the
need for universal, not national, norms regarding cluster-bomb use." The
report also says there is "some evidence" Yugoslav forces used civilians
as human shields.
The body calls on Nato to "establish an independent and impartial
commission ... that would ... consider the need to alter targeting and
bombing doctrine to ensure compliance with international humanitarian
law".  

© 2000 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd.