Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
- 2002
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
March 31, 2003
(Note: The report on The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) is divided in three separate sections addressing the human rights situations in Serbia, Kosovo, and Montenegro. Since federal authority was exercised effectively only over the Republic of Serbia throughout the year, discussion of FRY activities and institutions affecting human rights will be included in the Serbia section.)
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Yugoslavia or FRY) is a constitutional republic consisting of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro. On February 4, 2003, the Yugoslav parliament adopted the Constitutional Charter and Implementation Law, marking the end of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the beginning of the state union of "Serbia and Montenegro." Yugoslavia has a president and a parliamentary system of government based on free and fair multiparty elections. Vojislav Kostunica was elected President of the Federation in September 24, 2000. Following governmental attempts to tamper with the results of that election, a peaceful revolution forced FRY President Slobodan Milosevic from power on October 6, 2000. In Serbian Presidential elections in September, Kostunica led all candidates but did not capture a majority of votes cast. Both the October runoff and the new elections in December failed because less than 50 percent of registered voters turned out to vote; a significant portion of the electorate deliberately chose not to vote in order to prevent Kostunica from winning under flawed election laws. Serbian Parliament Speaker Natasa Micic became acting Serbian President on December 30, pending presidential elections in 2003. Under the current constitutional framework, the Federation encompasses the relatively large Republic of Serbia (7.5 million people without Kosovo) and the much smaller Montenegro (650,000). However in March, with the mediation of the European Union (EU), Serbia and Montenegro negotiated the Belgrade Agreement by which the two republics agreed to redefine and recreate the joint state. This agreement established the guidelines for creating a joint state of "Serbia and Montenegro." The Constitutional Commission adopted the final text of the Constitutional Charter for the Union of Serbia and Montenegro on December 29, but by year's end had not agreed on necessary implementing legislation. The Montenegrin Government has refused to participate in many of the functions of the Federal Government and has acted unilaterally in several areas. The Federal Government presides over a weakened structure, with responsibilities essentially limited to the Foreign Ministry, the Yugoslav Military (VJ), the Customs Administration (in Serbia), civil aviation control, and foreign economic and commercial relations. Although President Kostunica enjoyed wide popular support, significant power was concentrated at the republic level. In Serbia Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic exercised executive authority. Djindjic also has represented Serbia in discussions and negotiations with the international community. The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary, but both the federal and the republic judiciaries were often ineffective and subject to political influence.
While civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces, there were some instances in which the security forces acted independently of government authority. The VJ is formally under the control of the Supreme Defense Council, made up of the Presidents of Yugoslavia, Serbia, and Montenegro. However, in practice the VJ Chief of Staff reported directly to the President of Yugoslavia, and was subject to only symbolic parliamentary oversight. The Federal Government also controlled a small police force for security of federal buildings, officials, and some border enforcement. The Interior Ministry of the Republic of Serbia controlled the Serbian police, a force of approximately 25,000 officers responsible for internal security, border checkpoints, and fire department services. The Ministry of Interior also controlled a 400-member gendarmerie and a 100-member anti-organized crime unit. In April the Law on Security Services transferred control of the State Security (RDB) secret police from the Serbian Ministry of Interior to the Serbian Government as a whole--in effect to the control of the Prime Minister. Although the police leadership changed after the October 2000 revolution, most police personnel, including some high-level officials, also served under former President Milosevic. Some members of the security forces committed human rights abuses.
Economic performance remained weak due to structural deficiencies, general inefficiency, and deterioration of capital and trade ties following a decade of isolation, economic sanctions, and war. According to the 2002 census, Serbia's population (without Kosovo) was 7,478,820 and per capita gross domestic product (GDP) was approximately $1,020. GDP was expected to grow by 4 percent, fueled by a slight recovery of industrial production. Lack of purchasing power, high unemployment and underemployment restricted consumption. Unemployment was estimated at approximately 30 percent. The general level of corruption in society remained high and impacted economic efficiency. The government's economic reform program helped improve the health of the banking sector and maintained a fragile macroeconomic stability. Inflation declined sharply from 38 percent in 2001 to an expected 15 percent at year's end. The private sector was widely evident throughout the country. The privatization of socially owned capital moved forward through accelerated auction privatization of 300 companies. The Government made $160 million in revenues through recent tender privatization. Foreign aid was an important source of government revenue, and the Government used it to repair infrastructure and to care for a large population of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).
The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some areas. Police at times beat detainees and harassed citizens, particularly Roma; however, police behavior improved somewhat following the December passage of the new Law on Criminal Procedure and its implementation in March. Police produced no results in investigations of many high-level killings committed during and after the Milosevic era. Arbitrary arrest and detention was a problem, although no longer a systemic problem.
The judiciary continued to be susceptible to political influence; poor cooperation between the judiciary and other government branches slowed the implementation of legislative reforms. Courts remained administratively paralyzed; corruption and incompetent judges remained a problem, and lengthy trials persisted. Direct police pressure on the media ceased, but libel suits from private individuals and indirect political manipulation contributed to self-censorship among journalists. The April Law on ICTY Cooperation resulted in some voluntary surrenders of indictees and the arrest and transfer of one indictee to The Hague. The Government transferred some documents to the ICTY and gave waivers for witnesses to testify on Senate matters. However, the ICTY remained dissatisfied with overall Yugoslav cooperation.
There were several incidents of societal violence or discrimination against religious minorities. Violence and discrimination against women, Roma and other ethnic minorities were problems. Trafficking in women and children remained a problem, which the Government took steps to address. Yugoslavia was invited by the Community of Democracies' (CD) Convening Group to attend the November 2002 second CD Ministerial Meeting in Seoul, Republic of Korea, as a participant.
The overall human rights record demonstrated that direct and systematic government oppression of citizens gradually came to an end during the consolidation of Yugoslav democracy that has occurred since 2001. The Government found solutions to several significant problems inherited from the former regime. All ethnic Albanian political prisoners were transferred from Serbian jails to Kosovo, where they were freed. The Government established a multiethnic police force in areas of significant tension and, for the first time, conducted free and fair elections in majority Albanian parts of southern Serbia. Courts issued indictments and conducted trials against Serbs for war crimes committed in Kosovo and Bosnia. By year's end, five war criminals had been convicted and sentenced, two were still on trial, and four were under indictment. Passage of the Minorities Law protecting the rights of Yugoslavia's numerous ethnic groups fulfilled a major human rights requirement of the Council of Europe (COE), which on September 24 voted overwhelmingly to admit Yugoslavia following the ratification of the Constitutional Charter.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
There were no reports of political killings committed by the Government or its agents.
The region of southern Serbia that borders Kosovo and encompasses the municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja has the largest concentration of ethnic Albanians in Serbia proper. Following violent clashes between security forces and ethnic Albanian rebels of the Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac (UCPMB), a peace plan agreed in May 2001 between the Government and rebels continued to hold. Since the peace plan was signed, Serbian security forces have moved freely within the Ground Safety Zone (GSZ) along the Kosovo boundary. Unlike in previous years, the GSZ was not a haven for armed ethnic Albanian extremists. Security forces killed one ethnic Albanian, Agim Agusi, a known smuggler. A VJ patrol spotted Agusi on June 9 while he was attempting an illegal border crossing near the village of Miratovac and fatally shot him after he refused VJ calls to stop. The Government issued a statement regretting the loss of life, and announcing an inquest into the shooting. Upon investigation, no charges were filed against the soldiers involved in the shooting.
In Belgrade suspicious circumstances surrounded the January death of Dejan Petrovic in police custody. Police officers claimed that Petrovic, allegedly a heroin user, jumped to his death from a high window of the station even though Petrovic's hands were cuffed at the time. The Belgrade Deputy Prosecutor had not decided whether to file charges against the police by year's end.
There were no developments in police investigations of numerous cases of political killings from previous years. These cases include: the August 2001 killing of former State Security officer Momir Gavrilovic; the November 2000 killing of Nebojsa Simeunovic, a former criminal judge; the April 2000 killing of Zivorad Zika Petrovic, the former Director of Yugoslav Airlines; the February 2000 killing of Pavle Bulatovic, the former Yugoslav Minister of Defense; the April 1999 killing of independent journalist and publisher Slavko Curuvija; and the 1997 killing of Radovan Stojicic, former head of Serbian public security.
In southern Serbia, ethnic Albanian extremists made several attacks on police installations, including attacks with hand grenades, automatic weapons and a land mine in which two Yugoslav soldiers were injured. Ethnic Albanians were purportedly involved in several other violent attacks. Police prevented attempts to place bombs in front of the Bujanovac post office and in the Bujanovac sewer system and arrested four ethnic Albanian youths in connection to the incident. On March 15, the last Serb house in the ethnic Albanian village of Lucane, Bujanovac Municipality, was destroyed by an explosion. In addition, security forces seized several caches of buried rebel arms. There were several attacks on family members of ethnic Albanian participants in the Multi-Ethnic Police Force (MEPF). In the most serious of these attacks, on April 4, Xhemaili and Ramize Rexhepi of Dobrosin (Bujanovac Municipality) were gravely injured when a hand grenade was lobbed into the bedroom window of their home.
On June 10, assailants killed former Belgrade police chief Bosko Buha. On October 29, police arrested three individuals in connection with the killing.
The trial of former State Security Service head Rade Markovic for the October 1999 attempted killing of opposition leader Vuk Draskovic that resulted in the deaths of four persons was still ongoing at year's end.
Government authorities made substantial progress in exhuming bodies and establishing procedures for identifying missing persons. In 2001 the Federal and Serbian Governments revealed the existence of mass graves containing bodies presumed to be those of ethnic Albanians killed in Kosovo and transferred to mass graves in Serbia in 1999. During 2001 the Government also cooperated with international organizations and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) in exhuming approximately 450 bodies. During the year, the Government and ICMP exhumed 408 bodies from 7 different grave sites, including bodies of war victims that had floated down the Danube and Drina rivers (see Section 1.b.).
Former FRY and Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic went on trial at the ICTY (see Section 4).
Domestic war crimes indictments and trials began in Serbia during the year. On October 23, the Belgrade District Prosecutor charged four former members of the Bosnian Serb "Avengers" paramilitary for abducting, torturing, and killing 16 Muslims from the Serbian town of Sjeverin in October 1992. Police took two of those indicted, Dragutin Dragicevic and Djordje Sevic, into custody pending trial; two other indictees, ICTY indictee Milan Lukic and Oliver Krsmanovic, remained at large, possibly in the Republika Srpska. On October 9, former Serbian Police Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (SAJ) squad member Sasa Cvjetan went on trial in Prokuplje District Court for killing 19 ethnic Albanians in Podujevo, Kosovo, in March 1999. The Prokuplje Court also tried in absentia an unapprehended SAJ squad member, Dejan Demirovic, for committing the killings along with Cvjetan. On November 9, citing concerns about security, fairness of proceedings, and access to ethnic Albanian witnesses, the Serbian Supreme Court transferred the trial from Prokuplje to Belgrade District Court, where proceedings were scheduled to resume in January 2003.
On October 11, the Nis Military Court sentenced four VJ personnel to a total of 19 years in prison for killing two ethnic Albanian civilians in the Kosovo village of Kusnin in April 1999. The military court convicted VJ privates Danilo Tesic and Misel Seregi of physically committing the killings; Lt. Colonel Zlatko Mancic and Captain Rade Radojevic were convicted for having authorized the killings. On July 1, the Prokuplje District Court sentenced VJ reservist Ivan Nikolic to 8 years in jail for killing two ethnic Albanian civilians in the Kosovo village of Penduh in May 1999.
On May 10, the Serbian Republic Government provided important documents to the District Court of Bjelo Polje, Montenegro, in the war crimes trial of former "Avengers" squad member Nebojsa Ranisavljevic for participating in the killing of 19 mostly Muslim Yugoslav citizens kidnaped from a train at the Strpci station in February 1993. On September 9, Ranisavljevic was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The Serbian Government released long-sought secret documents showing that high-level officials in the Serbian railway and the Serbian Interior and Justice Ministries at the least had foreknowledge of the danger faced by the Muslim passengers and did nothing to protect them. On September 9, the Bjelo Polje court sentenced Ranisavljevic to 15 years in jail for participating in the killings (see Montenegro, Section 1.a.).
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
In August the media reported that, during the last 15 years, midwives and doctors conspired to kidnap numerous babies at the time of their birth, telling the parents that the babies were stillborn or died during birth. Criminal rings then sold the kidnapped babies to families who believed they were legitimately adopting children. The criminal rings allegedly favored stealing individual babies from sets of twins, since the parents of twins were supposedly more willing to accept the loss. The media reports were sparked by instances in Kragujevac, Belgrade, and Novi Sad of parents recognizing children they believed to have been dead for years. Approximately 100 mothers who believe their babies may have been stolen have formed an association to demand police action.
There were no developments in the 2000 disappearance of former Serbian President Ivan Stambolic.
During the year, Federal and Serbian government authorities intensified cooperation with neighboring countries and international organizations seeking to identify missing persons and investigating mass graves discovered in Serbia (see Section 1.a.).
The Government also took a series of official steps to establish region-wide identification procedures for the remains of missing persons. In January the Serbian Health Ministry granted ICMP permission to collect blood samples from families of missing persons in Serbia. In February the federal Government signed protocols with UNMIK establishing procedures for exchanging forensic data and expertise, verifying that no hidden prisons existed in either Serbia or Kosovo, and authorizing the cross-border repatriation of all Serb and Albanian remains. In June the FRY Government authorized the transfer of blood and DNA samples from Yugoslavia to the ICMP regional database in Tuzla, Bosnia; this allowed the immediate transfer of all blood samples collected in 2001 to Tuzla for bar-coding and testing. In August the FRY hosted the first regional meeting of governmental Missing Persons committees from Croatia, Bosnia, and the Republika Srpska to agree on a joint monitoring process in Sremska Mitrovica. On September 10, the FRY and Serbian Governments officially opened an ICMP-donated, Serb-operated DNA identification lab at the University of Belgrade.
There were no developments in police investigations of the transfers and reburials of the bodies buried at Batanjica and other grave sites. At year's end, the Government had not yet begun searching for bodies thought to be located at the bottom of Lake Perucac and under a highway near Vranje.
In October 2001, Serbian police positively identified the remains of Agron, Ylli, and Mehimet Bytyci, Americans of Kosovo Albanian ethnicity who disappeared in 1999 after being delivered from a Serbian prison into the hands of unidentified Serbian police officers. Forensic examination confirmed that the three brothers were shot in the heads while their hands were bound with wire. The Serbian government transferred the remains to family members for burial on February 26. Despite a strong chain of evidence, there were no developments in the police investigation at year's end.
c. Torture, and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
Yugoslav and Serb laws prohibit torture and other cruel forms of punishment, and there were no reports of systematic abuse; however, police at times beat citizens and detainees, particularly Roma (see Section 5).
Instances of police harassment of ethnic Albanian in southern Serbia continued to decline dramatically. The improvement can be credited largely to the deployment of the 400-member Multi-Ethnic Police Force throughout Southern Serbia (see Section 5).
On October 27 in separate incidents, unidentified men thought to be police illegally detained and beat Nikola Maljkovic and Dragan Ilic before delivering them into regular police custody. Majlkovic and Ilic had been identified as suspects in the Bosko Buha killing (see Section 1.a.); both were hospitalized following the beatings. On August 18, in Vranje, police severely beat Nenad Tasic, who sustained broken ribs, a punctured lung, and severe brain damage. The Humanitarian Law Center filed suit and the Vranje Public Prosecutor has taken up the case. On March 16, Belgrade police beat several students while shutting down a late night party, then drove Milan Milovanovic to another location, where they beat him before releasing him. On March 5, Leskovac police reportedly clubbed a handcuffed Roma man, Nebojsa Majlic, causing him to lose consciousness; afterwards, the police filed criminal charges against Majlic for interfering with police performance of duty. The Majlic case was one of more than 100 cases of alleged police abuse in Leskovac reported by the Leskovac-based Committee for Human Rights.
There were no effective institutional means of overseeing and controlling police behavior, and the government offered no assistance other than the courts for citizens with complaints about police behavior. However, defense attorneys and human rights workers reported some improvement during the year in the willingness of the police and the courts to take action in cases of police abuse. According to figures provided by the Serbian Ministry of Interior (MUP), the MUP initiated 649 disciplinary proceedings during the year, resulting in 27 arrests of policemen, 122 criminal complaints, 73 resignations, and 93 suspensions. Typically there were long delays in opening investigations and filing formal charges. Punishment for police officers rarely exceeded 6 months' imprisonment, meaning that police officers found guilty of abusing human rights were usually able to rejoin the police force after convictions. On November 1, a Novi Sad municipal court ordered the Republic of Serbia to pay compensation to Stevan Dimic, a Roma man unlawfully arrested and tortured by Novi Sad police in July 1998. On July 8, a Belgrade municipal court sentenced two police officers to three months in jail each for severely torturing a Roma man, Krsta Kalinovic, in 1998. On June 13, the Vrsac Municipal Court convicted two police officers of beating and torturing Georg Tani in 2000.
Some police and local border guards facilitated trafficking in persons. No police or border police personnel were arrested during the year for facilitating trafficking in persons (see Section 6.f.).
In August members of the Serbian nationalist group Obraz assaulted two organizers of a photographic exhibition displayed in Cacak. The exhibition, "Blood and Honey," featured photographs documenting abuses committed by Serb forces during the Bosnian war. Following this episode, the exhibition was cancelled in several cities, including Nis and Kragujevac. Cacak police charged Obraz leader Igor Ivanovic with assault; the trial began in Cacak municipal court on September 10. Later in September, "Blood and Honey" opened in Novi Sad under heavy police protection.
Prison conditions generally met international standards. Prison conditions have improved following a decade of Milosevic-era neglect that culminated in widespread prison riots in November 2000. The Council of Europe (COE) judged that Yugoslav prisons either met minimum standards for COE membership or, in those areas that were deficient, would meet COE standards within one year. However, conditions varied greatly from one facility to another because of dilapidated buildings and lack of Government funds for repairs. The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights noted that some prisons offered clean, secure environments for inmates; however, in some prisons--most notably, the Belgrade Reformatory Hospital housing psychiatric prisoners--inmates were forced to live in filthy, inhumane conditions. The quality of food varied from poor to minimally acceptable. Health care was often inadequate. Basic educational and vocational training programs were in place at most prisons, but they were limited by lack of resources. The level of training for guards was inadequate, and guards received extremely low pay.
There were no reports of deaths due to official negligence, and no reports of physical abuse, torture, or beatings of prisoners by guards, although some prisoners complained that individual guards often gave preferential treatment to favored prisoners. Some inmates complained that other inmates subjected them to intimidation and occasional assaults. There were no internationally recognized political prisoners remaining in Serbian jails following the March transfer of all Kosovo Albanian prisoners (see Section 1.e.), including political prisoners and common criminals, to UNMIK custody in Kosovo. Men and women were held separately, and conditions in women's prisons were the same as in men's prisons. Juveniles were supposed to be held separately from adults, although this did not always happen in practice. Pretrial detainees were held separately from convicted prisoners. Prisoners were not allowed to vote in the Serbian presidential elections in September and October.
The Government permitted visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Council of Europe. The Government also allowed local independent human rights monitors, including the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) and the Helsinki Committee, to visit prisons throughout the country and to speak with prisoners without the presence of a prison warden.
Some witnesses and potential witnesses at ICTY experienced threats and intimidation in Serbia. In October Belgrade journalist Jovan Dulovic's family received threatening phone calls while Dulovic testified against Slobodan Milosevic. ICTY subsequently closed the hearings after the FRY Government expressed its concern. In August a former police officer who had offered to testify at ITCY about atrocities he witnessed in Kosovo was forced to flee the country after repeated telephone threats against him and his family.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The Constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these prohibitions. The new federal Criminal Procedure Code that took effect in March created strong regulations protecting the rights of detained and accused persons (see Section 1.e.), including prohibitions against excessive delays by authorities in filing formal charges against suspects and in opening investigations.
A new federal Criminal Procedure Code (ZKP) enacted in December 2001 entered into effect in March. According to the Belgrade Center for Human Rights, the ZKP provided better human rights guarantees to suspects and defendants in criminal proceedings than the previous criminal code. In October both HLC and the Yugoslav Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM) reported that, in spite of occasional abuses, police generally acted in accordance with the regulations introduced by the new ZKP. The ZKP mandates that a citizen can be arrested only with a judge-authorized warrant. Police must refer an arrested suspect immediately to an investigating judge, who must approve any detention of more than 48 hours. Arrested persons must be informed immediately of their rights, including the right to confidential conferences with a lawyer. No suspect can be detained for more than 3 months without the decision of a judge, and no one can be detained for more than a total of 6 months. The ZKP prohibits the use of force, threats, deception, coercion, and prohibits courts from using evidence acquired by those means. A suspect may make a statement only in the presence of counsel. The ZKP restricts the time from indictment to the conclusion of first instance trial to two years; appeals to second instance courts must be completed within one further year. Only the competent court can take a person into custody, and only in the cases it specifies. A person wrongfully detained can demand rehabilitation and compensation from the State. Bail was available. Due to the inefficiency of the courts, cases often took excessively long to come to trial; and, once started, trials often took excessively long to conclude.
On February 24, Belgrade police illegally detained Miroslav Gajic overnight in a solitary confinement cell. The next morning a magistrate apologized to Gajic and said that he had been unlawfully detained.
Unlike in previous years, there were no reports of police detaining journalists or NGO members for "informative talks."
The Government released all remaining political prisoners on March 26. No internationally recognized political prisoners or political detainees remained in Serbian jails (see Section 1.e.).
The Constitution prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not employ it.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary; however, the courts remained susceptible to corruption and political influence, although to a far lesser degree than under the former Milosevic government. The courts were highly inefficient--cases could take years to resolve--and there were no official channels for alternative dispute resolution. The Serbian government and judiciary made little progress in implementing the extensive organizational reforms mandated in the November 2001 laws on courts, judges, public prosecution, and High Judicial Counsel. With international help, the Serbian Judges' Training Center organized educational programs offered throughout the country. International organizations and local NGOs like HLC and the Belgrade Center for Human Rights (BCHR) also conducted training for judges during the year. In August the Government raised regular judges' salaries to a base salary of approximately $500 per month (30,000 dinars).
The court system is made up of local, district, and Supreme Courts at the republic level. The 2001 Law on Courts mandates the establishment of an administrative appeals court and a second instance appeals court to lighten the burden of the Supreme Court; however, due to lack of funds and bureaucratic inertia, no new courts were established by year's end. On the federal side, there is a Federal Court and a Federal Constitutional Court to which Republic Supreme Court decisions, depending on the subject, may be appealed.
The military court system inherited from the Tito era presents little transparency in its operations. Under the terms of the federal Constitutional Charter approved by the Federal Constitutional Commission on December 29, military courts are scheduled to be taken over by the civilian judiciary in the first half of 2003. However, at year's end the legislation needed for implementing the charter had not yet been passed. According to the Federal Constitution, the Federal Constitutional Court rules on the constitutionality of laws and regulations and relies on the republics' authorities to enforce its rulings. The Constitutional Court remained staffed by some judges appointed during the Milosevic regime. A majority of judges on the Serbian Supreme Court were Milosevic appointees.
The Law on Judges mandates that judges have lifetime tenure with mandatory retirement at age 65. The Law on Courts establishes a Supreme Court-dominated High Judicial Council to appoint judges and public prosecutors; the law also creates another primarily judicial body, the High Personnel Council, which acts to discipline and dismiss judges. However, these self-governing judicial bodies did not begin functioning during the year, and the Serbian judiciary remained at a standstill in regard to appointments and discipline of judges.
In November and December, the Serbian Public Prosecutor submitted all public prosecutors, deputy prosecutors, and staff to review for general competency and previous conduct, including during the Milosevic era. The result was that approximately one-third of Serbian Public Prosecution personnel were dismissed or forced into retirement by the end of the year.
Although the Government dismissed all court presidents following the October 2000 revolution, most Serbian judges were Milosevic-regime appointees. During the year, the Government exerted intense pressure on the courts for dismissal of judges who profited illegally or subverted legal order under Milosevic. In June Serbian Justice Minister Vladan Batic attacked leading judges in the press and brought television crews unannounced into courthouses to dramatize his claim that many judges ignored their duties. However, the reformist leadership of the judiciary resisted government pressure, arguing that the principles of judicial independence and due process were more important than getting rid of the judges with speed, even if they were guilty of abuses under Milosevic. In July the Serbian parliament passed amendments to the judicial laws giving a parliamentary judicial committee the power to bypass the judicial branch in nominating, appointing, and dismissing judges and court presidents; however, the Constitutional Court struck down the amendments because they violated the independence of the judiciary. There were no trials of former court presidents or judges who committed abuses during the Milosevic regime.
Under Federal law, defendants have the right to be present at their trials and to have an attorney represent them, at public expense if needed. The courts also must provide interpreters. Both the defense and the prosecution have the right to appeal a verdict. Defendants are presumed innocent.
In July the Serbian parliament passed the Law on Suppression of Organized Crime, creating a semi-independent Special Prosecutor, a special police investigative unit, specialized court chambers, and a dedicated detention unit. The Special Prosecutor's competencies include war crimes as well as organized crime. Some human rights activists have expressed concern that the special police force's expanded powers to investigate and detain suspects could lead to abuse. Changes to the federal Law on Criminal Procedure allowing for implementation of the Special Prosecutor law were passed in December.
The Federal Criminal Code was still in effect, although it was amended several times since 2000.
In April the VJ reported that military courts had tried 188 active duty VJ members and had filed charges against an additional 42 for crimes committed in Kosovo. According to the VJ, 15 cases were still under investigation. The VJ also reported that it had ceded cases against 137 former VJ members to civilian courts. These were criminal indictments rather than war crimes indictments that included: Murder, rape, and armed robbery.
All internationally recognized political prisoners held in Serbian jails were released during the year, bringing to an end the controversy following the transfer of approximately 2,000 ethnic Albanian prisoners to Serbia during NATO's bombardment of Kosovo in 1999. Following the terms of the November 2001 "Common Document" on Kosovo cooperation signed by the FRY Government and UNMIK, international panels of judges examined the cases of all ethnic Albanian prisoners held in Serbian jails and all Serbian prisoners held in UNMIK jails. Serbian prisoners in UNMIK custody were given the option of transferring to prisons in Serbia. On March 26, the FRY Government authorized the Serbian government to transfer 146 ethnic Albanian prisoners from Serbian jails to UNMIK custody. Those released included 89 common criminals and 57 "political prisoners" who were convicted of terrorism and anti-government activities in flawed trials from 1998 to 1999. UNMIK authorities immediately freed all political prisoners and a majority of the common criminals. Two Kosovo Albanian common criminals elected to remain incarcerated in Serbia at their own request due to fears for their safety among other ethnic Albanians in UNMIK prisons; UNMIK interviewed the two and verified that they made their decisions voluntarily.
On July 14, Serbian police arrested Taljif Aljetic, an ethnic Albanian traveling through Serbia from northern Europe to Kosovo. Aljetic was charged with "hostility to the state." According to the agreement between UNMIK and the FRY, Aljetic and any other Kosovo Albanian prisoners held in Serbia had the option of transferring to UNMIK custody. The Serbian Justice Ministry was excessively slow in processing Aljetic's transfer, which took place in December. Two other ethnic Albanians convicted of common crimes--Saban Mujovic and Gezi Hotovic–-were also transferred to UNMIK custody in December.
Amnesty for former members of the UCPMB, an integral part of the Covic Plan for peace and ethnic re-integration in Southern Serbia, has been respected in practice since the plan's adoption in May 2001. In June this amnesty was given the status of Federal Law.
There were no developments in the case of 24 Bosniak Muslims whose 1993 political convictions of crimes against the state were returned for review by the Supreme Court in 1996. The accused all lived freely, but while waiting for the charges to be cleared they were forced to live under the stigma of their earlier conviction, unable to exercise some basic rights of citizenship such as possession of a passport.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The Constitution prohibits such actions; however, the Government at times infringed upon these rights in practice. Federal law gives the Federal Ministry of the Interior control over the decision to monitor potential criminal activities; Republic-level laws give the Republic Ministries of the Interior the same control. The Federal Constitution includes restrictions on searches of persons and of premises; similarly, under the Serbian Constitution, police must enter a premise with a warrant, or if no warrant is obtained, they may only enter in order to "save people and property." Both the Federal and Republic Governments generally respected these provisions in practice, with occasional exceptions.
Although there was no direct evidence, some observers believed that the authorities selectively monitored communications and eavesdropped on conversations, read mail and e-mail, and wiretapped telephones. Members of political factions, with no direct evidence, accused other factions of using secret police and intelligence units to eavesdrop on them to gain political advantage. Although illegal under provisions of Federal and Serbian law, the Serbian post office also was believed by some to register and track suspicious mail from abroad.
The Government did not fulfill its promise to open to the public all secret files on persons collected under former regimes. The few files actually delivered to individuals who requested them had been cleansed of documents that might have contained sensitive reporting on the individuals.
The Government did not use forced resettlement; nor did it interfere in the spheres of family, appearance, or religious practice. The federal law requiring military service was not enforced during the year, and there were no forced conscriptions.
During the year, the authorities forcibly evicted a number of Roma, including children, from squatter settlements without offering them any alternative accommodations (see Section 5).
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and the Press
Federal law provides for freedom of speech and of the press; however, political pressure from various factions, an uncertain regulatory environment, and vulnerability to libel suits placed constraints on free expression by journalists, editors, and other individuals associated with the media.
In October 2000, the Government abolished the Law on Public Information, which former President Milosevic used to silence the independent media during the Kosovo crisis. In July the Serbian Parliament passed the Law on Broadcasting, creating a regulatory framework designed to foster free and independent media; however, the law had been only partially implemented by year's end.
Some observers believed that the continued lack of clear guidelines created an atmosphere unfriendly to free expression. Media independence remained a problem. Political parties continued to compete for position and influence in the media; and some media outlets clearly attempted to curry favor with the Government in hopes of receiving favorable treatment once new media reform laws are adopted. Some media outlets practiced self-censorship and were reluctant to report on crimes perpetrated during the wars in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo. Television coverage of the Milosevic trial at ICTY tended to be sketchy or defensive, with the notable exception of Radio/TV B-92, which broadcast the proceedings live.
Selective privatization of media during the Milosevic era has left the country with a mixture of privately owned and Government-owned media outlets. Tanjug was the state-owned news agency. The Government also owned Borba, which controlled one of the most important printing houses in the country, and published the dailies Borba, Sport, and Vecernje Novosti. The oldest nationwide daily, Politika, was run by several state-run companies and was influenced by the Government. The independent daily Danas and the weeklies Vreme and Nin supplemented the high-circulation tabloids Blic and Glas Javnosti for readership.
Two major independent TV stations, BK and TV Pink, which received advantageous treatment, including frequencies, under the Milosevic regime, had widespread coverage; TV Pink expanded into Montenegro during the year. The Government granted Radio/TV B-92 a temporary license to broadcast nationally pending the final allocation of frequencies. B-92 set up new transmitters to make itself a national channel that could compete with TV Pink and BK. Anticipating competition from B-92 in upcoming bids for national frequencies, TV Pink and the Montenegrin weekly Publika launched a brief but intense smear campaign against B-92's directors in October. TV Pink, the most widely watched station in the country, has shown editorial bias in favor of the Government since 2000.
State-controlled Serbian Television and Radio (RTS) was a major presence in television and radio. Aside from the three RTS channels, the State had considerable influence, although not formal control, over the major television stations: TV Politika, TV Novi Sad, and YU INFO, as well as Radio Belgrade's three stations. RTS's coverage was generally objective; however, it occasionally demonstrated some biases in favor of certain political parties. Management personnel could be politically influenced, since editors-in-chief were Government-appointed. The Government funded a Hungarian language newspaper, and RTS provided some Hungarian language programming.
Libel remained a criminal offense. Though the Government itself did not use libel laws to suppress free expression in the media, the low threshold defining libel enabled former members of the Milosevic regime and government officials to win private cases against media outlets that criticized them. Libel can result in jail terms, and courts have the power to issue "conditional sentences" that silence offending journalists with the threat that any further offense will lead to immediate imprisonment. However, there were no reports of "conditional sentences" being issued to journalists. On May 14, Kikindske Novine editor-in-chief Zeljko Bodrozic was convicted of libel for reporting on the business deals of former Milosevic associate Dmitar Segrt. On September 25, the Kragujevac municipal court convicted journalist Gordana Bozic of libel for investigative reporting on shady deals involving political parties and youth organizations. In September businessman Dragan Tomic began libel proceedings against RTS reporter Dragana Vasiljevic for the offense of reading on the air Tomic's official bank statements. On October 14, Democratic Party member Radisava Ljubisaljevic initiated libel proceedings against B-92 for broadcasting public statements made by various political parties about Ljubisaljevic.
The Government did not censor the media directly during the year. There were no reports of police stopping journalists for "informative talks." There was debate among some journalists about whether the ICTY infringed upon confidentiality rights in requiring selected journalists to testify at The Hague.
Journalists commonly practiced self-censorship. According to the HLC and BCHR, journalists censored themselves not for fear of offending the Government, but because of possible libel suits and fear of offending public opinion, particularly on subjects relating to wars in the former Yugoslavia.
Local authorities occasionally harassed journalists and sometimes had the power to dismiss journalists from posts in publicly owned media outlets. On October 12, Cacak mayor Velimir Ilic, enraged by critical reports broadcast on TV Cacak, telephoned insults to the anchorwoman and other reporters; Ilic and his bodyguards then appeared at the station and he continued the tirade, which included misogynist slurs against the anchorwoman. The director of TV Cacak resigned after the incident. On September 23, the Pirot Municipal Council announced that it would fire the editor and reporters of the local Sloboda Media Company for criticizing the actions of local authorities. In Leskovac the state-appointed editor-in-chief of the newspaper Nasa Rec threatened to dismiss three reporters for failing to sign a labor contract that expanded the editor's control of the paper. In October Vojvodina Assembly President Nenad Canak called a journalist at regionally owned Novi Sad Radio 021 and threatened to fire the editor for remarks made on the air.
There were no reports of extremist groups targeting journalists during the year. Blic News editor Zeljko Cvijanovic received numerous telephone threats in May after publishing articles on the Surcin organized crime clan's control of certain Serbian roadwork contracts. According to Belgrade's Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM), police did not attempt to find the source of the threats.
The Government did not restrict publishing or import of published materials; however, some religious groups complained that they were prevented from importing proselytizing literature beyond a Government-set threshold (see Section 2.c.).
The Government did not restrict access to the Internet; however, there were reports that it selectively monitored e-mail correspondence (see Section 1.f.).
The Government did not restrict academic freedom. In April the Serbian parliament passed a new Law on Universities designed to protect universities from political interference. The law restored the Education Council (Prosvetni Savet) abolished by Milosevic in 1990. The Education Council, a republic-level expert body or board of regents answerable to the parliament, sets general university policy, makes some administrative decisions, and determines general curricular goals. According to the law, university rectors and faculty deans will be selected by an academic body, the Scientific-Educational Council (Naucno-Nastavno Vece), without interference from the Ministry of Education. The law also provides for participation of student organizations in determining certain aspects of university policy.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Constitution provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally respected these rights in practice. The Government required private organizations to register; however, no problems with registration were reported during the year. Demonstrating groups were required to notify the police at least 24 hours in advance of the demonstration.
c. Freedom of Religion
Federal and Republic laws provide for freedom of religion and Federal and Serbian Governments generally respected these right in practice. There was no state religion; however, long-established religions, including the majority Serbian Orthodox Church, received some preferential consideration. The Government did not interfere in the public or private practice of religion.
Religious groups are required to apply to the Federal Ministry of Religious Affairs for registration. A new Federal Law on Religious Freedom that would require that religious groups register with the Federal Secretariat for Religious Affairs or the Federal Ministry of Interior had not passed by year's end.
The Jehovah's Witnesses reported that Serbian authorities limited the amount of literature they were allowed to import into the country; they claimed the amount they were permitted to import was insufficient for the missionary activities of the 8,000 members and friends of the community. The Jehovah's Witnesses also reported difficulties in acquiring land and approval for church construction and in obtaining visas for missionaries. Representatives of the Church of Christ claimed that Protestants had experienced difficulty in purchasing a building to be used for a soup kitchen. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints complained that the Government did not grant special visas to missionaries, who had to leave the country every three months to renew their visas.
According to the Law on Religious Freedom, primary and secondary school students are required to attend classes on one of seven "traditional religious communities." As an alternative to this requirement, students were allowed to substitute a class in civic education.
In 2001 the VJ announced its intention to introduce Orthodox, Catholic and Muslim religious leaders into military units. At year's end, only Serbian Orthodox clerics had been introduced.
Representatives of Belgrade's Islamic Community reported difficulty in acquiring land and government approval for an Islamic cemetery near the city.
The attitudes of ethnic groups in the region historically have been influenced strongly by religion, and most instances of ethnic discrimination have had at least some religious roots. There were instances of harassment and societal discrimination against some religious minorities, including the Catholic minority in Vojvodina.
Novi Sad police failed to respond to repeated complaints by members of the Muslim Gujak family, that over a period of three years they had been threatened, insulted, and on one occasion assaulted by their Serb neighbor, Momir Vujic. The HLC filed a criminal complaint against Vujic for abusing the Gujaks on ethnic grounds.
The Serbian Orthodox Church took action against the anti-Semitic claims made by one of its defrocked ex-members, Dr. Zarko Gavrilovic. Gavrilovic's statements were "energetically rejected and condemned" by the highest body of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Holy Synod.
Minority religious communities, including Jews, Roman Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Church of Christ report occasional incidences of vandalism, like the throwing of rocks at places of worship and spray-painting of nationalist or anti-Semitic slogans in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Sremska Mitrovica and other cities in Serbia. A Catholic Church in the Vojvodina town of Sremska Mitrovica was pelted with stones and spray painted with nationalist slogans and swastikas. Church of Christ leaders reported that acts of vandalism took place soon after television programs describing the work of "sects," where minority Protestant faiths are often grouped together with satanic cults.
On December 24, approximately fifty demonstrators prevented an Anglican Church Christmas Eve service from taking place at the Chapel of the Serbian Orthodox Patriarch's residence in Belgrade. The demonstrators refused to allow Anglican Priest Phillip Warner and more than two dozen worshippers access to the chapel. Patriarch Pavle, Metropolitan Amfilohije and President Kostunica, among others, condemned the protest. Belgrade Police announced December 29 that they had brought criminal charges against ten individuals involved in the blockade.
Serbia's Jehovah's Witness Community reported that one of its members, Sahiti Mirsad, served a five-month jail sentence because of his conscientious objection to serving in any part of the military, including non-lethal sections. Conscientious objection was an option in Yugoslavia, but conscientious objectors still were required to serve in the VJ, albeit in non-lethal capacities. There was no civilian option.
For a more detailed discussion see the 2002 International Religious Freedom Report.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
The Constitution provides for these rights, and the Government generally respected them in practice; however, there were reports of Muslims being singled out for unusually long searches at Serbia's border with Bosnia.
Under the previous government, many persons living in Serbia and Montenegro who were born in other parts of the former Yugoslavia were unable to establish citizenship in Yugoslavia. Refugees who applied for Yugoslav citizenship were forced to give up their Bosnian or Croatian citizenship to become eligible for Yugoslav citizenship. To address this problem, in February 2001 the Government amended the 1997 Citizenship Law to allow dual citizenship. However, many of those granted citizenship have retained their refugee cards instead of turning them in for Yugoslav identity cards, presumably in the belief that that the benefits of refugee status are greater than those they would receive as citizens.
On October 29, the Governments of FRY and Bosnia and Herzegovina signed a Treaty on Dual Citizenship, which gave citizens from both countries the option of dual citizenship, with equal rights and privileges for travel between the countries. The treaty further secures the right of refugees to return by guaranteeing access to health benefits, social security, and other benefits earned while working in the previous country of residence. Bosnian Muslims crossing into Serbia from Bosnia were often subjected to lengthy searches by border police, while Bosnian Serbs were often allowed to pass quickly through border checkpoints.
The conflicts that occurred in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo led to widespread displacement of persons. There were approximately 204,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Kosovo, mainly Serbs, Roma, and Bosniaks. Most Serb IDPs from Kosovo rented inadequate lodging or were housed with host families or relatives; however, approximately 10,000 remained in collective centers. Visits by foreign diplomats to collective centers found them to be inadequate for other than emergency shelter. Collective centers were a drain on Serbian government resources. It was impossible to estimate unemployment figures among IDPs. Most families have moved three times or more in search of better schooling or employment opportunities. It is probable that many of them were employed either fully or part-time in informal sector enterprises, such as working in one of the many "gray economy" firms manufacturing clothes, furniture and other products. The Serbian government, with UNHCR support, started to close 62 collective center housing refugees from Bosnia and Croatia (but not those housing IDPs) by setting qualifications to remain housed in collective centers and seeking alternate housing for others.
The great majority of the approximately 10,000 IDPs who fled into Kosovo during the 2001 crisis in southern Serbia returned to their homes in Bujanovac, Presevo, and Medvedja municipalities following the implementation of the May 2001 Covic plan for resolving the crisis.
There were an estimated 40,000 to 45,000 displaced Roma living in the country. Roma faced a dilemma during the Kosovo conflict, as many Kosovo Roma were perceived as Serb collaborators. Living conditions for Roma in Serbia were, on the whole, extremely poor. Local municipalities often were reluctant to accommodate them, hoping that if they failed to provide shelter, the Roma would not remain in the community (see Section 5). If they did settle, it was most often in official collective centers with a minimum of amenities or, more often, in makeshift camps on the periphery of major cities or towns. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was in the process of identifying municipalities willing to cooperate in a program for resettling the Roma in more adequate living quarters.
The Constitution provides for the granting of refugee or asylum status in accordance with the 1951 U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. The Government cooperates with the UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations assisting refugees. There were approximately 336,000 refugees from other successor nations of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Of these refugees most (225,000) were from Croatia. The great majority of the several thousand ethnic Albanians who fled into Serbia in 2001 to escape the conflict in Macedonia have returned to their homes in Macedonia. The Government provides first asylum.
There were no reports of the forced return of persons to a country where they feared persecution.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government
The Federal Constitution provides citizens with the right to change their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal suffrage. The FRY and the Serbian Republic each have a president and a parliamentary system of government. There were no Federal elections since September 2000.
In the Serbian presidential elections held on September 29, the primary vote-getters were FRY President Kostunica and FRY Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus. Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj came in third with a high number of votes. Although Kostunica received a plurality of votes, he did not receive a majority of votes cast. Kostunica also prevailed in the October 13 runoff election, but since less than 50 percent of the registered voters participated, the Republic Election Commission judged the election to have failed. In November the Serbian Parliament abolished the 50 percent threshold for runoff elections; however, the 50 percent threshold remained a requirement for first rounds of elections. When new Serbian presidential elections were held on December 8, once again Kostunica prevailed but the election failed because less than 50 percent of registered voters turned out to vote. In both the October 13 runoff and the December 8 new elections, a significant portion of Serbian voters deliberately stayed home to prevent Kostunica's victory by depressing the voter turnout. International monitors judged the elections to have been free and fair.
Incumbent Serbian President Milan Milutinovic's term of office expired on December 30. Milutinovic, an ICTY indictee, was succeeded as acting Serbian President by Serbian Parliament Speaker Natasa Micic.
During and after this year's Serbian presidential elections, Kostunica and some international observers complained that inaccuracies in the official lists of registered voters resulted in an inordinately high numeration of the 50 percent threshold. The voters' lists also contained the names of a substantial number of voters who lived outside the country with no means of casting their votes. However, those inaccuracies could not have accounted for the shortfall in voter turnout. For several years prior to this year's elections, OSCE made strong recommendations for improving Serbian election laws, including eliminating the 50 percent turnout requirement. However, no Serbian political party worked to change the election law. The flawed process in the presidential elections was the consequence.
On July 28, free elections were held for the first time in the majority ethnic Albanian municipalities of Bujanovac and Presevo, as well as the mixed Serb and Albanian municipality of Medvedja. Serb parties had previously maintained power in these municipalities through gerrymandering and vote-stealing. Two new Serbian Republic laws, the Law on Local Self-Government and the Law on Local Elections, allowed direct election of mayors and a proportional system of voting guaranteeing multi-ethnic representation in government. Ethnic Albanian mayors were elected in Bujanovac and Presevo; and Albanian-led multi-ethnic municipal assemblies were elected in the two municipalities. Two re-run elections were held at certain polling stations in response to complaints by Serb parties about procedural irregularities. International monitors declared the elections to be free and fair.
In February the Serbian parliament passed a new Law on Local Self-Government instituting direct election of mayors and enlarged competencies to municipal and city governments, including greater flexibility in recapturing tax revenue for local needs. The law also increased citizens' ability to participate directly in local government by giving them the right to undertake civil initiatives and organize local referendums.
Following the end of Serbian parliamentary session in mid-June, the governing DOS coalition responded to Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia's (DSS) boycott of both the DOS Presidency and Parliament by expelling DSS from the DOS coalition. Subsequently, the Parliament's Administrative Committee voted to strip DSS of its 45 parliamentary mandates, maintaining that mandates belonged to the coalition rather than to the political parties in the coalition. In the fall, before the Federal Constitutional Court could rule definitively on the mandates controversy, DSS reached a political agreement with DOS enabling DSS to continue participating in the Serbian Parliament. Since the struggle over mandates took place in the interval between parliamentary sessions, parliamentary activity was not directly affected. DSS parliamentarians participated normally when the next parliamentary session began in November.
There were 10 women in the 178-seat Federal Parliament and 27 women in the 250-seat Serbian Parliament. There were four women in the Serbian Cabinet. Women were active in political organizations; however, they only held approximately 10 percent of ministerial-level and Parliamentary positions in the Serbian and Federal Governments. Prominent positions held by women included: Speaker of the Serbian Parliament, Commissioner for Refugees, Minister for Social Welfare, the Minister for Transportation and Telecommunication, and President of the Serbian Supreme Court.
There were no legal restrictions on minority participation in political life. There were 20 minorities in the 250-seat Serbian Parliament. There was one minority in the Serbian cabinet and one minority in the Federal cabinet. Ethnic Serbs and, to a certain extent, Montenegrins, dominated the country's political leadership. In Vojvodina, where the Hungarian minority constituted about 15 percent of the population, many regional political offices were held by Hungarians. Jozsef Kasza, a Hungarian minority party leader, was Serbian Deputy Prime Minister. Few members of other ethnic groups were involved at the top levels of government or the state-run economy; however, Rasim Ljajic, a Sandzak Muslim leader, was appointed the Federal Minister for Minority Affairs in November 2000. Roma have the right to vote, and there were two small Romani parties in Serbia. One of the four deputy mayors in Kragujevac was a Rom. Ethnic Albanians, who took control of local government in two southern Serbian municipalities and partial control in a third, were underrepresented in the federal and republic governments. Ethnic Hungarians led municipal governments in Subotica and six other municipalities in northern Vojvodina. In the Sandzak, Bosniak Muslims controlled the municipal governments of Novi Pazar, Tutin, and Sjenica.
Some minorities, such as Hungarians and Bosniak Muslims, turned out to vote in percentages roughly equal to or greater than the general population's percentage of turnout. Roma continued their historical pattern of voting in extremely low numbers. Ethnic Albanians boycotted the September Serbian presidential election; however, they turned out in high numbers in the July municipal elections in southern Serbia.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials generally were cooperative and responsive to their views. Some NGOs, such as G-17, Otpor, and the Center for Free and Democratic Elections (CeSID) contributed to the Government's reform strategies at the highest level. Others, such as the HLC, Yugoslav Lawyer's Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM), and Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia (HCS), frequently offered citizens the only chance for redress when Government institutions fail to protect basic human rights. There were no reported cases of government harassment of human rights NGOs, which were highly independent in their assessments of Government actions. HLC, YUKOM, Belgrade Center for Human Rights (BCHR), the Leskovac Council on Human Rights, and the Center for Antiwar Action researched human rights abuses throughout the country and, on occasion, elsewhere in the former Yugoslavia. HCS and BCHR published annual surveys on human rights issues in Yugoslavia; HCB also cooperated with the Pristina-based Helsinki Committee in monitoring human rights abuses in Kosovo. In the Sandzak region, two committees monitored abuses against the local Muslim population and produced comprehensive reports. Most of these organizations offered advice and help to victims of abuse.
The Government worked in partnership with international and local NGOs in a number of areas affecting human rights during the year, including monitoring of elections (CeSID), monitoring of official corruption (Otpor), legal and judicial reform (YUCOM, HLC), the drafting of the new criminal code (BCHR), judicial education (HLC, Belgrade Center for Human Rights), refugee return (Serbian Democratic Forum, HCB), identification of missing persons (ICMP), and the fight against human trafficking (ASTRA, Counseling against Family Violence).
The Yugoslav and Serbian Governments made some progress in cooperating with the ICTY, particularly in the field of developing an improved legislative framework for complying with ICTY requests. In April the Federal Parliament adopted a Law on Cooperation with ICTY and formed a National Council for ICTY Cooperation chaired by Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic. However, the Law on Cooperation only authorizes transfer of those already indicted at the time the law entered into force; it does not apply to potential future ICTY indictees. Upon adoption of the law, the Government made a public call for ICTY indictees to surrender for transfer to The Hague. A number of indictees surrendered in response to this call, including former Chief of General Staff of the Yugoslav Armed Forces Dragoljub Ojdanic, former Deputy Federal Premier Nikola Sainovic, Major General Mile Mrksic, former President of the self-styled Republic of Serbian Krajina Milan Martic, and Momcilo Gruban. Indictee Ranko Cesic was arrested and transferred to ICTY representatives in June. Following the suicide of former Serbian Minister of Interior Vlajko Stojiljkovic, seventeen ICTY indictee-citizens of the FRY remained at large. Former President Milan Milutinovic left office on December 30 and, as an ICTY indictee, lost his immunity from prosecution. Belgrade's Regional Court began the legal process that should lead to Milutinovic's transfer to the ICTY by requesting the Serbian Government's confirmation of the ICTY indictment against him. While the Federal and Serbian Republic Governments contended that they had no information confirming the presence of these indictees on Yugoslav territory, these contentions were vigorously challenged by ICTY's Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte.
In addition to the transfer of indictees, the Yugoslav and Serbian governments cooperated with the ICTY through the transfer of some documents and through enabling the testimony of witnesses. During the year, the Yugoslav National Council for ICTY cooperation provided access to documents on crimes against ethnic Serbs and furnished the ICTY with documents including records from 17 sessions of the Supreme Defense Council, Yugoslav National Bank records related to an alleged arms trader, and files from investigations and judicial proceedings against Serb Ministry of Interior forces for crimes committed in Kosovo. The National Council requested the declassification of an additional 172 documents, a first step towards the transfer of documents to ICTY prosecutors. In addition to answering numerous requests for information on the whereabouts of possible witnesses, the National Council enabled the testimony of over thirty witnesses by coordinating waivers from legal obligations to protect state and military secrets. ICTY continued to maintain that progress on these fronts was unacceptably slow.
During the year, domestic war crimes indictments and trials began in Serbia (see Section 1.a.).
Some witnesses and potential witnesses at ICTY experienced threats and intimidation in Serbia (see Section 1.c.).
There was no autonomous human rights ombudsman at either the Federal or the Republic level.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) founded by President Kostunica in 2001 continued to flounder because of a lack of shared purpose among its members and a lack of funds from the Government. The TRC held a roundtable in May, and in June hosted a presentation by the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation. In September the TRC sponsored public testimony by Bosnian Muslim and Serb family members of victims of the Srebrenica killings.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Disability, Language, or Social Status
Federal and Republic-level laws provide for equal rights for all citizens, regardless of ethnic group, language, or social status, and prohibit discrimination against women; however, in practice the legal system provided little protection for such groups.
Women
Violence against women was a problem and traditionally high levels of domestic violence persisted. The few official agencies dedicated to coping with family violence had inadequate resources and were limited in their activity by social pressure to keep families together at all costs. In March the federal Criminal Code was amended to make spousal rape as a criminal offense. Few victims of spousal abuse filed complaints with the authorities. There was no trained police unit to provide protection or assistance to female victims of sexual or other violence. The Center for Autonomous Women's Rights in Belgrade offered a rape and spousal abuse hot line, and sponsored a number of self-help groups. The Center also offered assistance to refugee women (mostly Serb), many of whom experienced extreme abuse or rape during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.
The country served as a transit country, and to a lesser extent a country of origin and a destination country, for trafficking in women for the purpose of sexual exploitation (see Section 6.f.).
Women did not enjoy social status equal to that of men, and relatively few women obtained upper level positions in government and commerce. Since changing regulations to allow women to serve as police officers in 2001, the Serbian police hired increasing numbers of women officers. Traditional patriarchal ideas of gender roles, especially in rural areas, subjected women to discrimination in many homes. In some more remote rural areas, particularly among some minority communities, women effectively lacked the ability to exercise their right to control property. In rural areas and some minority communities, it was common for husbands to direct the voting of wives. Women legally were entitled to equal pay for equal work; however, according to the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, women's average wage was 11 percent lower than the average wage of men. Women were granted maternity leave for 1 year, with an additional 6 months available. In urban areas such as Belgrade and Novi Sad, women were represented widely in many professions including law, academics, and medicine. Women were also active in political and human rights organizations.
Children
The Government attempted to meet the health and educational needs of children. The educational system provided 8 years of free, mandatory schooling. However, economic distress affected children adversely in both the education and health care systems, particularly Roma children, who rarely attended kindergartens. Many Roma children never attend primary school, either for family reasons, because they were judged to be unqualified, or because of societal prejudice. Due to this lack of primary schooling, many Roma children did not learn to speak Serbian, and there was no instruction available in the Romani language. Some Roma children were mistakenly placed in schools for children with emotional disabilities because Romani language and cultural norms made it difficult for them to succeed on standardized tests in Serbian. Many Roma children were trafficked within the Roma community in Serbia and to other Roma abroad to be used in begging and theft rings.
Traditionally there has been no societal pattern of abuse of children, but child abuse occasionally took place in the country.
The country was a transit country and, to a lesser extent, a country of origin and destination country for trafficking in girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation (see Section 6.f.). In August the media reported that, in the 1980s and 1990s, some newborn babies had been kidnaped by midwives and doctors and sold through criminal rings to adoptive parents (see Section 1.b.).
Persons with Disabilities
The law prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, education, or in the provision of other state services; however, in practice facilities for persons with disabilities--mental and physical--were inadequate, and the Government did not make addressing this problem a priority. However, the law mandates access for persons with disabilities to new official buildings, and the Government sometimes enforced these provisions in practice. The Government did not provide mobile voting for handicapped or ill voters incapable of coming to polling stations. Persons with disabilities were excluded from the category of eligible voters in the September-October Serbian presidential elections.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Minorities constituted 25 to 30 percent of Serbia's population and included ethnic Albanians, Romani, Hungarians, Bosniak Muslims, Slovaks, Romanians, Vlachs, Bulgarians, Croats, and others.
The heavy police presence remaining in southern Serbia is in part due to credible threats of violent acts by radical elements of the ethnic-Albanian community. Incidents of police harassment against the ethnic Albanian population continued to decline dramatically. According to reports from local ethnic Albanian human rights organizations, VJ troops were responsible for most incidents of harassment in southern Serbia. Harassment by the VJ ranged from verbal abuse to confiscation of money to temporary detention from one to three hours. There were no reports of physical abuse or brutality. Due to the deployment of the MEPF throughout Southern Serbia, by year's end, training had been completed and MEPF cadets were on patrol. The OSCE's Mission to The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia trained cadets in modern police tactics at an international police training center in Mitrovo Polje.
Although some problems persisted, the Government's policy toward minorities has improved greatly since Milosevic's removal from office. In February the Government passed three laws benefitting Serbia's minorities. The federal Law on the Protection of the Rights and Liberties of National Minorities banned discrimination on national, racial, ethnic, and religious grounds and affirmed the right of significant minority communities to self-government and education in their own language. The Minorities Law stipulated the creation of a representative Federal Council of Minorities. The Serbian Republic's Law on Local Self-Government increased the political power and responsibility of municipalities, including greater power to recapture tax revenue for local uses. This law provided the basis for the municipal elections that brought ethnic Albanians to power for the first time in southern Serbia (see Section 3). The Serbian Republic's Omnibus Bill on Vojvodina granted increased powers of self-government to the historically distinct Vojvodina region of Serbia, although the law stopped far short of restoring the full autonomy that Vojvodina enjoyed until 1989. On November 4, the FRY and Romania signed a bilateral agreement designed to protect national minorities on both sides of the border. Federal Minister for Minorities Rasim Ljajic led a public education campaign for ethnic tolerance, instituting an annual national award for the promotion of tolerance.
Ethnic Albanian leaders of the Southern Serbian municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja continued to complain of the underrepresentation of ethnic Albanians in state structures. Implementation of the Covic plan for peace and ethnic re-integration in the region, including the conclusion of the deployment of the Multi-Ethnic Police Force (MEPF) and free and fair democratic elections held in July and August, gave Southern Serbia's ethnic Albanians proportional representation in the police and control of local governments in municipalities where they made up a majority (See Section 3).
In mid-September, caravans of about 100 cars carrying Serbs from neighboring municipalities paraded through the heavily Muslim center of Novi Pazar on three nights following Yugoslav basketball victories, brandishing Chetnik regalia and chanting Serb nationalist slogans. On one of these occasions, several hundred Muslim youths gathered to confront the caravan; three Serbs and several policemen were lightly injured in the fight that followed. The Serbian Government reacted quickly to defuse the situation, dispatching extra police and enlisting as mediator Federal Minister for Minorities Rasim Ljajic, himself a Bosniak Muslim from Novi Pazar. The October indictments for the 1992 Sjeverin killings marked the beginning of the first trial concerning past Government abuses of Muslim citizens of the Sandzak (see Section 1.e.).
There were no reports of violence or harassment against ethnic Hungarians in Vojvodina during the year. Some members of the Vlach community in Bor complained about the Serbian Orthodox Church's refusal to conduct religious services in the Vlach language rather than in Serbian.
Roma continued to be targets of numerous incidents of police violence (see section 1.c.), societal discrimination, and verbal and physical harassment from ordinary citizens. Police often did not investigate cases of societal violence against Roma. The HLC reported that, on July 9 in the village of Americ, police searching without a warrant for weapons at the home of Elizabeta Djuric insulted and brutalized three children in their mother's absence, forcing a 16 year-old boy with mental disabilities to dig holes in the garden for two hours.
In February the federal Minorities Law recognized the Roma in Serbia and Montenegro as a national minority, explicitly banning discrimination and calling for government measures to improve their condition. Many Roma lived illegally in squatter settlements that lacked basic services such as schools, doctors, clean water, and sewage facilities. During the year, the authorities forcibly evicted a number of Roma, including children, from such settlements without offering them any alternative accommodations (see Section 1.f.). On November 13, the Vozdovac district of Belgrade evicted 50 Roma IDPs from Kosovo, including 32 children, from their settlement. In September the New Belgrade city government served eviction orders to 717 residents of a Romani settlement, many of whom were IDPs from Kosovo. After protests by local human rights organizations, the city promised to find alternative accommodations; however, on October 21 demolition of the settlement began without any alternative housing being provided. In April 27 Romani IDPs from Kosovo, including 17 children younger than 15, were forced out of a settlement in Vozdovac. Again in April, 67 Roma, including 27 children under the age of six, were displaced from a squatter settlement in New Belgrade because the city had sold the land to a private interest.
In Leskovac and the town of Pozega, Roma reportedly have been refused social welfare services for arbitrary reasons. The HLC reported that the Nis municipal garbage service never visited the Romani settlement Crvena Zvezda, a community of about 50 houses sharing only two running water taps, which often froze in the winter, leaving the entire community without running water. Roma IDPs from Kosovo were especially subject to discrimination and abuse. Most of them lacked identity documents, making it difficult for them to gain access to social services and state-provided health care. The Roma Educational Center reported that some Roma IDPs in Nis were mistaken for Kosovo Albanians and subjected to discrimination on that basis.
Some non-Roma refugees and IDPs suffered from discrimination. The HLC reported that the Serbian Government did not allow some Kosovo IDPs to relocate their official places of residence to Kragujevac; in other words, the IDPs could not "check out" from their former residences in Kosovo. This deprived them of health insurance, social welfare, and normal access to schools. The Nis Council for Human Rights reported that the approximately 20,000 refugees and IDPs in the Nis area suffered from "quiet discrimination" in areas such as housing and employment.
Roma education remained a problem, and lack of official documents hindered their ability to receive services available to all other citizens. The UNHCR, with Serbian government support, has begun health education programs for Roma, and catch-up and head-start programs for Roma children.
There were some judicial actions in favor of Roma during the year. The HLC reported that in July the Sabac municipal court ruled in a Rom's favor in a lawsuit claiming discrimination against Roma at a public swimming pool at Sabac. This was the first time that existing law had been used to prove discrimination against Roma. The municipal prosecutor in Bajina Basta dismissed charges by police against Roma citizen Stanisa Simic, who was detained by police and then indicted after he defended himself from Serb attackers in 2000. In January the HLC filed a lawsuit against a Belgrade disco club that repeatedly refused admission to Romani citizens.
The Bosniak Federal Minister for Minorities, Rasim Ljajic, was one of the more visible and influential members of the Government during the year. A Bosniak federal parliamentarian was appointed a member of the subcommittee reponsible for drafting the federal charter, but in November he boycotted the committee protesting that the Sandzak would not receive sufficient autonomy under the new charter. Bosniaks led local governments in the three majority-Muslim municipalities in the Sandzak region. In Novi Pazar, the municipal government gave the Bosnian dialect official status as allowed under the new Serbian Law on Local Self-Government. All seven Sandzak municipalities--Novi Pazar, Tutin, Sjenica, Pribor, Prijepolje, and Nova Varos–-had multi-ethnic municipal assemblies
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The law provides for the right of association; all workers except military and police personnel have the legal right to join or form unions and workers did so in practice. There were approximately 1.8 million employees in the socially-owned state sector and 361,000 persons in privately-owned companies. An additional 500,000 persons worked in the unofficial economy and were not registered employees. In the socially-owned state sector, 60 to 70 percent of workers belonged to unions. In the private sector, only 4 percent were unionized and in agriculture, 2 to 3 percent. The Alliance of Independent Labor Unions (Samostalni Sindikati, or SSS), formally affiliated with the Socialist Party of Serbia, whose President remained Slobodan Milosevic, claimed 1.8 million members, although this number was estimated to be closer to 800,000 in practice. The largest independent union was the United Branch Independent Labor Unions (Nezavisnost), which had approximately 600,000 members. The third largest union was the Association of Free and Independent Trade Unions (AFITU), which had approximately 200,000 members. Most other independent unions were sector specific, and had approximately 130,000 members. Due to the poor state of the economy, one-third of union workers, or 600,000 persons, were on long-term mandatory leave from their firms pending improvement of the economy. The largely splintered approach of the independent unions resulted in few achievements in terms of increased wages or improved working conditions.
In December 2001, a Serbian Government labor law that had been approved by the International Labor Organization (ILO) entered into force. The law significantly differed from the previous Socialist law by giving more power to employers and diminishing the rights of employees. For example, the law makes it easier for management to fire workers; collective bargaining is obligatory, but signing a collective agreement is not obligatory and employees may sign individual work contracts; and public job announcements are no longer obligatory. The Serbian Parliament accepted thirty-three of approximately fifty union-proposed amendments on the Labor Law, but failed to adopt the key demand for a mandatory requirement for signing collective agreement with employees.
Antiunion discrimination was not a problem.
Unions can affiliate internationally; however, only Nezavisnost was recognized by the international community as completely independent from the Government. Nezavisnost was a member of the ICFTU and other international unions.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The signing of collective agreements is not mandatory for employers, although it was allowed. Unions have complained that without this provision, their role in the system was diminished. A union must have 15 percent of employees as members in order to be eligible to negotiate with an employer, or 10 percent of all employees in order to negotiate with the Serbian Government or the local government.
Collective bargaining remained at a rudimentary level of development. Individual unions continued to be narrow in their aims and were unable to join with unions in other sectors to bargain for common purposes. The history of trade unionism in the country has centered not on bargaining for the collective needs of all workers but rather for the specific needs of a given group of workers. Thus, coal workers, teachers, health workers, and electric power industry employees have been ineffective in finding common denominators (for example, job security protection, minimum safety standards, or universal workers' benefits) on which to negotiate. The overall result was a highly fragmented labor structure composed of workers who relate to the needs of their individual union but rarely to those of other workers. In April the agreement on improving the activities of Serbia's Social and Economic Council and improving social dialog was signed by the Serbian Government, representatives of the three largest trade unions and the Association of Employers.
Security forces did not disrupt any strikes or arrest union leaders during the year.
The law provides for the right to strike; however, the Law on Strikes restricted the right for employees in "essential service production enterprises," such as education, electric power, and postal services, and these employees must announce their strikes at least 15 days ahead and must ensure that a "minimum level of work" is provided. This law covered approximately 50 percent of all employees. The independent unions, while active in recruiting new members, have not reached the size needed to mount countrywide strikes; however, unions held several strikes during the year. In January 7,000 employees of the four biggest state-owned banks unsuccessfully protested the closure of their banks. On January 23, 8,000 workers at one of the biggest textile factories, Yumko Vranje, went on strike for higher wages and replacement of management. In March workers at Yumko Vranje repeated the strike, which resulted in the resignation of the General Manager. On March 18, railway unions launched a general strike demanding new employment contracts and higher wages. After 11 days the unions accepted a 4 percent wage increase. In June taxis blocked roads throughout the country to protest the Government's policy on taxi drivers. Public workers, including teachers, health workers, students, and policemen, held strikes during the year. These strikes were for job security, higher pay and the regular payment of wages. In general job security fears, which stemmed from the high rate of unemployment, limited workers' willingness to strike.
There were no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Bonded Labor
The law prohibits forced and bonded labor, including by children; however, Roma children were often forced into manual labor, compelled to beg, or trafficked abroad to work in begging or theft rings (see Section 6.d.).
d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment
The minimum age for employment is 16 years, although in villages and farming communities it was common to find younger children at work assisting their families. Children--particularly Roma--also could be found in a variety of unofficial retail jobs, typically washing car windows or selling small items such as cigarettes or newspapers. In recent years, this type of labor has been less widespread because adults, lacking other options for employment, have taken many of these jobs. The unemployment rate throughout Serbia was approximately 30 percent, but there were pockets, particularly in areas with large refugee populations or where industries have closed, where unemployment was much higher. It was estimated that almost one million people were engaged in the "gray economy," while as much as 60 percent of all gray market employees also had official jobs.
The law prohibits forced and bonded labor including by children; however, Roma children were often forced into manual labor, compelled to beg, or trafficked abroad to work in begging or theft rings (see Section 1.c.).
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
Large government enterprises, including all the major banks and industrial and trading companies generally observed the minimum wage standard. The monthly minimum wage was approximately $50 (3,000 dinars); however, this figure was roughly comparable to unemployment benefits and (at least theoretically) was paid to workers who had been placed in a mandatory leave status. The actual minimum wage was at the low end of the range of average net salaries, which was $160 (9,900 dinars) per month. The minimum wage was insufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. For example, the cost of only food and utilities for a family of four was estimated to be $180 (11,600 dinars) per month. Private enterprises used the minimum wage as a guide but tended to pay slightly higher average wages.
Reports of sweatshops operating in the country were rare, although some privately owned textile factories operated under very poor conditions. In certain areas of the country, such as the Sandzak and the town of Cacak, there were many prosperous small businesses dealing in unlicensed items for export. For example, one furniture manufacturer employed 800 workers but, aside from their salaries, the factory workers received no other benefits. The official workweek, listed as 40 hours, was not respected because of massive underemployment and unemployment.
Neither employers nor employees tended to give high priority to the enforcement of established occupational safety and health regulations, focusing their efforts instead on economic survival. Because of the competition for employment and the high degree of government control over the economy, workers were not free to leave hazardous work situations without risking the loss of their employment.
f. Trafficking in Persons
The law does not prohibit trafficking in persons; although there are laws that could be used to prosecute traffickers. Trafficking was a problem.
Serbian authorities have used pre-existing laws against kidnaping, slavery, smuggling, and prostitution to apprehend some traffickers. The penalties carried by such laws range from 1 to 10 years in jail. During the year, the Serbian police took 355 foreign women into custody, 60 of whom were identified as victims of trafficking and referred to the Belgrade shelter for trafficking victims. Federal and Serbian police have assisted in international investigations of human trafficking. Federal law prohibits extradition of Yugoslav citizens to other countries. By year's end 30 criminal charges had been submitted to the office of the prosecutor for 62 offenses, resulting in three convictions.
The country served as a transit country, and to a lesser extent a country of origin and a destination country, for trafficking in women and girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Serbia was primarily a transit country for internationally trafficked women going to Kosovo, Bosnia, and points in Western Europe. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that between 6,000 and 7,000 women were trafficked through Serbia. Serbia was a destination for trafficked women, with brothels and nude dancing venues located along major transportation routes. No reliable estimate existed on numbers of women controlled by human traffickers in the country. Serbia did not traditionally serve as a major source country for trafficked women, but poor economic conditions have increased Serbian women's vulnerability to traffickers. Trafficking in children for use in begging or in theft rings was a problem among Roma. Moldova, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, and Bulgaria were the primary source countries for women trafficked through Serbia.
Recruitment devices included advertisements for escort services, marriage offers, and offers for employment. Often women knowingly went to work as prostitutes, and later, once they left their country of origin in the hands of traffickers, discovered that they were prisoners. The women were recruited, transported, sold, and controlled by international organized crime networks. The central point in Serbia for holding and transferring trafficked women was Belgrade.
There were no confirmed reports of government officials condoning or participating in trafficking, but trafficking in Serbia could not take place without the cooperation of at least some police, border guards, and minor officials.
During the year, the Government's inter-ministerial task force on human trafficking, Yugoslav Team for Combating Trafficking in Persons, worked with the OSCE and IOM to put together a basic program for assisting trafficking victims. In February a victims' shelter, along with a 24-hour hotline, was established in Belgrade. A Belgrade NGO, Counseling Against Family Violence, operated the shelter and hotline. The Serbian Ministry of Social Welfare established on its premises a National Coordinating and Counseling Center to receive potential trafficking victims from police and NGOs for screening, medical examination, and counseling before referring the women to the shelter or other appropriate venue. The International IOM managed repatriation of victims and repatriated approximately 80 women determined to be victims of trafficking during the year. IOM also opened a Regional Clearing Point in Government-donated offices in Belgrade to collect information on trafficking from all the Balkan countries. The Serbian Interior Ministry reported that it began systematically distinguishing trafficking victims from prostitutes and illegal migrants during the year. To reach Serbian women and children vulnerable to becoming victims of trafficking, the Serbian NGO ASTRA completed the extensive public awareness campaign begun in 2001. Serbian Border Police reported that a well-established Beijing to Belgrade trafficking route was closed down when Yugoslav authorities imposed strict visa requirements and direct air links between Belgrade and Beijing were cancelled.
KOSOVO
Kosovo continued to be administered under the civil authority
of the U.N. Interim Administrative Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK),
pursuant to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1244. This resolution
called for "substantial autonomy and meaningful self-administration"
for the persons of Kosovo "within the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia." UNMIK and its chief administrator, the Special
Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG), established a
civil administration in June 1999, following the conclusion of
the NATO military campaign that forced the withdrawal of Yugoslav
and Serbian forces from the province. Since that time, the SRSG
and UNMIK, with the assistance of the international community,
have worked with local leaders to build the institutions and expertise
necessary for self-government.
In May 2001, UNMIK promulgated the Constitutional Framework for Provisional Self-Government in Kosovo (the "Constitutional Framework"), which defined the Provisional Institutions of Self Government (PISG). The PISG replaced the UNMIK-imposed Joint Interim Administrative Structure. In accordance with the Constitutional Framework, certain areas of governance, including that of foreign affairs and justice, were retained by the SRSG. The November 2001 general election created a 120-member Assembly with 100 seats filled by elected officials of all ethnicities and 20 reserved specifically for minorities. On December 10, 2001, the Central, or Kosovo Assembly held its inaugural session, with Nexat Daci heading the Assembly Presidency. On March 4, the Assembly, under Daci's leadership, selected Ibrahim Rugova as President of Kosovo and Bajram Rexhepi as Prime Minister. On October 26, municipal elections were held in all 30 municipalities, although Serbs living in Mitrovica effectively boycotted. International and local election observers concluded that the election was well organized, peaceful, and met international standards.
UNMIK Regulation 1999/24 established that applicable law in Kosovo included UNMIK regulations and those laws in effect in Kosovo as of March 22, 1989, the date Slobodan Milosevic abolished Kosovo's political autonomy. This created a complex, and in some cases, incomplete set of codes. Since its establishment, UNMIK periodically has issued regulations to address the civil and legal responsibilities of governmental entities and private individuals. UNMIK regulations bind all public officials, including judges, to respect international human rights law. The Constitutional Framework provides for an independent judiciary; however, both the international and local judiciary continued to be highly inefficient. As a result, defendants were often detained for lengthy periods pending trial.
The U.N.-authorized, NATO-led peacekeeping force for Kosovo, known as the Kosovo Force or KFOR, continued to carry out its mandate to maintain internal security and defend against external threats. KFOR operations included the physical prohibition of the flow of personnel and materials from Kosovo to to the Presevo Valley in southern Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (Macedonia). KFOR increasingly transferred responsibilities for civilian law enforcement to UNMIK's multinational police corps (CIVPOL); CIVPOL continued to transfer basic police authority and functions to the Kosovo Police Service (KPS), while maintaining oversight. The Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC), a civilian emergency preparedness service agency that incorporated disarmed former fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), continued to train and develop its disaster response skills, while also undertaking humanitarian projects throughout Kosovo. Some members of security forces committed human rights abuses.
Economic underdevelopment, in terms of employment, investment, manufacturing capabilities, and markets for goods, continued to plague Kosovo, which has approximately 2 million inhabitants. The post-conflict period has seen a dual struggle to repair the massive war damage to infrastructure and enterprises while facilitating the transition from a centrally directed economy to a market-based one. Construction became the strongest economic sector in the post-conflict period; the agrarian sector improved but did not reach prewar levels. Major industries had not reopened and the economy remained stagnant. Unemployment estimates for the predominantly ethnic Albanian population ranged between 40 and 60 percent. Unemployment among Kosovo Serb and other ethnic communities was higher, although some Kosovo Serbs continued to receive stipends or pensions from Yugoslavia. International organizations and donors continued their programs to improve the infrastructure and provide a regulatory climate conducive to enterprise and investment. Significant criminal economic activity took place, particularly in the fuel sector, and smuggling was widespread.
UNMIK and the PISG generally respected the human rights of Kosovo's citizens; however, there were serious problems in many areas. In the course of official duties, one CIVPOL officer killed two persons. There were no killings by KFOR or KPS. A few killings resulted from attacks that appeared to be politically motivated. There were some deaths and injuries resulting from landmines. There were some kidnapings and disappearances. UNMIK's efforts to continue exhumation of gravesites and to pursue identification of remains were ineffective and slow. There were some reports that KFOR and CIVPOL used excessive force during arrests and one case of sexual assault by a member of CIVPOL. Some KPC members were accused of intimidation and extortion; however, KPC discipline improved. Some KPC members reportedly were directly involved in or materially supported political violence in the Presevo Valley and Macedonia, although less so than in 2001.
KFOR and CIVPOL used their powers of detention and arrest as provided under UNMIK regulation 1999/24. No abuses of these powers were reported during the year. Lengthy pretrial detention remained a problem, although the length of pretrial detention decreased during the year. In some cases with security implications, the Commander of KFOR (COMKFOR) issued extrajudicial executive detention orders, sometimes for lengthy periods. The SRSG also had this authority but did not exercise it during the year. The judiciary was at times subject to bias and outside influence, particularly in interethnic cases, and did not always ensure due process.
There were some restrictions on privacy rights. Local media and some international media organizations criticized UNMIK regulations prohibiting articles that might encourage criminal activity or violence as an infringement on freedom of speech and of the press. UNMIK occasionally limited freedom of assembly and forcibly disrupted some violent demonstrations. Religious tension and violence persisted, but at significantly diminished levels. Freedom of movement for ethnic minorities, most of whom were Kosovo Serbs, continued to be a serious problem; however, there were improvements in some areas. Efforts to promote refugee returns moved slowly, but there were some improvements during the year. Of the more than 200,000 members of ethnic communities (including approximately 170,000 Kosovo Serbs and 25,000 Roma) displaced after June 1999, few returned to Kosovo due to concerns about security, freedom of movement, and lack of employment opportunities. Despite this, some international agencies and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) initiated small-scale organized returns projects and overall returns rose dramatically during the year to approximately twice the amount compared with 2001.
Violence and discrimination against women remained serious problems. The approximately 100,000 Kosovo Serbs who remained in Kosovo continued to live primarily in the north or in enclaves under the protection of KFOR. Societal violence against ethnic minorities continued to decline, but serious incidents still occurred. Trafficking in women continued to be a serious problem.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
There were no reports of the arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life committed by UNMIK, the PISG, or their agents. KFOR forces did not kill any individuals during security operations.
The trial of Sali Veseli, a former KLA officer, and four other suspects for the May 2000 murder of Ekrem Rexha (known as "Commander Drini"), also a former KLA commander, was postponed until the courts could locate a key witness, known as Hazer N, who they believed to be living abroad. In February authorities arrested eight suspects in the August 2000 killing in Istok of Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) activist Shaban Manaj; several of those detained were former members of the KLA. All eight suspects were acquitted this year. In October several suspects were arrested for the October 2001 killing of Bekim Kastrati, a journalist with the LDK-linked newspaper, Bota Sot, and LDK bodyguard Besim Dajaku.
On December 17, the UNMIK-administered court convicted five former senior members of the KLA, Idriz Balaj, Daut Haradinaj, Bekim Zekaj, Ahmet Elshani, and Ramush Ahmetaj of the June 1999 killings of Kosovar Albanians Bashkim Balaj, Rexhe Osaj, Sinan Musaj, and Idriz Peja.
There were a small number of killings that may have been politically motivated; however, these cases significantly decreased from 2001. In these cases, the victims were either political party officials or members, or connected with high-profile political activity; however, there was no clear evidence of political motivation. On January 17, unknown assailants killed Smajl Hajdaraj, an LDK member of the Kosovo Assembly. No arrests had been made at year's end. On October 27, Uke Bytyci, Mayor of Suhareke/Suva Reka municipality and the LDK local branch leader, as well as his two bodyguards, were killed in a confrontation with a family of local Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) activists during a victory celebration following his re-election. Two arrests were made and the two suspects remained in detention at year's end.
There were no developments in several murders from previous years, including the following from 2001: The case of the LDK branch president and the President of Kline/Klina Municipal Assembly, Ismet Rraci, killed in April; the July killing of Ahmet Balaj, an LDK committee member in Mitrovica; the August killing of Qerim Ismaili of the Kosovo Democratic Initiative; and the shooting of two brothers, one of whom was a bodyguard of the mayor of Istog/Istok municipality, in December. Unresolved cases of politically-motivated killings from 2000 included the following: LDK politician Alil Dreshaj; cofounder of the LDK and President Rugova's press advisor, Xhemail Mustafa; former KLA officer Besim Mala; a KPC officer and former KLA commander, Skendar Gashi; journalist Shefki Popova; and Pristina's Director of Urban Planning, Rexhep Luci.
There were 68 killings of citizens in Kosovo during the year, compared with 136 in 2001. According to available figures, assailants killed 60 Kosovar Albanians, 6 Kosovo Serbs, and 2 persons of unknown ethnicity. Most killings of Kosovo Serbs and other minorities were ethnically motivated (see Section 5), but the majority of murders of Kosovar Albanians apparently were connected to family and economic rivalries and criminal activities. CIVPOL, working with the KPS, somewhat improved its case resolution and arrest rate during this year. Police reported 47 arrests for murder during the year: 43 other suspects were Albanians, 2 were Serbs, and 2 were of other ethnicities.
There were a number of assaults and six killings of ethnic Serbs during the year, including those perpetrated by other Serbs; however, attacks on Serbs and other ethnic minorities decreased (see Section 5). On October 15, one Kosovo Serb woman was killed by a landmine (see Section 1.c.). On February 22, an unknown gunman killed Kosovo Serb Lubica Kovacevic as she was walking home with her spouse, who was uninjured. On December 23, two Kosovar Albanians were arrested for killing Kosovo Serb Trajan Trifunovic that same day.
On February 21, CIVPOL arrested two Kosovo Serbs, Zoran Zigic and Sergej Zaporosac, for the February 2000 killing by a grenade attack on Kosovar Albanian, Muharrem Sokoli (see Section 2.b.).
Retaliatory violence, including killings, against Kosovar Albanians also continued (see Section 5). Some Kosovo Serbs continued efforts begun in 1999 to expel Kosovar Albanians and other ethnic groups from the northern part of Mitrovica; in some cases this resulted in the killing of ethnic Albanians (see Section 5). On July 6, CIVPOL and KFOR troops arrested eight Kosovar Albanians accused of the August 2001 killing of a Kosovar Albanian family of five, including three children. The motivation for the killing was believed to be the retribution for the father's alleged cooperation with Serb authorities during the 1999 war. Several of the suspects were members of the KPC and Kosovo Police Service.
As a result of the 1999 conflict, landmines and unexploded ordnance remained a problem, particularly in rural areas. During the year, eight persons were killed by landmines, compared with nine in 2001. These devices have killed 103 persons and injured 372 since June 1999. On July 31, six explosions took place in Klokot and one in Balance, predominately Kosovo Serb villages in the U.S. KFOR sector. In December two Albanian citizens were killed by unexploded ordnance just after they crossed the border near Gjakove/Djakovica. The U.N. Mine Action Coordination Center (MACC) completed its mission in Kosovo in December 2001 and transferred mine action activities to local institutions and UNMIK. International organizations and NGOs continued a widespread mine awareness campaign. KFOR patrols continued to find unexploded ordnance on an almost daily basis.
Kosovo's investigative, judicial, and penal systems, in addition to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), continued to work to ensure that perpetrators of the violence and ethnic cleansing in the 1998-99 conflict were identified and punished, but most of the perpetrators of killings and other brutal acts remained unpunished. Proceedings continued in Kosovo courts to adjudicate approximately 30 cases of alleged war crimes and genocide arising from the conflict, as well as killings dating from the period starting in June 1999. In September the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Legal System Monitoring Section issued a report on war crimes trials in Kosovo, which were being tried by majority international panels, that included statistics from November 1999 to July 2002. According to the report, as of July, there were four cases of war crimes under investigation. There were 10 pending indictments for genocide, 17 for war crimes and 6 for inter-ethnic murders. Two indictments for genocide had been dismissed.
Out of three prior convictions for genocide, two cases were reversed and retried; both defendants were acquitted. Out of 12 trials for war crimes since 1999, 5 concluded with a conviction and 7 with acquittal. However, of these 12, 11 were appealed to Supreme Court panels with international judges, and 8 decisions were reversed on appeal.
From 1999 to 2000, five prisoners convicted for genocide and four convicted of war crimes escaped from the UNMIK controlled detention center in Mitrovica. In 2000 trial proceedings for war crimes were suspended in the cases of eleven Kosovo Serb defendants who escaped detention. UNMIK Regulations prohibit trials in absentia; however, the charges remained outstanding at year's end.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
In November all charges against Gani Imeri, a KPC officer and former KLA commander, were dropped. Imeri was arrested for the 1999 kidnaping and disappearance of five Kosovo Serbs.
There was no information on the case of Marjan Melonasi, a journalist for Radio-Television Kosova who disappeared in Pristina in September 2000.
During the year, the reorganized Office of Missing Persons (OMFP) identified 141 persons: 56 through traditional methods and 85 through DNA testing. The Office has received 109 DNA results: 85 positive matches, 17 negative, 7 duplicates. As many as 4,233 persons remained missing and unaccounted for as a result of the armed conflict in 1999, including approximately 3,324 Kosovar Albanians, and 909 Kosovo Serbs and members of other ethnic groups. Of those missing, 164 were considered dead.
When ICTY closed its forensic operations, UNMIK appointed the CIVPOL Missing Persons Unit (MPU) as the focal point for identification of remains and for exhumation of additional gravesites as they were identified, the UNMIK Bureau of Missing Persons and Detainees coordinated political efforts. The initiative made slow progress on both fronts. According to the OMFP, since 1999 the ICTY exhumed 4,019 remains of individuals, of which 2,212 were identified and 1,807 were still unidentified. During the year, 339 sets of remains were exhumed, compared to 59 sets of remains exhumed in 2001--a significant increase which may be attributable to the OMFP reorganization during the year.
During the year, UNMIK reorganized the resources involved in the effort to resolve the large number of outstanding cases of missing persons from the 1999 conflict; this effort required the identification of recovered human remains. One central problem had been the frequent change of mandate, personnel and resources for the various offices that had been charged with dealing with these cases. Since its establishment, UNMIK reorganized the offices handling missing persons four times, changing lines of authority, competence, and scope of work. This resulted in delayed processing and, in some cases, a failure to appropriately preserve evidence, including human remains, for future investigations. In June UNMIK appointed a new chief of the Office of Missing Persons and Forensics (OMPF) with authority to address all issues related to these cases, issues that had previously been divided among different offices. The new OMPF now includes the UNMIK CIVPOL Missing Persons Unit and the Office of the Medical Examiner, as well as an outreach office.
During the year, OMPF tackled some of the most pressing needs, including designing a program to train local experts to perform autopsies and identifications, meeting with the International Committee for Missing Persons to explore possible use of ICMP's DNA-led procedures and to discuss dealing with family members of the missing. The new Office of the Medical Examiner is slated to include an autopsy site and laboratory and teaching resources, and is expected to be staffed by ethnic Albanian and Serbian examiners. The OMPF was in the process of issuing death certificates for 910 bodies that were identified by ICTY in 1999 (203 certificates have been issued to date). According to OMPF, in some cases this process has been slowed by family members' desire to have an individual named as perpetrator of the cause of death.
Several demonstrations were held to protest against UNMIK and the international community for not doing enough to locate missing persons. On March 8, in Gjakove, a group of women staged a protest to call attention to the missing. On June 7, several hundred Serb members of the Association of Families of Missing and Kidnapped persons from Kosovo held a 1-hour protest in Gracanica over the alleged lack of activity by the international administrators in finding kidnaped Serbs and other non-Albanians. On June 13, more than 100 Kosovar Albanian mothers of missing persons began a 24-hour hunger strike in front of the Kosovo Assembly, demanding information on the fates of their children. On September 26, 40 parents, wives, and sisters of the missing gathered from different parts of Kosovo and went on a hunger strike in front of the Kosovo Assembly requesting information on more than 3,500 missing Kosovar Albanians.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The law prohibits such practices; although the Constitutional Framework omits the U.N. Convention on Torture from its list of conventions incorporated by reference. There were no confirmed reports of the use of excessive force by KFOR and CIVPOL during arrests. One CIVPOL officer was charged with sexual assault. In February an Austrian CIVPOL officer was arrested for violating the civil rights of a Kosovar Albanian suspect. According to the complaint, after arresting a suspect, the CIVPOL officer, together with three Kosovo Police Service (KPS) officers, tried to force a confession by asking the suspect to dig his own grave and making him walk in a Kosovo Serb enclave wearing a sign that read "I hate Serbs." UNMIK police arrested all four officers but later released the three KPS officers. The U.N. reportedly suspended the CIVPOL officer's immunity, but he fled Kosovo and had not returned for trial at year's end. In March a child was injured when a KFOR soldier accidentally fired his gun as he was trying to disperse a group of children playing near the monastery in Decan/Decani.
Some credible reports suggested that KPC members were responsible for incidents of intimidation and extortion, and in several zones such misconduct may have been organized and condoned by the local KPC leadership. However, in general KPC discipline improved and reports of intimidation were less common. A number of KPC members were arrested, mainly for accusations of crimes against their fellow Kosovar Albanians, sparking charges that former KLA members were being targeted. On June 18 and 19, UNMIK police arrested the already suspended regional commander, Daut Haradinaj when he surrendered to police, and four other KPC members, in what was known as the "Dukagjini trial," and on August 10, they arrested suspended KPC commander Rrustem Mustafa, known as "Commander Remi." On December 17, the five suspects in the Dukagjini trial were convicted and given a sentence of several years each.
There were a number of reports of attacks on and threats against Kosovar Albanian political figures. In most cases, no suspects were identified; however, local observers often blamed these attacks on rival political party members. Nonpolitical motives, including clan rivalry and common criminality, were also suspected in some cases. On August 3, unknown assailants attempted to kill Tahir Zemaj, a former Armed Forces of Republic of Kosovo (FARK) commander and LDK activist. Zemaj publicly accused Ramush Haradinaj, the head of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) political party, of being behind the attack. On October 18, the house of an LDK activist in Kacaniku/Kacanik came under attack from grenades and firearms; there were no injuries. At year's end, no charges had been filed.
On August 29, Kosovar Albanians fired on Kosovo Serbs, apparently in a dispute concerning wood-gathering. When KFOR and CIVPOL responded, there was a 2-hour firefight involving the use of multiple automatic weapons; one CIVPOL officer received slight wounds and one Kosovar suspect was captured.
There were some reports of intimidation of UNMIK, OSCE, and KFOR officials, but no reports of attacks; however, there were reports of attacks on CIVPOL, KPS, and KPC officers. According to UNMIK CIVPOL, there were 656 arrests made for crimes committed against CIVPOL and KPS officers. These included offenses such as threats, burglaries, civil disorders, and resisting arrest. On May 17, a Kosovo Serb was arrested for the April 27 beating of KSP Officer Rahman Kelmendi. In November a CIVPOL officer was hit in the head with a rock during a demonstration against a Serb go-and-see visit in Grmovo, Viti/Vitina municipality. On November 2, the Kosovo press reported that a group of 20 Kosovo Serbs from the village Priluzje attacked an UNMIK police patrol, badly injuring one policeman and slightly wounding several others. The incident apparently broke out after a cafe owner was asked to close his establishment after midnight. There were no arrests. On November 11, unknown suspects fired shots at KFOR troops on patrol. No injuries were reported and no arrests were made.
Twice in September and once in October, CIVPOL reported that the home of a Kosovo Serb KPS officer in Viti was attacked. CIVPOL began an investigation in October, which was ongoing at year's end.
UNMIK police charged two of its officers with patronizing prostitutes in Kosovo.
On July 31, six explosions took place in Klokot and one in Balance, injuring two KFOR soldiers. The investigations into both incidents were ongoing at year's end. On January 20, Kosovar Albanians Idriz Balaj and Teuta Balaj and their 2-year-old son were injured when an explosive detonated as they entered the front door of their home in Gjakove/Djakovica. The adults were active KPC members. On December 13, a car bomb exploded outside a restaurant in Pristina injuring at least 20 people.
A Kosovo Serb paramilitary group known as the "Bridgewatchers" continued to operate on and around the boundary between north and south Mitrovica. During the year, UNMIK CIVPOL attempts to arrest a