30 March 1999

Press Release 99/17


Yugoslavia crisis: statement by the International Committee of the Red Cross

The past decade has seen many tragedies, both individual and collective, occur in the Balkans, yet rarely has there been a phase as dramatic as the one currently unfolding in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is extremely alarmed by the widening crisis, which is taking on an increasingly regional dimension with seemingly enormous humanitarian consequences.

Acutely aware from the outset that such a dire scenario could become a reality, the ICRC opted to remain present and operational, with staff in Belgrade, Pristina and Podgorica. Regrettably, on 29 March 1999 the ICRC was compelled to withdraw its international staff from Pristina in view of the rapidly deteriorating security environment, in particular the mounting tension and reported violence in the town since 25 March which made movements virtually impossible and left staff in a highly precarious situation. The implications of this withdrawal, which leaves the province without any international humanitarian presence, are impossible to assess at this stage. However, the ICRC is gravely concerned about the plight of civilians in Kosovo.

The objective therefore remains to seek the highest degree of proximity possible with the victims of these events with the aim of providing them with assistance, and where possible protection. To achieve this objective, the ICRC has sought and will continue to seek a systematic dialogue with all parties involved and recognition of the necessity to preserve a space for an independent humanitarian response.

The number of displaced persons and refugees arriving in Albania, in the Republic of Montenegro, and in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), is growing by the hour. These people are often in a state of profound shock, devastated at having had to abandon their homes and staring hopelessly into an uncertain future. Their immediate concern is for the fate of their relatives who remained behind.

Many other civilians in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia are facing growing hardship, spending night after night in air-raid shelters, fearful of the intensity of the air operations and concerned about the safety of relatives and neighbours.

The immediate issue at stake throughout the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is the security of civilians, of the wounded, in other words of those not, or no longer, taking part in the conflict. Initiatives must be taken on all sides, particularly at this time when the very foundations of international humanitarian law appear to be shaken. The ICRC urgently calls on all parties to ensure full respect for the Geneva Conventions.

The ICRC is strongly committed to pursuing its activities in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and has also begun stepping up its operations in Albania and the FYROM. In order to support the National Red Cross Societies of the countries concerned, the ICRC and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are together drawing up a regional Red Cross strategy and mobilizing additional resources within the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement so as to be ready to respond to needs that will, in all likelihood, continue to grow in the days and weeks to come.