REFUGEE FLOWS FROM
KOSOVO INCREASING,
HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR
HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS

AFTERNOON
HR/CN/99/53
22 April 1999


Commission on Human Rights Hears Update on Kosovo, Completes Debate
on Advisory Services and Technical Cooperation Programmes

High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson told the Commission on Human
Rights this afternoon that the number of refugees and displaced persons in the Kosovo
conflict was still growing.

In her weekly update on the situation in the Balkans, Mrs. Robinson said human-rights
violations in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had not ceased, and again urged
responsible authorities there to work in concert with the international community to reach a
peaceful resolution to the conflict.

Her comments came after the Commission completed the debate on its agenda item on
advisory services and technical cooperation in the field of human rights.

Mrs. Robinson described a number of aspects of the conflict, including increased flows of
refugees and displaced persons; ethnic cleansing; summary and arbitrary executions; and
killing and wounding of civilians.

She said scores of civilians had been killed by NATO bombings, while hundreds of
thousands of people and families had been left jobless and homeless because of the
destruction of industrial facilities and residential buildings.

Meanwhile, the number of refugees was nearing 600,000, according to staffers of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, she said. More than half had crossed the
border into Albania, and some, including children, showed signs of maltreatment.

Earlier in the afternoon, the Commission heard calls from national delegations and
non-governmental organizations for enhanced support services and practical and technical
advice to help States implement human-rights initiatives.

A representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross said its advisory
committee in the past year had been busy aiding Governments with the implementation of
the 1997 Ottawa Treaty, which banned anti-personnel landmines.

And a representative from Iran called the technical cooperation and advisory services
offered by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights a "turning point". He also
said the Faculty of the legal and political science departments at Tehran University was
working with the United Nations Development Programme to implement a four-year joint
project on human-rights education and research.

Indonesia, Iran and Egypt spoke at the meeting, along with the International Committee of
the Red Cross; Comision Para La Defensa de Los Derechos Humanos en Centro
America; Lawyers Committee for Human Rights; and Jeunesse Etudiante Catholique
Internationale.

The Commission will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Friday, 23 April to begin action on draft
resolutions.

Statements

MARY ROBINSON, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the
number of persons dislocated by the crisis in Kosovo had continued to grow. Figures
provided by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees indicated
there were 32,300 refugees in Bosnia, 68,200 in Montenegro, 132,100 in the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and 359,000 in Albania, which brought the total to
591,600. Figures for Serbia were not available. There were six Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights staff in Skopje, five in Tirana and three in Podgorica. Five
human-rights officers contributed by the Government of Switzerland reinforced the field
office in Tirana.

Mrs. Robinson said the number of refugees within the last few days had grown substantially
and human-rights violations of various extreme forms had been reported, including abuses
of refugees and displaced persons. Other rights violations included forced displacement and
ethnic cleansing, summary and arbitrary executions, abuses and violations of children and
other vulnerable groups, arbitrary detention, enforced or involuntary disappearances,
mistreatment of women, abuses in regard to economic, social and cultural rights, and
civilians killed and wounded.

Mrs. Robinson said there were accounts of children and elderly people dying of exposure
on their way out of the country. Reportedly refugees had been forced to pay substantial
bribes to border officials and there were signs of maltreatment and beatings, and of cases
of malnutrition. There were numerous testimonies of inhabitants forced by police or Serb
military or paramilitary forces to leave their homes and Kosovo. Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights staff had received accounts of mass executions and
killings in Kosovo. Among the refugees were a significant number of handicapped children
and adults who required special care. Newly arrived refugees had stated that thousands of
Kosovo Albanians had been detained between Mitrovica and Djakovica and were being
used as forced labour. As many as 100,000 Kosovo Albanian men were unaccounted for.
Alleged sexual assaults and other reported violations against women had been noted.
Finally there were obvious devastating economic, social and cultural effects on the situation
in Kosovo. The effects of the NATO bombing on the economic and social rights in Serbia
were not known.

The High Commissioner called again on responsible authorities in the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia and on the international community to increase efforts to reach a peaceful
resolution of the conflict in order to put an end to the suffering of the people of Kosovo and
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The valuable work carried out by international
organizations, especially by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, was
commended.