Donor: Embassy of Finland in Yugoslavia
Duration of the project: January – December 1999
The aim of the 350 pages “Human Rights in Yugoslavia 1999” Report was to provide readers, both in Yugoslavia and abroad, with relevant and up to date information on the protection of internationally guaranteed human rights in the FRY. The Report thoroughly examines the human rights situation in the FRY from a practical and legal standpoint, with a special focus on restrictions and violations that curtailed the true enjoyment of human rights in 1999. The Report is divided into three parts. The first part of the Report describes and analyses constitutional, statutory and administrative norms pertaining to human rights. It compares them to international human rights standards and to Yugoslavia’s obligations under the relevant international treaties. Findings in this part rely on information and documents collected by the Centre and kept in its archives.The second part of the Report is devoted to actual practice. It describes the application of human rights standards and the de facto enjoyment of human rights in the FRY. It draws on Yugoslav media reports as well as on reports issued by international and domestic human rights organizations, both governmental and non-governmental. The abundance of data collected and the sometimes contradictory conclusions reached by the respective sources prevented the Centre from taking a firm stand in every case. The aim was to faithfully reproduce information and to accurately identify sources so as to enable the readers to make up their own minds.
The third part of the Report briefly covers topics which appeared to be of special relevance: NATO military intervention in the FRY, the situation in Kosovo before and after that intervention, the position of refugees and displaced persons, the media in Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. We recommend that other parts of the Report be read in conjunction with the relevant portion of the third part.
If you would like to read the Human Rights in FRY – A Comprehensive Report for 1999 (in Serbian and English), 2000.
