FAIT Committee Report

The hearings by the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs into Canada's role in the Kosovo Conflict have been most valuable in assisting members in making recommendations to our government on this important subject. I am grateful to the witnesses and to Committee staff for their dedication to the truth. It was most regrettable that the two key Ministers involved, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lloyd Axworthy and the Minister of National Defence, Art Eggleton, chose not to appear before the Committee.

I believe that the evidence heard by the Committee leads to the compelling conclusion that the NATO intervention in Kosovo, and the Rambouillet process leading up to the start of bombing by NATO on March 24, 1999, were a humanitarian, military, social, economic and environmental disaster. While the stated objective of preventing mass forced expulsions, terror and murder of ethnic Albanians was laudable, and was the basis for the decision by all parties in the House to initially support the military intervention, it is now clear that the means used to seek to attain this objective were unacceptable and in too many cases in breach of international law. As well, we now know that the provisions of the Rambouillet Document requiring unrestricted NATO access to all of the territory of the Former Yugoslavia, mandating a referendum on independence in Kosovo within three years, and requiring a NATO ground force in Kosovo, could never have been accepted by Milosevic or any other Yugoslav leader. Indeed, none of these elements were included in the final agreement reached after 78 days of bombing. No unrestricted NATO access, no referendum, and UN, not NATO, troops were the basis for the accord. One must certainly ask whether the devastation wrought by the bombing campaign, and the campaign of vengeance by Serb military and para-military forces, could have been avoided. It is also not clear whether the international community gave the OSCE KVM, with 1400 monitors, a real opportunity to work; certainly they never reached the level of 3000 authorized by the OSCE.

NATO's military strategy has been harshly criticized by many independent observers. The damage inflicted on the Yugoslav army in Kosovo was strongly exaggerated by NATO, as recent reports have confirmed. According to a June 2000 Amnesty International report, NATO/FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA: "COLLATERAL DAMAGE" OR UNLAWFUL KILLINGS? Violations of the Laws of War by NATO during Operation Allied Force, NATO violated international rules of war, violations which led to the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians, and which in at least one instance constituted a war crime.

Certainly the evidence heard by the Committee demonstrates that the bombing exacerbated the atrocities on the ground, particularly given the declarations by NATO that there would be no ground troops. This left the ethnic Albanian community on the ground wide open to reprisals from Serb forces angered at the combined assault by the KLA and NATO. NATO's use of cluster bombs (including in a market in Nis), and depleted uranium, were a grave violation of any humanitarian rules of war, and will have serious long term consequences. It is particularly appalling that Canada did not vigorously oppose the use of cluster bombs given our position on the use of land mines. NATO's bombing strategy was, I believe, tragically indifferent to the terrible toll on innocent civilians. There were far too many "mistakes" such as the bombing of a convoy of ethnic Albanians, and the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade. The targetting of infrastructure such as the bridges in Novi Sad and the petrochemical plant in Pancevo was not only environmentally reckless, but militarily unnecessary. Most disturbing, though, were the deliberate attacks on targets that killed innocent civilians: the train crossing the railway bridge at Grdelica which was hit not once but twice, the Serbian Radio-Television Building in Belgrade killing 16 people, mainly young technicians and make-up artists, and the civilians on the bridge in Varvarin, bombed in broad daylight on a religious holiday. These constitute, in my view, war crimes by NATO, and the perpetrators must be identified and brought to justice. The innocent victims and their families must be compensated. It is essential that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia deal with these complaints that have been filed with them, and it is appalling that the Tribunal and Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte have refused to do so. This fatally compromises their important independence and impartiality. Canada's role in these targetting decisions must be clarified. On May 22, 1999, NATO spokesperson Jamie Shea stated, "No government has asked NATO to change its strategy, including its targeting policy." Furthermore, there should be a full Parliamentary Inquiry into the role played by Canada during the war, even given the evidence of Lieutenant-General Henault before the Committee that Canadian planes were not involved in any of the incidents noted above.

The situation in Kosovo today is tragic. UN Resolution 1244 is a dead letter, its provisions calling for the protection of all Kosovars, including Kosovo Serbs and Romas being largely ignored. The UN Special Representative on human rights in the former Yugoslavia, Jiri Dienstbier, former Czech foreign minister, reported in November 1999 that "the spring ethnic cleansing of ethnic Albanians accompanied by murders, torture, looting and burning of houses has been replaced by the fall ethnic cleansing of Serbs, Romas, Bosnians and other non-Albanians accompanied by the same atrocities." Over 200,000 of the 300,000 ethnic Serbs have fled from Kosovo, with the remainder ghettoized in enclaves, too often beaten, intimidated, and driven from their homes. Unexploded mines and cluster bombs have already taken many lives and threaten many more, including those of children playing in the fields. The long term effects of depleted uranium could be devastating, both on civilians and possibly on military personnel exposed to it.

The most urgent need now is for more resources for the UN Mission in Kosovo, and the lifting of economic sanctions imposed on Yugoslavia, as recommended by witness Gwynne Dyer. The resources needed are only a tiny fraction of those that were spent during the bombing campaign. Bernard Kouchner has warned that unless the West invests in peace and reconstruction, Kosovo faces disaster once again. Only a fraction of the required 6000 UN police have been deployed, and there is no functioning judicial system. Canada should assist in providing badly needed humanitarian aid both in Kosovo and in Serbia. There must be full respect for the provisions of Resolution 1244. This includes the full disarming of the KLA.

Finally, Canada should take a leading role at the United Nations in seeking reform and democratization of the Security Council, and clarification of the circumstances in which humanitarian intervention may be required (drawing on the lessons of Rwanda, East Timor and Kosovo, among others). This should be based on consistent standards. Never again should NATO be allowed to arrogate unto itself the power to make this determination. And never again should the government be permitted to commit our troops to such a mission without full debate and a vote in the House of Commons.

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