Institutions

1999 · 67998 — Warsaw Poland: Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights 1999. Presumed first edition/first printing. Trade paperback. Good. This copy may be missing some early pages as after the title page the numbering starts with XI. No table of contents is present. The primary text of the report appears complete. vxii 433 p. Includes: illustrations maps. Notes. The OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission ammased hundreds of in country reports and had taken statements from nearly 2 800 refugees. This report presents a comprehensive analysis of the human rights findings of the OSCE-KVM. From Wikipedia: "The Kosovo Verification Mission KVM was an OSCE mission to verify that Serb forces were complying with the October Agreement to end atrocities in Kosovo withdraw armed forces from Kosovo and abide by a ceasefire. The KVM's job was to monitor parties' compliance with the agreement to report any breaches to the OSCE and to help affected civilians in Kosovo. Other requirements included: To report on roadblocks; To oversee elections; To ensure that independent and fair police service was set up. United States diplomat William Walker was appointed head of the mission; he was relatively senior reflecting the importance that NATO put on a peaceful settlement. His deputy was Gabriel Keller. Despite being much larger and more complex than any previous OSCE mission the KVM was put together relatively quickly; parts of the team arrived in Kosovo a month after the 16 October agreement. The KVM was divided into five regions with a headquarters in Pristina. Immediately after the Agreement neither side adhered completely to the ceasefire; Serb forces continued to shoot at civilians and there were sporadic KLA attacks on security forces. When a KVM team arrived at the scene of the Racak massacre they found "36 bodies 23 of which were lying in a ditch". Ambassador Walker called me after he had been on the hillside. In fact if my memory's correct he called me from a cell phone from the village to describe it. His voice was shaking saying "I was the ambassador in El Salvador and this is the worst thing I've ever seen " describing how the people had been herded up the hill their throats slit with bullets in their heads. He said he was about to call it a crime against humanity. Richard Holbrooke In March 1999 there was an increase in ceasefire violations by both sides; as risks increased it was decided to withdraw the KVM to Ohrid in Macedonia. Serb forces' reaction to the withdrawal was "remarkably docile" and the KVM was downsized to 250 staff. Then after the KVM had left Serb forces began a campaign of killings rapes detentions and deportations of the Kosovar Albanian population. Refugees fled to Albania Macedonia and Montenegro; many refugees had their documents destroyed. In April 1999 the OSCE decided that the KVM should help deal with the refugee chaos; 70 verifiers were sent to Tirana where they helped coordinate disaster-response and interviewed refugees." Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights paperback