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Vol. 6 no. 4 o s c e APRIL 1999 NEWSLETTER OSCE Support to Humanitarian Agencies in Kosovo Refugee Crisis IN THIS ISSUE • CiO Visits Albania and fYROM 3 OSCE/Szandelszky • Report from BiH Ombudsmen 4 • OSCE Mission to Ukraine 5 • Seminar in Warnemünde 6 • Press Profile 7 • In Brief 8 • News from the Field 9 • Report from the HCNM 10 • Report of the Representative on Freedom of the Media 11 • Update from the ODIHR 13 • Report from the PA 15 Refugees arriving at the Blace border station in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia The rapidly evolving refugee crisis in that the local resources of international At the end of April, the total strength of Kosovo and surrounding countries which aid organizations where overwhelmed. the remaining KVM was 337. Of these, began at the end of March took on enor- There was not enough personnel on the 181 were fully occupied with assisting mous proportions. During the month of ground and emergency stocks in place the humanitarian effort – 75 in Albania April, approximately 700,000 people were insufficient. Since the recently and 106 in the former Yugoslav Repub- fled or were expelled from Kosovo, evacuated OSCE Kosovo Verification lic of Macedonia. The responsibilities of while hundreds of thousands more were Mission (KVM) was the only interna- the two task forces were similar, but not reported to have been displaced from tional organization with a substantial exactly the same, taking into account their homes inside Kosovo. At the end number of people, vehicles and equip- the different circumstances and environ- of April, the number of refugees in ment in the area, the OSCE decided on ment prevailing in the two countries. Albania was reported to be 371,000 and 1 April to use its KVM personnel and in the former Yugoslav Republic of equipment to support the efforts of the Albania Macedonia 154,000. humanitarian agencies. In consultation with the UNHCR, a task force was dis- The main responsibilities of the KVM When, at the end of March, refugees patched to Albania with vehicles and task force in Albania have been to pro- from Kosovo started streaming over the equipment, while another one was vide logistical and administrative sup- borders to Albania and the former Yugo- assigned to the former Yugoslav Repub- port to the UNHCR, to alert specialist slav Republic of Macedonia in their tens lic of Macedonia. agencies to needs and concerns and to of thousands, it quickly became clear gather human rights information. 1 OSCE/Szandelcky The flow of aid into Albania has reportedly been ten times faster than that coming into the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedo- nia, since aid deliveries by sea have proved to be much more efficient than air supplies. The problem in Albania, however, was the trans- portation of the aid from the ports to the inland locations where the refugees were. Here, the OSCE KVM task force formed the key logistical link between the aid convoys and their representatives in- Ambassador William Walker, Head of the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission, with Albanian refugees in the side Albania. The task Bojane camp in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia force organized itself into three groups, North, Central and rivals. The border presence also serves decision was made to register all refugees South, with a headquarters in Tirana and the purpose of facilitating the speedy in the camps rather than to concentrate with teams in all 12 prefectures of the registration of refugees and their trans- only on those being selected for outward country. portation away from the border area. bound flights to host countries. Regis- The OSCE KVM also contributes to the tration had previously been done in The former Yugoslav Republic running of the UNHCR Co-ordination order to get “passenger lists” for outgo- of Macedonia Centre in Skopje. A big effort has been ing flights. This practice, however, had put into supporting the UNHCR in the a potential for violence and unrest, and In the former Yugoslav Republic of management of the large Stenkovac a separation of the registration proce- Macedonia, the OSCE KVM task force refugee complex, consisting of two sep- dure from the selection of passengers had has been deeply involved in supporting arate refugee camps. The almost desper- therefore to take place. all UNHCR activities while at the same ate conditions in these camps, resulting time assisting other relevant agencies, from the huge and sudden influx of Teams of KVM human rights specialists like UNICEF. The OSCE KVM has refugees, have been vividly described in have been carrying out extensive inter- been engaged in the registration of the media. On 24 April, the OSCE views with refugees and have collected refugees, in assisting the UNHCR with KVM reported that, in Stenkovac 1, statements indicating grave human rights the management of refugee camps, in only three food distribution points were violations committed by Yugoslav forces, providing administrative and logistical serving a refugee population of 26,000. para-military groups and armed civilians support and in gathering human rights The camp was seriously overcrowded, against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. By information from refugees. with only 9 square meters allocated per the end of April, 250 statements had person. been taken, which was considered a suf- The OSCE KVM has maintained a 24- ficiently broad range to allow for an hour presence at the border in order to The process of registration of refugees analysis of trends in human rights viola- monitor the influx of refugees and to has been one of the most pressing tasks tions. The statements paint a picture of provide early warning of new mass ar- in the OSCE KVM support effort. A total lawlessness and an almost com- o s c e NEWSLETTER 2 Vol. 6 no. 4 plete absence of any form of protection Planning for the Return Ministerial Troika reiterated the readi- for ethnic Albanians inside Kosovo. A ness of the OSCE “to serve as a co-ordi- press release by the OSCE KVM on 20 While this intensive work was going on, nating framework and to take on a sub- April listed a number of human rights the core group of the KVM, based in stantial responsibility for the implemen- violations, including forced displace- Skopje, continued to plan for a possible tation of a political settlement in Kosovo”. ment, killings, physical abuse, sexual return of the Mission to Kosovo. Plan- The Ministers stressed that the Kosovo assaults, torture, harassment and intimi- ning was based on the assumption that conflict threatened stability and reform dation. The statements will be shared the OSCE will be given a key role in the in the neighbouring countries, and they with relevant international bodies respon- implementation of a peace agreement, supported the development of a broad- sible for investigating crimes against as foreseen in the draft Rambouillet based strategy to promote regional sta- humanity. Agreement. On 28 April, the OSCE bility. Chairman-in-Office Visits Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Foreign During his visit Minister Vollebæk met support to Albania and the former Yugo- Minister Knut Vollebæk of Norway vis- with Heads of State and key government slav Republic of Macedonia and under- ited Albania and the former Yugoslav officials in the two countries. He ex- lined that he would use every opportu- Republic of Macedonia from 6 to 7 pressed his deep respect for the way in nity to stress the need for a broad inter- April. The purpose of the visit was to which Albania and the former Yugoslav national commitment to meet this chal- assess how the OSCE could best assist Republic of Macedonia had tried to meet lenge. He finally urged the two countries the countries in coping with the refugee the humanitarian crisis unfolding in to continue their efforts to alleviate the crisis and to underline the solidarity of their countries, and understanding for humanitarian disaster. the international community with Alba- the negative effects these problems had nia and the former Yugoslav Republic of on the economic and political processes The visit to the border areas in North Macedonia. of reform. He pledged his continuing Albania and to the Stenkovec refugee camp in the former Yugoslav Republic EPA of Macedonia, convinced him that the international community was facing one of the largest refugee disasters in Europe since the Second World War. But, as Mr. Vollebæk stated, “there should be no doubt that the international commu- nity recognizes the scale of the chal- lenge. The relief effort being organized by UNHCR, supported by a range of other organizations, shows the basic and enduring solidarity we feel with the refugees from Kosovo and with the people of Albania and the former Yugo- slav Republic of Macedonia.” Mr. Knut Vollebæk and Ambassador Daan Everts, Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania, at The Chairman-in-Office also chaired the border between Albania and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia meetings of representatives of humani- o s c e NEWSLETTER Vol. 6 no. 4 3 tarian and other international the OSCE Presence, the most im- organizations engaged in ref- mediate needs on both central and ugee relief operations, with a local government level have now view to improving the speed been identified, and resources are Aftenposten/SCANPIX and effectiveness of interna- ge, now being channelled to Albania tional support for the refugees through the “OSCE Chairman- from Kosovo. in-Office Quick Reaction Fund Stein J. Bjør for Albania” which was estab- In Skopje Minister Vollebæk lished in Vienna in January of this urged the Government to es- year. tablish a 24-hour crisis co- ordi- nation centre, with participation Mr.

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