In this context, we believe that action by NATO is justified and necessary to stop the violence and prevent an even greater humanitarian disaster. As President Clinton said today,
"We and our allies have a chance to leave our children a Europe that is free, peaceful and stable. But we must act now to do that".
The President (spoke in Chinese): I should like to inform the Council that I have received letters from the representatives of Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which they request to be invited to participate in the discussion of the item on the Council's agenda.
In conformity with the usual practice, I propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite those representatives to participate in the discussion without the right to vote, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the Council's provisional rules of procedure.
There being no objection, it is so decided.
At the invitation of the President, Mr. Nesho (Albania) and Mr. Sacirbey (Bosnia and Herzegovina) took the seats reserved for them at the side of the Council Chamber.
Mr. Fowler (Canada) (spoke in French): The international community is facing a situation in which a Government at the heart of Europe is flouting the most fundamental rights of its citizens using disproportionate force to suppress dissidents, sending its armoured tanks and artillery to destroy villages, killing innocent civilians and forcing hundreds of thousands of persons to leave their homes in the cold of winter.
For ten years we have been witnessing the tragedy being played out in the Balkans: first in Slovenia, next in Croatia and then in Bosnia. During the past year, the same disproportionate violence against the civilians of an ethnic group has prevailed in Kosovo.
The international community has spared no effort to encourage the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to conclude a peaceful agreement with the Albanian population of Kosovo. Many diplomatic missions have been sent to Belgrade, and the Security Council of the United Nations, acting under Chapter VII of the Charter, has adopted important resolutions identifying this conflict as a threat to the peace and security of the region.
(spoke in English)
Resolutions 1199 (1998) and 1203 (1998) and the October agreements among the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) impose clear legal obligations on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to respect a ceasefire, protect its civilian population and limit the deployment of its security forces in Kosovo. An important element of these agreements was the creation of a Verification Mission under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Its purpose was not only to monitor the ceasefire, but also to build confidence in the region.
Most recently, the parties were convened at an international peace conference in Rambouillet, where they were urged to abandon their maximalist positions and accept an honourable compromise for peace. Ultimately, the Kosovars demonstrated courage and vision by signing the Rambouillet peace agreement. The only holdout was the Yugoslav President, who refused to move from his utterly intransigent position.
Unfortunately, the intensive and exhaustive diplomatic efforts of the international community did not succeed. The looming humanitarian disaster caused by President Milosevic's refusal to accept any peaceful compromise leaves the international community with very few options. Every day, the situation worsens and it is the civilian population — principally women and children — that suffers. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, over 450,000 people have been displaced by the conflict in Kosovo, including over 260,000 internally displaced within Kosovo. In the last few days alone, over 25,000 persons have been forced to leave their homes.
As long as it remains unresolved, the conflict in Kosovo threatens to precipitate a far larger humanitarian disaster and destabilize the entire region. In Canada, our preference has always been for a diplomatic solution and the diplomatic track has been given every chance to succeed. The continuing oppression in Kosovo by the Government in Belgrade, through its armed forces and police; the continuing failure on the part of the Milosevic Government to implement the agreements it has made with the OSCE and NATO; and its continuing refusal to act in compliance with the requirements of successive Security Council resolutions actions which, I repeat, have only contributed to an increase in tension and have created a major humanitarian disaster — have left NATO with no choice but to take action.
