SFOR Transcript 26 July 1999

Transcript: Joint Press Conference 26 July 2001, 11.30 Hours Coalition Press Information Center Tito Barracks

Stefo Lehmann - UNMIBH Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Prior to our regular press conference we have decided to hold a special press conference to inform you about the current situation regarding the problem of prostitution and trafficking, and which steps are being taken, and which steps will be taken in the future to combat the problem. Additionally we would like to make you familiar with a new strategy which UNMIBH has devised which we believe will be effective in combating the problem in the future. As you are probably aware the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina has taken the lead among the international organisations based in Bosnia and Herzegovina to try to stop trafficking and assist victims. The International Organisation for Migration, which joins us today, has also been very active in this area. I would like to introduce our speakers: Satya Tripathi who is from the United Nations Human Rights Office. Satya will discuss the current involvement of the United Nations in this field, as well as provide several statistics which will give you an overview of the situation. Celhia de Lavarene who has been brought in from New York as the United Nations Advisor on Gender Policy for Mr. Klein. She will provide an overview of the new strategy which will be employed by the United Nations along with the local police. Lynellyn Long is the chief of mission of the International Organisation for Migration. Her organisation has also been active in providing assistance to the victims. She will give you an overview of the activities of the International Organisation for Migration. We also have Ms. Christine Longmore, from the United Nations IPTF who will be co-ordinating IPTF work along with the local police around this country. Copies of each statement will be available after the press conference. They are in English and the local language after the press conference. Satya Tripathi - United Nations Human Rights Office Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I will give you an overview of the trafficking problem and how UNMIBH and International Organisation for Migration have addressed this issue. In March 1999, UNMIBH and the International Organisation for Migration established a joint counter-trafficking project to rescue and return trafficking victims to their countries of origin. UNMIBH/IPTF is notified of potential victims as a result of local police raids on night-clubs, or when victims escape from their captors. IPTF Human Rights Officers in the field perform interviews with the women, and the Gender Desk in the Human Rights Office at the main Headquarters assesses whether the women are indeed trafficked victims in accordance with international conventions. Women determined to be trafficking victims are transported to Sarajevo and placed in an International Organisation for Migration 'safe house' for repatriation to their home countries. Since March 1999, the UNMIBH/International Organisation for Migration project on trafficking has assisted and repatriated 329 girls and women. The number of identified victims has increased from 14 in 1999, 199 in 2000, to 116 between January and 25 July 2001, although it is not clear whether this is the result of a greater incidence of trafficking or the beginning of effective police operations, or both. UNMIBH has identified 260 night-clubs in Bosnia and Herzegovina suspected of involvement in prostitution. Over 80% of the victims that have been assisted by us and International Organisation for Migration are from Moldova and Romania. 10% of the trafficking victims are juveniles. There is a chart that gives a breakdown of the trafficking victims by countries of origin and also by UNMIBH regions and they are available outside. The Human Rights Office of UNMIBH plays a significant role within UNMIBH in addressing the serious human rights violations caused by the trafficking in human beings. The Human Rights Office primary tasks are the protection of trafficked victims which includes ensuring that victims are safely repatriated and combating trafficking which includes monitoring local police investigations, pressing for prosecutions and gathering intelligence on organised crime. We also assist the local police on conducting raids on night-clubs and interview of all women present in the night-club to determine whether any of them are trafficking victims so they can be assisted by the UNMIBH /International Organisation for Migration trafficking programme. While the statistics on the number of raids on night-clubs conducted by local the police varies by region. During the last four months the local police in Bosnia and Herzegovina have conducted more than 200 raids on night-clubs under the supervision and assistance of IPTF. UNMIBH has pressed local authorities to prosecute those who are directly involved in trafficking, particularly night-club owners and traffickers. In the context of the UNMIBH/International Organisation for Migration project, we encourage victims to give statements to the local police. We monitor local police officials who perform raids of night-clubs, monitor criminal proceedings that are initiated against night-club owners, and ensure that relevant evidence and testimony is made available to Bosnia and Herzegovina investigative judges. Of late there have been some encouraging results on the prosecutions front, owners of 6 night-clubs in the Federation and 1 night-club in the Brcko district were successfully prosecuted for promoting prostitution, illegal detention and other offences. Sentences ranged from 4 to 30 months' imprisonment and 1,200KM to 10,000KM fines. UNMIBH has also initiated independent investigations into allegations of involvement of some local police authorities in trafficking. In the context of the local police registration process, we ensure that local law enforcement officials are de-authorised when independent evidence of involvement in trafficking is found. We also press local authorities to initiate criminal proceedings against such individuals. In addition, we are also screening and counselling women who are brought to the Department of Foreigners to register for work permits by checking for false passports and conducting interviews of the women to determine whether they are potential trafficking victims. We have found a few cases where the women did want assistance of International Organisation for Migration right from the beginning and were saved from going through the traumatic process of being traumatised by the bar owners. Thank you. Celhia de Lavarene - United Nations Advisor on Gender Policy Good morning ladies and gentlemen. As you probably know, the mission considers trafficking as a grave violation of human rights, both locally and internationally. You have just heard about actions taken by the local police with active support and assistance of UNMIBH against trafficking for the last 18 months or so. But we are conscious that the routine raids are not enough as traffickers and bar owners are becoming more and more sophisticated and are going more underground to avoid the normal raids which have been conducted by the local police. This is why we have developed a more intensive strategy, a more aggressive approach, not only for our own operations - and I will tell you about it in a minute - but also because we need more awareness and assistance. This is why we are having this press conference today, to talk to you about 'S.T.O.P.' which stands for the Special Trafficking Operations Programme. The aim of this programme is to reinforce the capacity of the local police to fight trafficking. As I said earlier, we decided to develop a more aggressive approach and to do so, we created, in each region, a very special unit which will be operational 24 hours a day, anywhere in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and whose one and only task, will be to fight trafficking. The men and women working in those units have been very carefully chosen based on their skills and are very dedicated to the cause. In order to be more successful, we have asked each PSC chief in the Republika Srpska, each Cantonal Ministry of Interior in the Federation, and the Brcko district Police Commander, to organise a Specialised Local Police Unit, whose task will be to fight trafficking effectively. Those two special units, UNMIBH and the local police, will work together, along with the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance. We have already received a positive response from the Sarajevo Canton. Two days ago, I met with the Deputy Ministry of Interior, Mr. Predrag Kurtes, and with the 5 police officers who will be specifically tasked to focus on trafficking issues. I can assure you that they are very skilled and determined. Every component will be involved, Human Rights, CJAU, UNMIBH legal office and International Organisation for Migration. We will make sure that criminal investigations are properly conducted and we will rely on the Office of the High Representative to ensure effective criminal proceedings. If there are any allegations of local police involvement we will closely monitor the internal investigation and if we suspect that the investigation is not properly conducted, UNMIBH/IPTF will conduct its own. If there is evidence of improper local police conduct, a report will be submitted to the Commissioner for non-compliance and if necessary for dismissal. If there are allegations or evidence of improper UNMIBH civilian or IPTF involvement, UNMIBH will conduct its own internal investigation and if necessary, take the appropriate measures. Finally, I would like to tell you that we have two strong messages. One is for traffickers - wherever you are, you will be found out, prosecuted and sent to jail. There will be no hiding place for you, anywhere in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are no exceptions to the zero tolerance policy which UNMIBH practises with its own staff. It will also be applied to all of you. The other message is to the trafficked victims - contact us. Trust us. You will be protected, repatriated, if requested, treated with dignity and respect. The local police and UNMIBH need your assistance in order to arrest, prosecute and jail the traffickers. Help us to help you! Thank you. Lynellyn Long - IOM Good morning members of the press corps and other friends and colleagues. International Organisation for Migration currently operates two shelters for trafficked girls and women. Our newest shelter which was just recently opened in Sarajevo has 11 rooms including counselling rooms, a living area, garden and a patio. As International Organisation for Migration's first shelter in Sarajevo, which we have had for quite a long while now, over a year and a half, this new shelter provides a home-like environment which allow the women to recover while they await repatriation to their home countries. The shelters, thanks to the Canton Sarajevo police, provide 24-hour police protection and employ eight trained professional staff, who are trained by OXFAM and other NGO's from around this region. In each shelter, International Organisation for Migration provides psychiatric services for the women, psycho-social and reproductive health counselling, physical therapy, education, training and medical care. The International Organisation for Migration also manages a network of temporary safe houses for trafficked women and girls in Banja Luka and Sarajevo. Through the local NGO, RING network, the International Organisation for Migration will also soon be able to refer women to safe houses throughout the country; in Bijeljina, Mostar, Modrica, and Tuzla. These safe houses are used to interview women to assess their legal and medical status, before referring them to one of the two shelters. After we return the trafficked girls and women to their home countries, we provide reintegration assistance tailored to each trafficked woman's and girl's needs and situation. Such assistance has included educational scholarships, job placements and training, follow-up medical care, counselling, legal assistance, and shelter. It is our aim to ensure that these women do not suffer the same conditions that forced them to seek employment in another country to begin with. To date the two shelters, which currently house 26 women, as UNMIBH observes, have housed over 329 trafficked girls and women, including 38 girls under 18. Most of the trafficked girls and women come from Moldova, Romania and Ukraine but altogether they have come from over ten countries in Central and Eastern Europe. We are very grateful for the assistance we have received from many donors both private, government and international. We would like to particularly thank the Shelter Foundation, an NGO which was founded by a group of German artists, on their own, who auctioned their paintings to raise funds for this newest shelter. Questions and answers Q Almir Sarenkapa - Jutarje Novine - First who will finance the work of these two special units and second what will happen to the women who will not go back to the country of origin and want to stay prostitutes, will they stay here or will they be repatriated anyway? A UNMIBH - Your question if I can summarise is: what happens to women who have been questioned and have been offered assistance but they have refused assistance and would like to remain in Bosnia and Herzegovina? A Human Rights Office - This is a voluntary repatriation programme and somebody who does not wish to receive the assistance of International Organisation for Migration in being repatriated to their home country cannot be forcefully repatriated. Q Aida Cerkez-Robinson - AP - Question off mike. A Human Rights Office - If somebody is an illegal immigrant then of course they will be dealt with as per the laws of the country. Q Aida Cerkez-Robinson - AP - Would that be expulsion then? A Human Rights Office - There have been cases where people have been expelled, yes. A UNMIBH - The answer to the second question, the two units will be financed separately. Obviously the unit bonded by UNMIBH will be financed by UNMIBH through regular budgetary procedures and the second unit is part of the local authority budget. Q Yamila Milovic - Radio MIR - Can you give us more details on a very flexible, is any, legal matters apparently. My understanding by talking to local police experts is that their hands are quite often tied, there are no legal measures that would actually provide that the ladies that have gainful employment in Bosnia and Herzegovina actually are deported, and they basically play games. Three months they have a period to appeal to the Human Rights different chambers when they are stuck here and unless they are actually caught in the act of prostitution they cannot be prosecuted, if I am correct. My second question please, if you can explain to us since you are involved with the local authorities when can we actually expect any legal measures to be taken to harmonise the Entity laws to really combat the trafficking of women and whether if there is any more details regarding the accusations of the UN officials involved in the misconduct and whether Mrs. Robinson's office has launched an investigation? A Human Rights Office - As regards the fact that there have been problems in deporting those victims that are not willing to receive assistance from International Organisation for Migration, I can only say that the national laws have to be respected whatever they are. We are working with the Entity authorities and state level authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to harmonise the laws and ensure that it is more proactive and takes care of such issues. A UNMIBH - Regarding the allegations directed towards UNMIBH. First I would like to make it clear that these have only been allegations that have been printed in the media. Nevertheless, we have taken these allegations very seriously and they have been immediately investigated. Every single allegation has been investigated thoroughly by the United Nations. Those who have been found to have been engaging in misconduct have been immediately repatriated. We follow up these cases by sending a report to New York and then New York relays it to their individual governments and it is up to their individual governments to exercise disciplinary measures. Also of course there have been allegations regarding trafficking, and these of course have also been thoroughly investigated. However, not a single shred of evidence has been uncovered that would substantiate the claims that there have been any members of the United Nations Mission involved in trafficking. So we would invite these people that are making the allegations to come directly to the United Nations Mission and give us the hard evidence, give us the concrete evidence so that we can investigate it, we need leads. So obviously it is difficult to comment on allegations that despite our efforts we have been unable to corroborate and not only that with regard to an investigation there has been an independent assessment from New York that visited the Mission last month. They conducted a thorough assessment and they have also been unable to corroborate any of these allegations. Furthermore I would like to say, it is basically one or two allegations that have been printed in the media that is really taking the focus away from the real issue. The real issue is that there are victims in this country and also there is an issue that UNMIBH in spite of the allegations is the one organisation that has taken a lead in assisting these victims and trying to combat this phenomenon. It is unfortunate that these allegations have taken the focus away from these facts. Q Alexandra Kroeger - BBC - You say that United Nations officials found guilty of misconduct here are sent to their home countries and it is up to their home countries to take action. Has there been any case of any country following up these kinds of allegations, actually taking action against them and who has been dismissed. Secondly, with regard to prosecutions, you mentioned the 6 night-clubs in the Federation and one in Brcko what are the reasons why no night-club owners in the Republika Srpska have been successfully prosecuted? A UNMIBH - That is a good question with regard to whether or not the countries have followed up on the individual files that we have sent. You have to understand that once the UN sends these files to the individuals countries it is up to their governments to take action and the UN is no longer in the picture. So we cannot give you an answer to that question. A Human Rights Office - It is not that there have not been prosecutions in the Republika Srpska as in the Federation also in the Republika Srpska we are pursuing prosecutions since 1999. Recently you will have read in the press that the investigating judge in Banja Luka ordered the detention of a local police officer for 30 days because the victims testified against the officer and he was identified. So there are prosecutions ongoing but unless the prosecution has been concluded successfully or otherwise we are not in a position to comment because it is a judicial process and we cannot talk about the judicial process. But it is a fact that prosecutions are ongoing in the Republika Srpska and some of which might lead to the conviction of the bar owners and traffickers. Kevin Sullivan - OHR As the OHR has said many times before, the Draft Law on Co-operation with the ICTY, which passed its first reading by the Republika Srpska National Assembly yesterday and was then referred for further debate, is not necessary for the Republika Srpska co-operation with the ICTY. This co-operation is a requirement of the Dayton Peace Agreement. In addition to that, co-operation with the ICTY is required of all Bosnia and Herzegovina authorities since Bosnia and Herzegovina is a member of the United Nations, which founded the Hague Tribunal. As with any other UN member state, Bosnia and Herzegovina is obliged to co-operate with the Tribunal and execute all of its orders and requests, domestic legislation notwithstanding. Any importance that the Office of the High Representative has attached to the passage of the law derives from it symbolic significance. It represents a public acknowledgement by the Republika Srpska authorities that they must co-operate with the ICTY. This co-operation, of course, includes the arrest and extradition of indicted war criminals. Hence, any impression that the Republika Srpska National Assembly deputies are opposed to the fulfilment of these obligations will only serve to de-legitimise the Republika Srpska. It would show that it is still not ready to abide by Bosnia and Herzegovina's international obligations and establish the rule of law. The High Representative emphasises that the Republika Srpska authorities must take action in this regard and arrest and extradite the publicly indicted war criminals who are believed to be residing on the territory of the Republika Srpska. The High Representative is in New York today. He will meet with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and also with United Nations Under-Secretary for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno. The High Representative will brief the Secretary General on streamlining the work of international agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He will travel on to Washington, where he will have discussions on Friday at the State Department. Topics there will include streamlining and the promotion of partnership between the International Community and Bosnia and Herzegovina politicians and the public in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Henning Philipp - OSCE The Act of Defamation was adopted yesterday by the Republika Srpska National Assembly and criminal insult and defamation provisions were repealed, in accordance with July 1999 decision of the High Representative calling for the adoption of civil defamation legislation in accordance with the highest international standards. OSCE welcomes the adoption of this important piece of legislation. Freedom of Expression constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society, particularly where matters of political and public concern are involved, as the European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly stressed. The act is a significant step forward for the protection of the Freedom of Expression and for democracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We look forward to the final adoption of the act in the Federation Parliament also as soon as possible. The fact sheet on the defamation legislation is available outside on the table. Stefo Lehmann - UNMIBH I was going to bring you some information today but I learned that the people who where supposed to receive the letters have not received any letters. So I will save my statement for next Tuesday. That all we have. Andy Coxhead - SFOR SFOR is very pleased with the progress made to date by the Joint Restructuring Board. The Board co-chaired by SFOR and OSCE met yesterday with board members representing the Ministry of Defence's, the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Military Advisors to the Presidents. The board was in agreement that changes within the structure of the Armed Forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina must be phased over time in conjunction with the reduction of forces. The approach to change will take time and work is beginning on developing goals that should be reached by 2003 and also by 2005. The goals will emphasise more commonality, co-operation and co-ordination in an effort to save money and increase quality, while at the same time building on a commitment to the requirements for Partnership for Peace. Kevin Sullivan - OHR I should probably add at the risk of giving you information overload should there be any questions this morning regarding the communications regulatory agency we have Amila Odebasic here who will be happy to answer questions either during the press conference or afterwards. Questions and answers Q Yasin Rawasdeh - Kuna - Can you comment on the news carried today by Avaz and Oslobodjenje papers on the arrest of three terrorists in Sarajevo in the last few days? A UNMIBH - We have been informed of that also through the media. Unfortunately we will not be able to comment. Basically we cannot confirm or deny the reports. Q Yasin Rawasdeh - Kuna - Have IPTF been informed about the case? A UNMIBH - As I said we will not confirm or deny the reports. Q Aida Cerkez-Robinson - AP - Yes that was basically my question. So you do not want to tell us what you know. A UNMIBH - I can repeat it again. Q Alexandra Kroeger - BBC - Given that you say that the law on the co-operation with ICTY is not necessary, do think that it will make any difference in practise to the attitude of the authorities there? A OHR - I think as I said the significance of the law maybe symbolic, that indicates a willingness on the part of the Republika Srpska National Assembly to address this pressing issue. But the position is that the best way of addressing this issue would be to arrest and extradite those people who have been indicted by the Tribunal. SFOR - A reminder that the Press Club is meeting this evening between 6.00 and 8.00 and we hope to see you at that event. Thanks.