SIGNIFICANT VIOLATIONS OF THE RULES OF THE INTERNATIONAL LAW OF ARMED CONFLICT IN AGGRESSION ON THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA 1991
SIGNIFICANT VIOLATIONS OF THE RULES OF THE INTERNATIONAL LAW OF ARMED CONFLICT IN AGGRESSION ON THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA 1991

Author(s): Vladan Jončić, Miloš Jončić
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, International Law, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Security and defense, Military policy, Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: Институт за међународну политику и привреду
Keywords: aggression; NATO; violations of international law; violation of international law of armed conflicts; war crimes; crime against peace
Summary/Abstract: The NATO Pact’s aggression against Yugoslavia in 1999 is a school example of serious violations of all relevant norms of international law. This article indicates important violations of the international law of armed conflicts that were carried out by the NATO Pact during aggression. A significant number of the ius cogens norms has been violated. Especially, NATO forces use prohibited methods during executions of war operations. NATO forces committ war crimes during air attacks. Besides this, NATO committed a crime against peace and a crime against humanity. The rules of protection of civilians and civilian objects guaranteed by the 1949 Geneva Conventions (the Fourth Geneva Convention) and almost all rules of the international law of armed conflicts guaranteed by international conventions and customary international law were grossly violated during this agression. First of all, protection of journalists, women, children, civilian objects, objects of which depends the survival of the civilian population, facilities that international law guarantees protection, etc., have been grossly violated. Hospitals and hospital transport were attacked. A number of human rights rules have been violated, such as the right to life, the right to free development and the management of natural resources, freedom of movement, the children’s rights, etc. The use of weapons with depleted uranium and the bombardment of civilian objects which contain dangerous forces has caused the effect of using chemical weapons (Pancevo Refinery, etc.). This has led to the endangering of human rights of the third generation, such as the right to a healthy environment. The huge destruction of the infrastructure made enormous material damage. The consequences of aggression and all this violations of international humanitarian law are still unimaginable and the question is whether they will ever been.

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