Brussels - Does the European Convention on Human Rights apply to military operations of European military forces abroad ?
The judges of the grand chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, will deal with the matter this week, in a case in which the British Government argues against being held accountable for human rights breaches by British troops, during military operations abroad.
The case is being brought against France, for failing to secure the lives of two children in Kosovo, by ensuring that cluster bombs were cleared up after NATO dropped them over the area.
Britain and five other European countries which intervened in the French case will argue that no international operation could ever be undertaken in the future, if the countries were told that they would be held accountable before a European Court, for violations of human rights they have committed, or might commit, during a military operation.
The case in Strasbourg is being brought by the lawyers of the London based NGO, AIRE Centre ( Advice on Individual Rights in Europe) on behalf of the two brothers Gadaf and Bekir Berhami, who were playing, in March 2000, with other children in their village, in the area of Mitrovica, in Kosovo.
During their game, they found a number of undetonated cluster bombs that were left behind in 1999, after a NATO bombardment in the area.
One of the boys threw the cluster bomb into the air; it exploded and killed Gadaf and seriously injured Bekir.
At the time when this tragedy happened, the area of Mitrovica was under a multinational brigade responsibility, led by France, and was one of four brigades that made up the KFOR force in Kosovo, mandated by a U.N. Security Council resolution.
The family lawyers will argue that in spite of the expressed mandate to secure the return of refugees to a safe area, the force did not take the necessary steps to remove the cluster bombs which the force had knowledge of their location in the area of Mitrovica.
Because of its importance, the Grand Chamber of seventeen judges will hear the case.
At the same time, there is another case brought against France and Norway by an Albanian Kosovan, for being held in detention by KFOR commanders without trial.
Human rights lawyers in Brussels expressed their bewilderment at the British Government’s intended argument that it was not bound to respect human rights during its international operations.
Israel Rafalovich
U.N. OBSERVER & International Report
European Convention on Human Rights http://www.hri.org/docs/ECHR50.html
AIRE Centre ( Advice on Individual Rights in Europe)
http://www.airecentre.org
Kosovo Force (KFOR) http://www.nato.int/kfor
The judges of the grand chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, will deal with the matter this week, in a case in which the British Government argues against being held accountable for human rights breaches by British troops, during military operations abroad.
The case is being brought against France, for failing to secure the lives of two children in Kosovo, by ensuring that cluster bombs were cleared up after NATO dropped them over the area.
Britain and five other European countries which intervened in the French case will argue that no international operation could ever be undertaken in the future, if the countries were told that they would be held accountable before a European Court, for violations of human rights they have committed, or might commit, during a military operation.
The case in Strasbourg is being brought by the lawyers of the London based NGO, AIRE Centre ( Advice on Individual Rights in Europe) on behalf of the two brothers Gadaf and Bekir Berhami, who were playing, in March 2000, with other children in their village, in the area of Mitrovica, in Kosovo.
During their game, they found a number of undetonated cluster bombs that were left behind in 1999, after a NATO bombardment in the area.
One of the boys threw the cluster bomb into the air; it exploded and killed Gadaf and seriously injured Bekir.
At the time when this tragedy happened, the area of Mitrovica was under a multinational brigade responsibility, led by France, and was one of four brigades that made up the KFOR force in Kosovo, mandated by a U.N. Security Council resolution.
The family lawyers will argue that in spite of the expressed mandate to secure the return of refugees to a safe area, the force did not take the necessary steps to remove the cluster bombs which the force had knowledge of their location in the area of Mitrovica.
Because of its importance, the Grand Chamber of seventeen judges will hear the case.
At the same time, there is another case brought against France and Norway by an Albanian Kosovan, for being held in detention by KFOR commanders without trial.
Human rights lawyers in Brussels expressed their bewilderment at the British Government’s intended argument that it was not bound to respect human rights during its international operations.
Israel Rafalovich
U.N. OBSERVER & International Report
European Convention on Human Rights http://www.hri.org/docs/ECHR50.html
AIRE Centre ( Advice on Individual Rights in Europe)
http://www.airecentre.org
Kosovo Force (KFOR) http://www.nato.int/kfor