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Kosovo and Beyond
By: WITNESS Media Archive
Posted: May 1 09
Witnessed: 1660 times
Regions: Kosovo – UN-Administered Territory
Issues: International criminal court, War crimes
Running Time: 9:30 min.
The footage you see in "Kosovo and Beyond" details gruesome evidence of Serbian torture and killing of ethnic Albanians. In June 1999, WITNESS' Executive Director Gillian Caldwell and Technology Consultant Eric Leland flew to Albania to train and equip five Kosovar Albanian journalists with digital cameras, who returned to Kosovo to document human rights abuses there. Facing severe risks, these journalists captured evidence of some of the worst violations of human rights in history. Visiting massacre-sites, mass-graves and speaking to survivors and family members of victims, they gathered powerful visual evidence of the range of atrocities committed in Kosovo in violation of international law. Testimonies featured in "Kosovo and Beyond," such as that of Isa Gashi, describe in excruciating detail instances of looting, torture (including burning and mutilation) and killing of civilians. For detailed descriptions of the WITNESS Kosovo Project and information about the contents of these videos, visit the Media Archive and read the descriptions of the tapes. Graham Blewit, Deputy Chief Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yusgoslavia (ICTY) in an interview with WITNESS staff, described the importance of the video: "Video evidence is vital and is going to be a very significant, and necessary, form of evidence."
As the massacres of thousands of Kosovars stand testimony, attempts to persecute and exterminate entire populations simply because of race, ethnicity, religion or other social status are all too common in recent times. Similar violence in Sierra Leone, Rwanda and East Timor underscores the fact that no place is immune from grave human rights violations. Watch "Kosovo and Beyond" and read more about the importance of an effective International Criminal Court, the first ever permanent court established to promote the rule of law and ensure that the gravest international crimes do not go unpunished.
©1999, WITNESS Kosovo Project
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