FACTS ON CONSEQUENCES OF THE USE OF DEPLETED
URANIUM IN THE NATO AGGRESSION AGAINST
THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA IN 1999
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
---
YUGOSLAV UN AMBASSADOR ON USE OF DEPLETED URANIUM IN VIOLATION OF UN
CHARTER
GENEVA, Sep 14, (Tanjug). Yugoslav Ambassador to the UN in
Geneva
Branko Brankovic said Thursday that last year's NATO aggression on
Yugoslavia constituted a glaring violation of the fundamental principles
of
the UN Charter, and most strongly condemned the US, whose aircraft
dropped
depleted uranium bombs on inhabited areas.
Brankovic was presenting a Yugoslav government document on the
effects of the use of depleted uranium during the NATO aggression on
Yugoslavia in 1999. The following is the official translation of his
statement:
In the NATO aggression against the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia
in 1999, called "Humanitarian intervention Guardian Angel", commander
of
French air force in NATO, General Joffret stated: "The air force
received
orders to destroy life in Serbia" (the statement was quoted by Michel
Fontanie, President of ASFED FRANCE Association pour la sauvegarde des
familles et enfants de disparus, in Strasbourg, 27 May 1999).
NATO aggression against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,
from
24 March to 10 June 1999, was committed in gross violation of the
fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations and
international law in general and represents a crime against peace and
humanity and a crime of genocide.
During the armed NATO aggression against the FR of Yugoslavia,
it
was established beyond doubt that US A10 aircraft fired shells with
depleted uranium (DU). Some 50,000 missiles with DU were fired on some
100
densely populated locations in the Serb province of Kosovo and Metohija.
It
was also established that 3,0005,000 DU shells were fired on 8 locations
outside the Province of which six in the region of Presevo and
Bujanovac
and one in a broader area of Vranje and one in Montenegro. The Yugoslav
authorities undertook a detailed investigation of all locations outside
the
Province and established that contamination is going up to 235,000
Bq/kg,
which is 1,100 times above the permissible level of contamination. The
contaminated areas were marked and other activities are underway to deal
with the consequences.
US Department of Defense refused to release information about
the
locations and quantities of DU used in the territory of the FR of
Yugoslavia. In his letter to P. Sullivan, Executive Director of National
Gulf War Research Center of 19 July 1999, the Director of the Joint
Staff
denied access to this information because "The issues related to the use
of
DU in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia area of operations are under
litigation in the International Court of Justice. Any answers we provide
at
this time may impact the interests of the United States in these
proceedings".
At the request of UN SecretaryGeneral K. Annan, NATO
SecretaryGeneral G. Robertson, in his letter of 7 February 2000,
confirmed
that throughout the territory of the Province of Kosovo and Metohija, in
approximately 100 air strikes, around 31,000 rounds of DU ammunition
were
used (which is equivalent to 10 tons of DU) and attached a map with only
28
locations, saying that "at this moment it is impossible to state
accurately
every location where DU ammunition was used". But it was not said why it
was impossible at this moment, nor when it will be possible, if in July
1999 it was not possible.
Nevertheless, the USA knows best the characteristics of DU
weapons
and the health consequences that DU provokes to the future generations.
On
the basis of many research studies conducted after the Gulf war by US
institutes it was established beyond doubt, that DU contaminates both
environment and affects population on a lasting basis development of
tumours, immune system damage, neurological problems, respiratory
disease,
kidney damage and male and female
reproductive effects, newlyborns with deformities, etc.
The effect of DU is lasting (DU has a halflife of 4.5 billion
years) and its chemical and radiological toxicity cannot be reduced. The
fact that most of DU, in addition to the Province of Kosovo and Metohija
was dropped in the area of Presevo and Bujanovac, with a large Albanian
population, indicates that the goal might be, in addition to destroying
the
Serbs, also an attempt to systematically destroy the coming generations
of
the Albanian population, whose birth rate is among the highest in the
world: according to the data from 1994, growth rate in Serbia is minus 3
%,
in Vojvodina, minus 0.3 %, in central Serbia, and even plus 17.2 in the
Province of Kosovo and Metohija (half the figure in Albania).
The US has tried to justify the use of weapons with DU
ammunition
owing allegedly to their greater effectiveness in antitank warfare. The
fact that 30,00050,000 DU missiles were dropped in the Province of
Kosovo
and Metohija, and only a dozen Yugoslav Army tanks were destroyed,
raises
the issue of the true goals in using such quantities of DU ammunition in
densely populated areas. The most important reason is that DU is made
from
radioactive waste, which is very expensive to store and safeguard. The
US
thus disposes of large quantities of hazardous waste by spilling it over
the territories of other countries. Uncontrolled diposal of this
radioactive waste deliberately causes lasting and dangerous
contamination
of Europe.
The dispersion of DU particles cannot be controlled or
prevented
and may spill over to neighbouring states and regions. In addition to
the
local population, international civilian and security presences, staff
of
humanitarian and nongovernmental organizations in general deployed in
the
Province of Kosovo and Metohija, are also exposed to DU dust, inhaled or
ingested through food and water. Among them, as well as among US
veterans
from the Gulf war, "inexplicable illness" began showing up. Armies and
Governments of NATO countries are aware of the dangers arising from DU
and
some Governments have already undertaken certain measures of protection.
The use of DU weapons represents a grave breach of the basic
principles of international humanitarian law because they cause
unnecessary
suffering and excessive injury, beyond the point used for military
purposes. For its inherent cruelty and immeasurable lethal effects
threatening the current and future generations, in the UN SubCommission
on
the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, DU weapons rank among the
weapons of mass or indiscriminate destruction (UN SubCommission on the
Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Resolutions 1996/16 and
1997/36);
also these are precisely the weapons which uses is prohibited by
international law for more than a century including the Geneva
Conventions
and their Additional Protocols of 1997.
Under US pressure, some international organizations tend to minimize
the
effects of DU and conceal serious consequences caused by the use of DU,
while some give up preparing a report warning of DU or withdraw reports
and
published new versions deliberately diminishing the scope of effects of
DU.
In line with this let me quote the statement by Dan Fahey, a former US
Navy
officer "The Pentagon has refused to comply with 1993 congressional
mandate
to study the health effects of inhaled and ingested DU dust. In 1999 the
Pentagon obstructed a United Nations investigation of the use of DU in
Kosovo. The Pentagon is likely to continue impeding investigations of DU
hazards", and remind you that the nine US congressmen (supporting the
rights of US veterans, victims of DU used by the US in the Gulf War)
sent,
on 8 June 2000, a letter to the President of the USA expressing concerns
over the reports that the US Government has blocked an investigation by
the
World Health Organization's experts into the effects of DU on human
health.
In the report of Amnesty International on war rights violations
by
NATO during the operations in Yugoslavia, referring to the studies
indicating "the DU dust poses a significant health risk, if inhaled or
ingested", the Amnesty International expresses concern about
indiscriminate
nature of DU ammunitions and recommended NATO and its member states "to
investigate and cooperate fully with independent investigations of the
possible longterm health and environment risk posed by DU weapons". It
is
therefore necessary for the Yugoslav experts from the Institute for
Nuclear
Science "Vinca", in cooperation with independent experts and those from
international organizations who are not under the influence of the US
(Iraq, India, Russia, China), to examine the terrain and mark
contaminated
sites. In view of the fact that weather and natural laws contribute to
dissemination of uranium in the field, it is necessary that
international
organizations for the protection of human rights, health, environment,
food, etc. undertake urgent action in order to protect the population
and
ensure financial resources to decontaminate the terrain, wherever
possible.
URANIUM IN THE NATO AGGRESSION AGAINST
THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA IN 1999
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
---
YUGOSLAV UN AMBASSADOR ON USE OF DEPLETED URANIUM IN VIOLATION OF UN
CHARTER
GENEVA, Sep 14, (Tanjug). Yugoslav Ambassador to the UN in
Geneva
Branko Brankovic said Thursday that last year's NATO aggression on
Yugoslavia constituted a glaring violation of the fundamental principles
of
the UN Charter, and most strongly condemned the US, whose aircraft
dropped
depleted uranium bombs on inhabited areas.
Brankovic was presenting a Yugoslav government document on the
effects of the use of depleted uranium during the NATO aggression on
Yugoslavia in 1999. The following is the official translation of his
statement:
In the NATO aggression against the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia
in 1999, called "Humanitarian intervention Guardian Angel", commander
of
French air force in NATO, General Joffret stated: "The air force
received
orders to destroy life in Serbia" (the statement was quoted by Michel
Fontanie, President of ASFED FRANCE Association pour la sauvegarde des
familles et enfants de disparus, in Strasbourg, 27 May 1999).
NATO aggression against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,
from
24 March to 10 June 1999, was committed in gross violation of the
fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations and
international law in general and represents a crime against peace and
humanity and a crime of genocide.
During the armed NATO aggression against the FR of Yugoslavia,
it
was established beyond doubt that US A10 aircraft fired shells with
depleted uranium (DU). Some 50,000 missiles with DU were fired on some
100
densely populated locations in the Serb province of Kosovo and Metohija.
It
was also established that 3,0005,000 DU shells were fired on 8 locations
outside the Province of which six in the region of Presevo and
Bujanovac
and one in a broader area of Vranje and one in Montenegro. The Yugoslav
authorities undertook a detailed investigation of all locations outside
the
Province and established that contamination is going up to 235,000
Bq/kg,
which is 1,100 times above the permissible level of contamination. The
contaminated areas were marked and other activities are underway to deal
with the consequences.
US Department of Defense refused to release information about
the
locations and quantities of DU used in the territory of the FR of
Yugoslavia. In his letter to P. Sullivan, Executive Director of National
Gulf War Research Center of 19 July 1999, the Director of the Joint
Staff
denied access to this information because "The issues related to the use
of
DU in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia area of operations are under
litigation in the International Court of Justice. Any answers we provide
at
this time may impact the interests of the United States in these
proceedings".
At the request of UN SecretaryGeneral K. Annan, NATO
SecretaryGeneral G. Robertson, in his letter of 7 February 2000,
confirmed
that throughout the territory of the Province of Kosovo and Metohija, in
approximately 100 air strikes, around 31,000 rounds of DU ammunition
were
used (which is equivalent to 10 tons of DU) and attached a map with only
28
locations, saying that "at this moment it is impossible to state
accurately
every location where DU ammunition was used". But it was not said why it
was impossible at this moment, nor when it will be possible, if in July
1999 it was not possible.
Nevertheless, the USA knows best the characteristics of DU
weapons
and the health consequences that DU provokes to the future generations.
On
the basis of many research studies conducted after the Gulf war by US
institutes it was established beyond doubt, that DU contaminates both
environment and affects population on a lasting basis development of
tumours, immune system damage, neurological problems, respiratory
disease,
kidney damage and male and female
reproductive effects, newlyborns with deformities, etc.
The effect of DU is lasting (DU has a halflife of 4.5 billion
years) and its chemical and radiological toxicity cannot be reduced. The
fact that most of DU, in addition to the Province of Kosovo and Metohija
was dropped in the area of Presevo and Bujanovac, with a large Albanian
population, indicates that the goal might be, in addition to destroying
the
Serbs, also an attempt to systematically destroy the coming generations
of
the Albanian population, whose birth rate is among the highest in the
world: according to the data from 1994, growth rate in Serbia is minus 3
%,
in Vojvodina, minus 0.3 %, in central Serbia, and even plus 17.2 in the
Province of Kosovo and Metohija (half the figure in Albania).
The US has tried to justify the use of weapons with DU
ammunition
owing allegedly to their greater effectiveness in antitank warfare. The
fact that 30,00050,000 DU missiles were dropped in the Province of
Kosovo
and Metohija, and only a dozen Yugoslav Army tanks were destroyed,
raises
the issue of the true goals in using such quantities of DU ammunition in
densely populated areas. The most important reason is that DU is made
from
radioactive waste, which is very expensive to store and safeguard. The
US
thus disposes of large quantities of hazardous waste by spilling it over
the territories of other countries. Uncontrolled diposal of this
radioactive waste deliberately causes lasting and dangerous
contamination
of Europe.
The dispersion of DU particles cannot be controlled or
prevented
and may spill over to neighbouring states and regions. In addition to
the
local population, international civilian and security presences, staff
of
humanitarian and nongovernmental organizations in general deployed in
the
Province of Kosovo and Metohija, are also exposed to DU dust, inhaled or
ingested through food and water. Among them, as well as among US
veterans
from the Gulf war, "inexplicable illness" began showing up. Armies and
Governments of NATO countries are aware of the dangers arising from DU
and
some Governments have already undertaken certain measures of protection.
The use of DU weapons represents a grave breach of the basic
principles of international humanitarian law because they cause
unnecessary
suffering and excessive injury, beyond the point used for military
purposes. For its inherent cruelty and immeasurable lethal effects
threatening the current and future generations, in the UN SubCommission
on
the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, DU weapons rank among the
weapons of mass or indiscriminate destruction (UN SubCommission on the
Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Resolutions 1996/16 and
1997/36);
also these are precisely the weapons which uses is prohibited by
international law for more than a century including the Geneva
Conventions
and their Additional Protocols of 1997.
Under US pressure, some international organizations tend to minimize
the
effects of DU and conceal serious consequences caused by the use of DU,
while some give up preparing a report warning of DU or withdraw reports
and
published new versions deliberately diminishing the scope of effects of
DU.
In line with this let me quote the statement by Dan Fahey, a former US
Navy
officer "The Pentagon has refused to comply with 1993 congressional
mandate
to study the health effects of inhaled and ingested DU dust. In 1999 the
Pentagon obstructed a United Nations investigation of the use of DU in
Kosovo. The Pentagon is likely to continue impeding investigations of DU
hazards", and remind you that the nine US congressmen (supporting the
rights of US veterans, victims of DU used by the US in the Gulf War)
sent,
on 8 June 2000, a letter to the President of the USA expressing concerns
over the reports that the US Government has blocked an investigation by
the
World Health Organization's experts into the effects of DU on human
health.
In the report of Amnesty International on war rights violations
by
NATO during the operations in Yugoslavia, referring to the studies
indicating "the DU dust poses a significant health risk, if inhaled or
ingested", the Amnesty International expresses concern about
indiscriminate
nature of DU ammunitions and recommended NATO and its member states "to
investigate and cooperate fully with independent investigations of the
possible longterm health and environment risk posed by DU weapons". It
is
therefore necessary for the Yugoslav experts from the Institute for
Nuclear
Science "Vinca", in cooperation with independent experts and those from
international organizations who are not under the influence of the US
(Iraq, India, Russia, China), to examine the terrain and mark
contaminated
sites. In view of the fact that weather and natural laws contribute to
dissemination of uranium in the field, it is necessary that
international
organizations for the protection of human rights, health, environment,
food, etc. undertake urgent action in order to protect the population
and
ensure financial resources to decontaminate the terrain, wherever
possible.