Yugoslavia: The penalties for failure to respond to call-up orders for compulsory military service and reserve duty (consisting of two days of military exercises) (January 1998 - February 1999)
| Publisher | Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 February 1999 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | YUG31041.E |
| Cite as | Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Yugoslavia: The penalties for failure to respond to call-up orders for compulsory military service and reserve duty (consisting of two days of military exercises) (January 1998 - February 1999), 1 February 1999, YUG31041.E, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6abb22c.html [accessed 23 May 2013] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
A 3 February 1999 letter sent to the Research Directorate by the chair of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia in Belgrade states:
Persons who did not respond to call-up orders to perform their reserve military service before 1997, were amnestied by the Amnesty Act. No person has approached us who refused to respond to call-up orders after this date. However, we assume that, due to the events in Kosovo and the engagement of the Yugoslav Army in the conflict there, there is a new circle of "deserters". It is true, however, that in the Kosovo conflict mainly soldiers serving compulsory military service are being used.
The letter also contained an unofficial translation of article 214 (Failure to Respond to a Summons and Avoiding Military Service) of the Yugoslav Criminal Code. For an officially translated copy of articles 214 and 216 (Intentional Absence or Desertion From the Yugoslav Army), please consult YUG26806.E of 23 May 1997.
No corroborating or additional information on the penalty for failure to respond to a call-up order to perform reserve duty could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Reference
Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, Belgrade. 3 February 1999. Letter sent to the Research Directorate by the chair.
Additional Sources Consulted
Electronic sources: IRB databases, Internet, NEXIS/LEXIS, REFWORLD, WNC.
Human Rights Watch/Helsinki [New York]. December 1998.
Refusing to Bear Arms. September 1998. London: War Resisters International.
Transitions [Prague]. January 1998 - October 1998.
Resource Centre country file on Yugoslavia. January 1998 - January 1999.
Unsuccessful attempts to contact other oral sources.
