Yugoslavia: Whether the June 1996 amnesty applies to deserters; penalties currently being imposed on individuals who deserted from the army between 1991 and 1992; treatment of ethnic Hungarian deserters by the authorities (1996-January 2000)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 19 January 2000 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | YUG33577.E |
| Reference | 5 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Yugoslavia: Whether the June 1996 amnesty applies to deserters; penalties currently being imposed on individuals who deserted from the army between 1991 and 1992; treatment of ethnic Hungarian deserters by the authorities (1996-January 2000) , 19 January 2000, YUG33577.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad8147.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| 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. |
The Yugoslav government enacted an amnesty in June 1996 for draft evaders and army deserters (AFP 19 June 1996; Amnesty International 1997; IHF 1997). In its 1997 annual report, the IHF stated that the amnesty law had entered into force on 22 June 1996, and applied to individuals who had evaded the draft or deserted prior to 14 December 1995 (ibid.). The report further stated that "the law did not apply to professional soldiers and officers, nor did it cover those who committed crimes against the armed forces, and so-called political crimes during the war" (ibid.).
According to War Resisters International (WRI), crimes related to military offences other than draft evasion and simple desertion were excluded from the amnesty (Sept. 1998). Such crimes encompass
service in an enemy army (art. 119 [in Chapter 20 of the Federal Criminal Code]); refusal to obey orders (art. 201); refusal to receive and use arms (art. 202); resisting a superior officer (art. 203); evading military service by subterfuge or rendering oneself unfit (art. 215); evading registration and (medical) examination (art. 218); surrendering to the enemy (art. 227); desertion from the battlefield (art. 229) (ibid.).
In a 1996 report, the IHF indicated, citing the Kosovo Helsinki Committee, that Serbian authorities had applied the amnesty law "inconsistently." In an 18 January 2000 interview, the Director of the Hungarian Human Rights Foundation stated that, despite the June 1996 amnesty law, ethnic Hungarians continue to be arrested and prosecuted for acts of desertion or draft evasion committed during the early 1990s. This information could not be corroborated with other sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
According to WRI, individuals who desert and fail to return within 30 days are liable for six months to five years imprisonment in peacetime; five to twenty years in wartime (Sept. 1998). Individuals who desert and leave the country are liable for a minimum of one year imprisonment in peacetime, and five to twenty years in wartime (ibid.). No information on penalties currently being imposed on individuals who deserted from the Yugoslav army in the early 1990s could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, according to AP, five men accused of desertion during the 1999 Kosovo conflict were sentenced to three years in prison by a military court in Nis, after being found guilty of "disobeying their commanders and refusing to carry out orders while serving in the Yugoslav army during a state of war" (21 June 1999). For information on penalties being imposed for draft evasion during the Kosovo conflict, please see YUG33553.E of 5 January 2000.
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.
Agence France Presse (AFP). 19 June 1996. "Yugoslavia Amnesties Deserters." (NEXIS).
Amnesty International. 1997. Amnesty International Report 1997: Yugoslavia.
Associated Press (AP). 21 June 1999. "Court Sentences Deserters to Prison."
Hungarian Human Rights Foundation, New York. 18 January 2000. Telephone interview with Director.
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) [Vienna]. 1997. Annual Report 1997: Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
_____. 1996. "Freedom of Thought, Conscience, Religion or Belief: Report by the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights to the OSCE Review Conference, Vienna, 1996."
War Resisters' International [London]. September 1998. Bart Horeman and Marc Stolwijk. Refusing to Bear Arms: A World Survey of Conscription and Conscientious Objection to Military Service. London: War Resisters International.
Additional Sources Consulted
IRB databases.
World News Connection (WNC)
Unsuccessful attempts to contact the Yugoslav Lawyers' Committee, the "Safe House"
Project, and the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection.
Internet sites including:
Amnesty International.
Balkans Human Rights Web Pages.
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Center for Documentation and Information in Europe.
Committee for Peace in the Balkans.
Council of Europe.
European Bureau for Conscientious Objection.
Human Rights Watch.
International Crisis Group (ICG)
War Resisters International.