Kosovo/Kosova As Seen, As Told compensation. Second, in most cases, the identity of the offenders was unknown to the victims, and the co-operation of regular police officers in an attempt to identify potential offenders was practically nonexistent. And thirdly, even if the individual, most often with the active support of the local OSCE-KVM office, reacted swiftly and courageously and filed a complaint with the local police commander, the consequences for the officer who had abused the complainant were insufficient to dissuade him from repeating the crime. (In Part V several such cases are reported.) The near-total absence of a response by the judicial authorities to these allegations only served to foster a sense of impunity within the police system, encouraging the continuation and escalation of such 28 human rights violations. Notes 1 For a more detailed analysis see: OSCE/ODIHR, "Preventing Torture, A Handbook for OSCE Field Staff", Warsaw 1999. 2 Human Rights in Yugoslavia, Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, 1999. 3 In the Kosovo context, the relevant texts are the Internal Affairs Act of Serbia, the Act on Execution of Penal Sanctions of Serbia, and the Rules on the Conditions for and the Manner of the Use of Force. International human rights standards, including the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms for Law Enforcement Officials, also place clear restrictions the use of force against detainees. Force may be used only when strictly necessary, and to the minimum extent required in the circumstances. 4 Article 191 of the KZSRJ reads: "An official who in the exercise of official duties abuses another person, inflicting serious physical or mental suffering, harasses, insults or generally treats that person in a manner which adversely affects that person's human dignity, shall be punished by imprisonment…" 5 Article 190 KZ SRJ on the use of forcibly extracted confessions and statements. 6 Yugoslav Federal Government's Decree on the Application of the Criminal Procedure during the state of war, Sl. List 21/99. 7 This is in line with the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Torture Convention), adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1984. Article 2 of the Torture Convention states that "No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture". http://www.osce.org/kosovo/documents/reports/hr/part1/ch6.htm (10 of 12)12/5/2003 11:51:07 AM