IV

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 144

Urging the United States Government and the United Nations to undertake

urgent and strenuous efforts to secure the release of Branko Jelen,

Steve Pratt, and Peter Wallace, 3 humanitarian workers employed in

the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by CARE International, who are

being unjustly held as prisoners by the Government of the Federal

Republic of Yugoslavia.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 29, 1999

Mr. GILMAN (for himself, Mr. CALLAHAN, Mr. GEJDENSON, Ms. PELOSI, Ms.

SLAUGHTER, and Mrs. CAPPS) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Urging the United States Government and the United Nations to undertake urgent and strenuous efforts to secure

the release of Branko Jelen, Steve Pratt, and Peter

Wallace, 3 humanitarian workers employed in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by CARE International, who

are being unjustly held as prisoners by the Government

of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Whereas Branko Jelen, Steve Pratt, and Peter Wallace are

3 humanitarian workers employed in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by CARE International, the relief and

development organization, providing food, medicines, and
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fuel to more than 50,000 Serbian refugees in Serbia and

to displaced ethnic Albanians in Kosovo;

Whereas Steve Pratt and Peter Wallace, 2 Australian nationals, were detained on March 31, 1999, and later accused

of operating and managing a spy ring and being employed by a spy ring, and Branko Jelen, a citizen of the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, was arrested 1 week

later on the same charges;

Whereas on March 30, 1999, CARE International received a

letter of commendation from the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia relating to CARE International’s humanitarian work in the Federal Republic of

Yugoslavia;

Whereas 1 of the 3 men, Steve Pratt, appeared on Serbian

television on April 11, 1999, and he was coerced into saying that he had performed covert intelligence activities;

Whereas the 3 Care International humanitarian workers were

held without access to outsiders for 20 days;

Whereas on May 29, 1999, a Serbian military court dismissed every element of the original indictment against

the 3 CARE International humanitarian workers, but

then proceeded to convict the 3 individuals on an entirely

new charge of passing on information to a foreign organization, namely CARE International, and sentenced Pratt

to 12 years, Jelen to 6 years, and Wallace to 4 years;

Whereas this last charge was introduced at the reading of the

verdict, denying lawyers for the 3 CARE International

humanitarian workers any opportunity to mount an appropriate defense;

Whereas it appears the 3 CARE International humanitarian

workers were convicted of providing ‘‘situation reports’’
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to their head office and other CARE International offices

around the world, based on legitimately gathered information, necessary to enable CARE International management to plan their humanitarian assistance in a rapidly

changing context and to inform CARE International

management of the security situation in which their staff

were working;

Whereas the convictions of the 3 CARE International humanitarian workers raise serious questions regarding the ability of humanitarian aid organizations to operate in the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, with implications for

their operations in other areas of conflict around the

world;

Whereas the 3 CARE International humanitarian workers

are innocent, having committed no crime, and are being

held as prisoners unjustly;

Whereas the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia needs humanitarian workers who feel secure enough to do their work

and who are not at risk of going to prison on false

charges; and

Whereas many leaders around the world have raised the issue

and sought to free the captives, including United Nations

Secretary General Kofi Annan, former South African

President Nelson Mandela, Finnish President Marti

Ahtisaari, United Nations Commissioner for Human

Rights Mary Robinson, and the Reverend Jesse Jackson:

Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That the Congress—

3 (1) urges the United States Government and

4 the United Nations to undertake urgent and stren-
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1 uous efforts to secure the release of Branko Jelen,

2 Steve Pratt, and Peter Wallace, 3 humanitarian

3 workers employed in the Federal Republic of Yugo4 slavia by CARE International; and

5 (2) calls upon the Government of the Federal

6 Republic of Yugoslavia to send a positive signal to

7 the international humanitarian community and to

8 give these humanitarian workers their freedom with9 out further delay.

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