H. Con. Res. 144
Agreed to July 12, 1999
One Hundred Sixth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the sixth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine
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, three 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 three
humanitarian workers employed in the Federal Republic of Yugo-
slavia by CARE International, the relief and development
organization, providing food, medicines, and fuel to more than
50,000 Serbian refugees in Serbia and to displaced ethnic Alba-
nians in Kosovo;
Whereas Steve Pratt and Peter Wallace, two 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 one of the three 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 three 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 three CARE
International humanitarian workers, but then proceeded to con-
vict the three individuals on an entirely new charge of passing
on information to a foreign organization, namely CARE Inter-
national, 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 three CARE International
humanitarian workers any opportunity to mount an appropriate
defense;
Whereas it appears the three CARE International humanitarian
workers were convicted of providing ‘‘situation reports’’ 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 humani-
tarian assistance in a rapidly changing context and to inform
H. Con. Res. 144—2
CARE International management of the security situation in
which their staff were working;
Whereas the convictions of the three CARE International humani-
tarian 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 three 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 Sec-
retary General Kofi Annan, former South African President Nel-
son Mandela, Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, United Nations
Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, and the Rev-
erend Jesse Jackson: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concur-
ring), That the Congress—
(1) urges 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,
three humanitarian workers employed in the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia by CARE International; and
(2) calls upon the Government of the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia to send a positive signal to the international
humanitarian community and to give these humanitarian
workers their freedom without further delay.
Attest:
Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Attest:
Secretary of the Senate.