The Congress,

1. Having taken note of the joint UNEP/UNCHS Balkans Task Force report on the consequences of the Kosovo conflict for the environment;

2. Having considered the report by the FOCUS Humanitarian Relief Operation, organised by the governments of Austria, Greece, the Russian Federation and Switzerland;

3. Having considered the position paper presented to the Working Group on Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development by the experts of Green Cross International, who took part in the assessment missions preparing the above reports;

4. Noting that there is a general ecological degradation in the region, partly due to years of environmental neglect with regard to some problems, but mainly resulting from the recent war, especially in the areas of Pancevo, Kragujevac, Novi Sad and Bor, where pollution is critical and poses either an immediate or long-term threat to human health and environment in the region;

5. Concerned primarily about

the serious leakage of toxic substances into the canal leading to the Danube at Pancevo, as well as the contamination of the ground by mercury in the same area,

the contamination of groundwater with petrochemicals from the damaged oil refinery, which threatens the drinking water wells and the public water supply systems in Novi Sad,

the severe air pollution from sulphur dioxide and other toxic emissions from the copper mine in Bor,

the high level of dioxins and other toxic substances around the Zastava complex and the power plant in Kragujevac;

6. Worried about the potential consequences of physical damage to the bridges on the Danube river, which seriously increases the risk of floods, not only in the FRY but also in countries outside the conflict zone;

7. Stressing that there is an immediate need for emergency clean-up programmes to prevent irreversible environmental degradation and to reduce short and long-term threats to the health of the population concerned;

8. Convinced that the actions necessary to avoid further environmental degradation should be part of the overall humanitarian assistance;

9. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe:

recognise the fact that environmental degradation in the region is a serious threat to human health, which may have a negative impact on the social and political movement towards democratisation;

invite all governments of member States to implement emergency actions aimed at averting the immediate environmental dangers in the region,

call on international donor organisations to support such actions under the umbrella of humanitarian aid.