Governments contest human rights accountability of troops in Kosovo: European Court to decide on actions of Nato forces: Warning over future of multinational operations.

This article of the Guardian publishes that during the week of the 13th November 2006 the Grand Chamber of 17 judges of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg will decide whether the European Convention on Human Rights applies to the military operations of European troops abroad.

The UK and five other European countries have intervened in the case brought against France for falling to safeguard the live of two Kosovan boys (one boy was killed and his brother seriously injured) by ensuring that cluster bombs dropped by Nato forces were clear up.

The seven governments argue that no international operations of this kind could ever be mounted in the future if the participating states were told that they would be held accountable before the ECtHR for any violation of human rights they committed during their military operations. The case is expected to be heard today (15th November 2006), together with a second case brought against France and Norway by an Albanian Kosovan held in detention by the Kfor commanders without trial.

For further detail information, see the article