Following the refusal of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to issue visas to investigators of the Office of the Prosecutor in order to conduct investigations in Kosovo, the President of the ICTY, Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald reported to the Security Council "the continuing refusal of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to cooperate with the International Tribunal".

In her letter of 6 November 1998 to the President of the Security Council, President McDonald notes that "this is the fourth time the President of the Tribunal has notified this body of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia’s non-compliance".

Submitting that "the intentional and continuous refusal by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to comply with its clear and incontrovertible legal obligations to the Tribunal is an affront to the Security Council and to all law-abiding nations", the ICTY President "seek(s) from the Security Council measures which are sufficiently compelling to bring the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia into the fold of law-abiding nations".

The full text of President McDonald’s letter is available upon request at the Public Information Unit.
It is also released on the ICTY Internet Home page.