Ramsey Clark — former US Attorney General sues NATO

Ramsey Clark (Ramsey Clark, 1927-2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as Attorney General of the United States from 1967 to 1969, during the presidency of Lyndon Johnson. Three decades later, this same man who had been at the top of the American justice system stood up and accused his own country of war crimes over the bombing of Yugoslavia.

From Attorney General to a fighter for justice

After leaving the office of Attorney General, Clark devoted himself to the struggle for human rights around the world. He founded the International Action Center, based in New York, an organisation dedicated to the fight against militarism and the interventions of great powers.

When NATO began the bombing of Yugoslavia in March 1999, Clark reacted immediately. He visited Yugoslavia during the bombing, saw the ruins of civilian buildings and spoke with the victims. What he saw strengthened him in his intention to initiate legal proceedings.

A criminal complaint before the Hague Tribunal

In May 1999, together with a team of international lawyers, Clark filed a criminal complaint with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. In the complaint, he accused the supreme commanders of NATO — US President Bill Clinton, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana and the commander of NATO forces in Europe, General Wesley Clark — of war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law.

The indictment contained detailed allegations of:

• The bombing of civilian buildings — hospitals, schools, bridges, factories, television
• The use of prohibited weapons — cluster bombs and munitions with depleted uranium
• The deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure — power plants, water supplies, telecommunications
• The bombing of refugee convoys and passenger trains
• The ecological catastrophe caused by the bombing of chemical plants

An ignored complaint

The International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague refused to initiate proceedings against the NATO leaders. Prosecutor Carla del Ponte stated that there was „not enough basis" for an investigation — a decision that was widely criticised as politically motivated. A tribunal financed predominantly by the same countries that led the bombing could hardly try their leaders.

Clark sharply condemned this decision, calling it a „travesty of justice" and „proof that the Hague Tribunal is not a court of justice, but a political instrument of the Western powers".

A voice that was not extinguished

Despite the failure before the tribunal, Clark's legal action had enormous symbolic significance. A former American Attorney General — a man who knew the American legal system from within — stood up and said that his country was violating international law. That could not be ignored, however hard the powerful tried.

Clark continued to speak about the bombing of Yugoslavia until the end of his life. In numerous interviews, lectures and books he repeated: „The bombing of Yugoslavia was illegal. The fact that no one was punished does not mean that it was legal — it means only that the powerful are above the law."

The legacy of a lawyer

Ramsey Clark died in 2021 at the age of 93. For the Serbian people, he remained a symbol of justice that exists even when it cannot win. A man who had been at the top of the American justice system rose up against his own country to defend a small nation in the Balkans — not because he was paid, not because he benefited, but because it was the right thing to do.

Clark's complaint in The Hague may never have resulted in a trial, but it left a written trace — a legal document that bears witness to NATO's crimes against the civilian population of Serbia. And that document remains, to bear witness. Lest it be forgotten.