Amnesty International urges Eulex to take urgent measure to resolve massive backlog
Amnesty International has urged the Eulex mission to take urgent measures to resolve the country's massive backlog of war crimes and other human rights violations
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Monday, December 08, 2008
"Ten years after the end of the war in Kosovo, the EU-led mission should ensure that the relatives of more than 3,000 disappeared and abducted people are told the truth about the fate of their loved ones, and the perpetrators of those crimes brought to justice," said Nicola Duckworth, Director of Amnesty International's Europe and Central Asia Programme.
"With more than 1,500 unresolved war crimes investigations and hundreds or even thousands of war crimes which remain to be investigated, the mission should dedicate its resources to bring justice to the victims on all sides."
Amnesty International has also urged the EU to ensure the accountability of all members of their mission.
"The EU mission as a whole must be subject to much greater scrutiny and accountability than its predecessor UNMIK, which has itself left a legacy of human rights violations, many of which will never be resolved," Nicola Duckworth said.
"In the absence of effective human rights institutions to which the international community may be held accountable, it is of paramount importance that EULEX starts its mission with making public mechanisms ensuring the accountability of its members."
Amnesty International has expressed concern that the US made an agreement that its own citizens participating in the EULEX mission would not be subject to EULEX's jurisdiction.
The organization also notes that there is currently no independent mechanism to oversee KFOR, which will remain in place. The accountability of KFOR depends on the measures taken by troop-contributing countries to KFOR to ensure that allegations of human rights violations are fully investigated.
Over the past 10 years Amnesty International has documented cases of where UNMIK or its personnel have been responsible for violations including unlawful killings, unlawful detention, torture and ill-treatment, involvement in trafficking for the purposes of forced prostitution and the continued violation of the right to health of Romani, Ashkali and Egyptian communities living in lead- contaminated refugee camps.
