Amnesty calls on Eulex to investigate Kosovo disappearances and abductions
Ten years after the end of the war in Kosovo, Amnesty International calls on the European Union to ensure that its rule of law mission there (EULEX) has all resources necessary to investigate and prosecute those responsible for enforced disappearances and abductions.
(AI) Tuesday, June 09, 2009
In its new report "Burying the past: 10 years of Impunity for Enforced Disappearances and Abductions in Kosovo" Amnesty International documents the past decade of failure to address one of the most serious violations of human rights arising from the armed conflict and its aftermath.
"A decade after the end of the war, around 1,900 families across Kosovo and Serbia still have no details about the fate or whereabouts of their missing relatives" said Sian Jones, Amnesty International's Balkans expert.
More than 3,000 ethnic Albanians were the victims of enforced disappearances by Serbian police, paramilitary and military forces during the war in Kosovo. An estimated 800 Serbs, Roma and members of other minority groups were also abducted, reportedly by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army, the majority after the international armed conflict ended in June 1999, under the eyes of the NATO-led peacekeeping Kosovo force.
A new European Union-led rule of law mission (EULEX) took over some responsibilities from the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) on 9 December 2008. In charge of Kosovo's judiciary, police and customs services, EULEX is the European Union's largest and most complex mission ever deployed. Its mandate includes the investigation and prosecution of outstanding war crimes and other serious crimes.
"The EULEX mission says it will prioritize outstanding war crimes and inter-ethnic crimes but it faces a tough challenge with limited resources. The EU and its member states need to ensure that it receives all the support, financial and otherwise, it needs as time is running out" said Nicolas Beger, Director of Amnesty International's EU Office.
As time passes it is increasingly difficult to piece together the evidence needed for a successful prosecution. Much physical evidence such as grave sites, bodies and bullets remains to be gathered by investigators. Memories of witnesses become distorted over time, witnesses impossible to locate.
In light of the European Commission's annual progress reports on Serbia and Kosovo, it should ensure that progress towards ending impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity is carefully monitored as an essential obligation under the Copenhagen Criteria for accession to the European Union.
