UN Human Rights Commissioner Calls For Halt Of Forced Returns To Kosovo
"The forced return to Kosovo of people who have found shelter in European states should be halted", said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights publishing a letter to the Chancellor of Germany, Dr. Angela Merkel.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Tuesday, December 22, 2009
He notes that Kosovo lacks infrastructures allowing refugees' sustainable reintegration.
The Commissioner is particularly worried by the fact that Roma expelled from European states had to return to the lead-contaminated camps of Cesmin Lug and Osterode in northern Mitrovica, where the exposure to lead has already caused serious illnesses to members of Roma families living there, including children. "These camps must be urgently closed, adequate housing provided to the families and complete lead-decontamination treatments ensured to all those affected."
The Commissioner further stresses that the UNHCR confirmed in November that those who fled Kosovo and are still at particular risk of persecution include Serbs and Albanians in minority situations as well as Roma, persons in ethnically mixed-marriages or of mixed ethnicity, persons perceived to have been associated with the Serbian authorities after 1990, victims of trafficking or of domestic violence and persons whose asylum claims were based on sexual orientation.
"Return is not purely a technical administrative act", added the Commissioner. "It means to receive and re-integrate returning people, including families, in dignity and security. I urge the German authorities to prevent any further forced returns to Kosovo, particularly of Roma people, as long as the situation there does not guarantee a safe and sustainable life for returnees."
