Conference on the respect for the rights of the missing: Only united, families of the missing Serbs and Albanians can reach the truth

Resolving the fate of the missing is a prerequisite for the future of a multi-ethnic society, and only united Albanian and Serbian families, whose loved ones disappeared during the conflicts in Kosovo, can fight for basic human rights and discover the truth. This was emphasized today at the conference "Are the rights of families of missing persons respected", held in Belgrade to mark International Human Rights Day.

The conference was organized by the Association of Families of Kosovo Victims and the Multicultural Resource Center for Missing Persons in Pristina to encourage officials in Pristina and Belgrade, as well as all international and domestic institutions and organizations dealing with missing persons, to seriously and responsibly commit to finding all 1,628 people whose names have been on the integrated list of missing persons for 24 years.

Representatives of Albanian and Serbian families whose loved ones disappeared in Kosovo emphasize that International Human Rights Day is another opportunity to send a strong joint message to the public, "Do not ignore the problem of all missing persons in Kosovo" and point out that the rights of families of the missing have been grossly violated for a quarter of a century.

The conference, which is of great importance to the families of the missing, is supported by the ICRC, the Embassies of Britain and Sweden in Pristina, and UNDP.

Vesna Boskovic, a representative of the Commission for Missing Persons of the Government of Serbia, expressed deep sympathy for the families and regretted that today there was no opportunity to boast about significant results in the process of resolving missing persons cases.

"We have no results, but we are together, and only in this way will this problem be solved sooner or later. Families are still waiting for the remains to bury them. Their loved ones were stopped on the road, abducted, tortured, and denied the right to a trial. Their right to life has been taken away", Boskovic emphasized.

She points out that all the requests and efforts of the families of the missing so far have not yielded results. The international community, which, as she emphasizes, could have solved the conflict, is not providing enough support to resolve the cases.

She stated that excluding politics was the only way to initiate the process of clarifying the cases of missing persons.

"Urgently unblock the process and remove politics from this humanitarian issue", Boskovic urged.

However, she added that she was optimistic today, reminding that delegations from both sides were returning from Brussels today. She announced that a working session of the Working Group for Missing Persons would be held on January 31, where discussions would focus on locations, archives, and identifications, and a deadline for implementing activities would be set.

She added that about a month after that session, a working group meeting with representatives of the delegations should be held.

"We never stopped. We have 20 locations that we will ask Pristina to investigate. We have newly initiated cases. However, maybe we can do more. I apologize for not having anything new to say, and sometimes I am ashamed in front of the families, but we will not give up. Without joint work, we cannot expect new exhumations and identifications", she concluded.

Natasa Scepanovic, the President of the Association of Kosovo Victims, which gathers families of killed, kidnapped, and missing Serbs from Kosovo, pointed out that the rights of families of the missing had been violated for the third decade, with institutions and the international community leading the way.

"We have the right to a decent burial for our loved ones, for those responsible for the crimes to be held accountable, and to know the truth. We have been deprived of the right to know the truth, so our words are sad. For a quarter of a century, we have been reminding, for the third decade, that the most basic rights of the missing before, during, and after the armed conflicts in Kosovo and Metohija, as well as the rights of their family members, have been violated. At joint press conferences on Human Rights Day, traditionally already, we demand, seek, and plead... for help and support from relevant authorities, institutions, and organizations to tell us where our closest ones are - all those who disappeared without a trace in the madness of the nineties, regardless of their national and religious affiliation", she stated.

She pointed out that there was no political will in Pristina or Belgrade to work on solving the cases of the missing.

Bajram Qerkinaj  from the Resource Center for Missing Persons in Pristina said that today few could understand the pain of the families of the missing and offer them words of comfort.

"The associations from Serbia are working, and they are doing very well, but the job is difficult. Politics bothers us. Thanks to everyone who is helping us, but politics has complicated the situation of the missing persons. During our war, 1,607 unidentified bodies. Who will give us an answer? We have been waiting in agony for 25 years and still don't know anything. We don't know what happened to the elderly, or to the babies who were taken from their mothers. On December 10, politicians, as usual, remained silent. How long do we have to wait for you to agree? Who is to blame for this?" Qerkinaj observes.

As he emphasizes, foreign embassies claim that they cannot directly provide satellite images because permission from the International Red Cross is required.

"I ask the association from Pristina to send a request to provide satellite images containing photos related to missing persons. From Belgrade, we ask for a memorial center where we can lay candles and flowers. We sent a letter to the Assembly for that, and we never received a response. Even dogs have the right to know something; our children are people, and politicians must know that. Our human rights are violated both in Kosovo and in Serbia. No one can tell us that this issue cannot be resolved for 25 years. They can no longer lie to families about the Law on Missing Persons; we need the support of the state", Qerkinaj stated.

Families are seeking, he emphasizes, the support of local institutions because, as he adds, they are tired of international assistance without results.

According to him, the priority is the five-year strategy and the law for missing persons.

"Let's unite; I am willing to go to Parliament and the Government Commission, and the strategy must include all people looking for their loved ones. Fifty percent of Kosovo has gone, and every day more are leaving. Don't say we've done enough. Let politicians know that we will not stop, and we will raise our voice using different methods", Qerkinaj warned.

Marinko Djuric, a member of the Association of Kosovo War Victims, praised the courage of Bajram Qerkinaj, who had been searching for his son since 1999, as well as the perseverance of all other families.

"The state's obligation is to help families of the missing, regardless of ethnicity, find out the truth about their fate", he concluded.

Xhila Haziri, who still doesn't know where her husband is, emphasized that she led the "Voice of Mothers" Association from Kosovska Mitrovica.

"My husband was a civilian victim, and I lead the association in Mitrovica. It must, hopefully, bring something good to our work. It's not easy to gather; our rights are violated, we have no pensions, benefits, the right to education, justice... However, there is an appeal to continue cooperation. We all search for our mothers, husbands, and children. God forbid that we neglect this work, hesitate, and stop", she emphasized.

Journalist and member of the Association of Families of Kosovo Victims, Gordana Djikanovic, stated that a similar conference had taken place a week ago in Pristina. She emphasized that the main goal of these gatherings was to make it clear to the public and authorities in both Belgrade and Pristina that the rights of the families of the missing had been grossly violated for years.

"Perhaps we could have done more and better, but with the resources we have, I think we have consistently worked to expedite the process of finding the missing and to legislate the rights of their families", she concluded.