Djurdjevic Stamenkovski: Law on Missing Persons particularly important for families of abducted Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija

Serbian Minister for Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs Milica Djurdjevic Stamenkovski told Kosovo Online that the Law on Missing Persons, which is expected to be adopted by the end of the year, will for the first time provide systematic protection to the families of missing persons, as the state has an obligation to provide them not only with legal and material protection, but also with truth and dignity.

In a statement to our portal, Djurdjevic Stamenkovski emphasized that the Ministry for Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs is working seriously and dedicatedly on drafting the Law on Missing Persons.

“This is an issue that is not merely a legal or administrative matter, but a matter of the state’s conscience, justice, and duty toward thousands of families who have lived for decades between hope and pain. We have already held discussions with associations of families of missing persons, representatives of competent institutions, experts, and people who carry this tragedy with them every day. The next phase involves harmonizing the final draft of the law, conducting a public debate, and then submitting it to parliament, with the clear goal that Serbia, during 2026, for the first time adopts a law that will systematically protect the families of missing persons,” the minister stressed.

As she pointed out, there is clear political will and full support from the state leadership for this law to be adopted, because the families of missing persons must no longer be left to fend for themselves.

“The state has an obligation to provide them not only with legal and material protection, but also with what they have been waiting for the longest: truth and dignity,” she said, stressing that this law will, for the first time, systematically regulate the status of families of missing persons and enable the state to institutionally recognize their decades-long suffering, uncertainty, and struggle for the truth.

“The law is of particular importance for the families of missing and abducted Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, where abductions continued even after the war. Hundreds of them are still waiting for justice. These are not just numbers. These are families. These are mothers who still ask the same question today – where are our children? At the ‘Memory’ exhibition, the mother of a missing boy uttered a verse that encapsulated all the pain of these families: ‘Murderer, I would forgive you everything, if only I knew where you buried my son.’ That is not merely a poem. It is the cry of all families whose loved ones were never returned,” Djurdjevic Stamenkovski stressed.

She also revealed details of the law and what the families of missing persons can expect.

“The law will provide families with the right to fair satisfaction, healthcare, psychosocial support, legal certainty, and institutional assistance at the time of identification and dignified burial of mortal remains. It will also provide for the payment of fair financial compensation on an annual basis over a period of three years. The rights of families of missing persons in Kosovo and Metohija will be fully equalized with the rights of families of missing persons from the war conflicts in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina,” the minister pointed out.

Regarding the main provisions of the law, Djurdjevic Stamenkovski stated that it will clearly define the status of missing persons and their family members, the manner in which their rights are exercised, as well as the obligations of state authorities in the process of searching for, identifying, and registering missing persons.

“A unified register of missing persons will be established and maintained by the Ministry for Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, in cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Serbia’s Commission for Missing Persons. Cooperation with international organizations and institutions in the region will be further enhanced in order to accelerate the process of clarifying the fate of the missing. However, the essence of this law is not only in its articles and procedures. Its essence lies in people,” the minister stated.

She also recalled the fate of the Slavuj family, who were expelled during Operation Storm, only to later face tragedy in Kosovo as well.

“The essence lies in the Slavuj family, who were expelled from their hometown of Dvor na Uni during Operation Storm. The younger son, Đuro Slavuj, fleeing for his life, arrived in Pristina, where he continued working as a journalist. Then, on 21 August 1998, together with his colleague Ranko Perenic, he was abducted on the Orahovac–Velika Hoca road. Since that day, their families, colleagues, and the public have not received a single official piece of information about their fate. The abductors were never found. Nor were those who repeatedly desecrated the memorial erected in their honor. While investigating the case of Đuro Slavuj, the Journalists’ Association of Serbia discovered that DNA samples of his family members in the database of the International Commission on Missing Persons had been recorded under an incorrect surname. And that perhaps best illustrates what these families have been going through,” she stressed.

For all these reasons, she concluded that this law is not merely a law.

“This is an attempt by the state, after decades of silence, to tell the families of the missing: you have not been forgotten. And Serbia will not give up on truth, justice, and its people,” Djurdjevic Stamenkovski concluded.