UNMIK: More than 1,500 people still listed as missing following the conflict in Kosovo

UNMIK said, on the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, that more than 1,500 people were still listed as missing 27 years after the conflict in Kosovo, stressing that victims and their families must remain at the center of efforts to clarify their fate.

UNMIK stated that efforts to determine the fate of people who remained missing in connection with the conflict in Kosovo must continue to be inclusive, human rights-based and, above all, centered on the victims and their families.

On the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of UNMIK Peter Due said that, despite significant progress, many people continued to live with the pain of uncertainty and not knowing the fate of their loved ones.

“The issue of missing persons must never be politicized. Meaningful progress depends on cooperation, trust and a shared commitment to providing families with the answers they deserve,” Due said in a statement.

More than 1,500 people remain listed as missing since the end of the conflict in Kosovo, UNMIK recalled.

“The recent discovery of human remains in Zubin Potok, believed to belong to at least 23 individuals, is a powerful reminder that, even after decades of waiting, answers can still be found,” UNMIK stated.

Due said that the Mission stood with the families of victims of enforced disappearances.

“We stand with all families who have waited so long to learn the truth about the fate of their loved ones, and we call for their rights and needs to remain at the center of every effort. UNMIK will continue to provide psychosocial and other targeted forms of assistance to these families,” Due said, referring to this year’s theme for the International Day: “Victims First. Action Now.”

He called for the full implementation of the EU Declaration on Missing Persons, continued engagement through the Working Group on Missing Persons led by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as well as joint efforts by Belgrade and Pristina to locate and identify the missing.

This year’s observance of the International Day also marks the 20th anniversary of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 20, 2006, UNMIK noted.

“UNMIK will continue to support the families of missing persons in exercising their right to know the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones, in accordance with international human rights standards,” the UNMIK statement added.