UNMIK/PR/1574
PRISTINA – Acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Kosovo (ASRSG) Steven Schook, on the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared, today called upon all concerned to join together in efforts to determine the fate of persons still missing from the conflict in Kosovo.
“As family members of persons missing from the conflict in Kosovo join voices with thousands of others across the world to mark the International Day of the Disappeared, resolving the issue of missing persons remains a top priority for us,” the ASRSG said, “UNMIK will continue to do everything in its power, in cooperation with the Kosovo government, to ensure that the ‘right to know’ of the families is respected and realised.”
“It is a shame that for more than seven years now this tragic past continues to haunt the future of the families and of Kosovo. The families should not have to wake up with a lingering hope every morning, only to go to sleep in despair at the end of the day,” Mr. Schook said, “They need to know the ‘truth’, they have a right to know what happened to their loved ones, and we all have a moral obligation to make that possible. I appeal to all and any one who may have information about the whereabouts of missing persons, or who knows anything about the circumstances that led to the disappearance of people in Kosovo, to come forward and help ease the families’ grief.”
While considerable progress has been made in reducing the number of missing in Kosovo by half, approximately 2,300 persons are still physically unaccounted for.
The ASRSG stated that UNMIK will continue to support the Kosovo Ministry of Justice in carrying out investigations of events of disappearance and more thorough searches for the unidentified. Competencies have recently been transferred to the Kosovo Ministry of Justice in regard to the search for missing persons.