On the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and Head of UNMIK, Caroline Ziadeh, reaffirms that the UN’s deepest thoughts are with the families of persons still missing. She underlines that their right to the truth and right to know is a fundamental human right, the exercise of which should not be politicized.

Reiterating UNMIK’s commitment to supporting efforts to enlighten the fate of all persons still missing in Kosovo, SRSG Ziadeh urged that cooperation be resumed within the Belgrade-Pristina Working Group on Persons Unaccounted for in connection with the Events in Kosovo, which is chaired by the International Committee of the Red Cross and remains a central mechanism that has allowed for the resolution of a significant number of cases since its establishment in 2004.  

“UNMIK continues to stand for the rights of families regarding the fate of their loved ones. Cooperation between Pristina and Belgrade is crucial to make progress on matters regarding missing persons, and to foster reconciliation and trust building between all communities in Kosovo,” she said.

SRSG Ziadeh also takes this opportunity to encourage Pristina and Belgrade to build on the momentum of the EU-facilitated dialogue to move forward on the issue of missing persons.

Background:

As of July 2022, there are 1,621 persons (1,358 men and 263 women) still unaccounted for in connection with the 1998 – 1999 events in Kosovo. UNMIK continues supporting the process of enlightening the fate of missing persons in Kosovo, including by closely interacting with the International Committee of the Red Cross, and supporting the Working Group with the provision of technical support to the Belgrade and Pristina delegations to the Working Group to enhance capacities of their analytical team to search for the missing. UNMIK continues to build the capacities of the Missing Persons Resource Center (MPRC), which it helped established in 2017, and supporting the families of the missing in cooperation with the MPRC.