The Declaration on the Disappeared is published

The European Union published the Declaration on the Disappeared, for which the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and the Serbian President Aleksandër have agreed Vuçiq. It declares the commitment of the parties to clarify the missing persons from the period January 1, 1998 to December 31, 2000.

In this statement, it is mentioned that the forcibly disappeared persons are also included, a term for which the Kosovar side has insisted to be definitely included in the statement.

With this declaration, both countries agree to ensure full access to reliable and accurate information that helps to locate and identify missing persons, this includes all materials, notes, orders, documents, videos, audio-recordings, and any other documents, including those that have a classified status, under the possession of the institutions of both parties, that are important for this context.

On the part of Serbia, especially, there has been a lack of cooperation, according to the Kosovo authorities, by not providing data about the mass cemeteries that exist in Serbia.

There are currently 1643 people in Kosovo whose fate is still unknown.

FULL STATEMENT:

Emphasizing the importance of resolving the fate of the Disappeared Persons, to end the suffering of their loved ones and to promote reconciliation and lasting peace,

Given that this Statement follows the understanding of the International Committee of the Red Cross (IRCR) on Missing Persons, which includes forcibly disappeared persons,

Remembering that all categories of Missing Persons will be treated with the same priority,

Emphasizing the importance of resolving the fate of the Disappeared Persons, to end the suffering of their loved ones and to promote reconciliation and lasting peace,

Given that this Statement follows the understanding of the International Committee of the Red Cross (IRCR) on Missing Persons, which includes forcibly disappeared persons,

Remembering that all categories of Missing Persons will be treated with the same priority,

Acknowledging the important work done through the Working Group on Missing Persons, chaired by the International Red Cross,

Encouraging cooperation with other relevant actors in the field of Missing Persons, in particular with the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP),

Recognizing the issue of Missing Persons as a humanitarian issue,

Noting the urgent need for additional efforts to alleviate the human suffering of families,

We commit together:

To ensure the full implementation of relevant commitments in the field of Missing Persons,

To collaborate closely on the identification of burial sites and subsequent excavations,

To provide full access to reliable and accurate information that helps locate and identify Missing Persons within the time period January 1, 1998 - December 31, 2000. This includes all materials, notes, orders, documents, videos, audio recordings , and any other documents, including those that have a classified status, in the possession of the institutions of both parties, that are important for this context,

To make available all local and international documents of importance for determining the fate of the Disappeared Persons, to use satellite data, LIDAR and other technologies in the discovery of mass graves,

To enable and encourage the active engagement of the families of the Missing Persons in the process of identifying their fate,

In order to adequately ensure the rights and address the needs of the families of the Disappeared Persons,

To establish and work together through a Joint Commission chaired by the European Union and supervised by the International Red Cross (ICRC) with the aim of supporting efforts to resolve the fate of Missing Persons,

To monitor and support the work on progress made by the Working Group on Missing Persons through the Joint Commission,

In this context, the parties will review and update the Terms of Reference and the general Framework of the Working Group,

Operational details will be agreed upon at the next meeting of the EU-mediated dialogue on the normalization of relations.