Ombudsman to draft report concerning institutions' failure in dawning war crimes

People's lawyer, Naim Qeyaj, said he has decided to open an official investigation to see where local institutions have failed to whiteen war crimes and establish justice for victims.

On the other hand, Celaj said that in the coming weeks, the Commission for Research or Investigation will be formed for measures that have been undertaken by institutions in relation to access to justice for victims and how many have managed to bring to justice those who committed crimes.

The ombudsman says failing to clarify these cases is violation of human rights.

I have come up with a public statement saying that state institutions have failed to offer justice to war crimes victims and on the other hand have also failed to bring those who committed these crimes and massacres to justice. To get to such a conclusion and broadcast to the public where certain circumstances that occurred recently, with which I was involved in the quality of the ombudsman. Initially at a meeting we had on the Commission for Human Rights in the Kosovo Parliament were heard family representatives who suffered from war crimes in the village of Krusha the Great and Krusha e Vogel at this meeting the issues that were raised by family members were really sensitive because they demanded a right in accordance with justice for their killed and missing families”, he said.

The “then arose as their request for the state to guarantee protection, guarantee support in judicial processes and to do more in whitening these cases. Then I had a visit to the city library in Pristina “Hyvzi Sylejmani”, where I arrived to see an exhibition where the items and clothes of children killed in the war, along with the list of children killed and missing. It was a knock on my conscience, and I was obviously obliged to go out with such an attitude and a conclusion that the state has failed to fulfill its obligations. This is related to what happened within the last 20 years, always being called in absence of competencies, then in other ways, but there was a full political will that could go down to the end. In this direction I think that by non-action human rights have been violated”, he told Online Economy.

The ombudsman says this research will focus on how much institutional mechanisms have been created to clear the truth.

I've decided to step up a formal investigation, where part of this investigation will be involved in all aspects that are related to human rights, no doubt the time period in which this investigation will be made will be before and after the war, to see how much we have managed to bring justice to their victims and their families. As soon as we've come as a state of security mechanisms to come to the truth, I know that there is an additional commitment, especially from the Prosecutor's Council, but the treatment and approach which is institutionally given to the victims is not the right one, these are linked to another fact at the meeting that I mentioned at the Parliamentary Commission for Human Rights in the Kosovo Assembly, I came to understand that as a party damaged in procedure there was only one person while they were also hurting families and many others. It means justice institutions have no longer achieved involvement in the process and given proper access to”, he said.

According to the provision, this research will last for an indefinite time, as to achieve clear recommendations for domestic institutions, much work and commitment is needed.

“I think it takes a lot of work and commitment, the period that this report can be performed may not be long I do not expect to be a short period, since it has only passed a long period since these crimes were committed. I certainly expect a great deal of civil society because it will not do it on its own but in co-ordination with civil society and other institutions that are willing to help me in this process. First we're going to put together all the acts that will be part of this working group to come up to this report and methodology, I believe that civil society and various organizations have done a good job in collecting information and data, but all their initiatives have remained at the level of reports they could address, but they haven't found implementation. Then the data that institutions have I believe is a sufficient basis for understanding where the obstacles were and why it hasn't come to the proper treatment of these cases. On the other hand, I think that in addition to having managed to manage all relevant data in relation to what happened and what the consequences of these criminal acts that took place during the war would also address clear recommendations for the country's institutions as from now on, how to approach this subject that once and for all, once and for all, it said.

Many initiatives have been launched by the country's institutions to help establish justice for war crimes, but have ended without concrete results. Therefore, Celay says it is important to produce a report to show the real situation in this process.

In this regard, I need to explain that this is not about investigating what happened to concrete cases because in this part there is a warrant of prosecution and investigative organs, all I'm going to identify in my report is the measures that the state and justice bodies have taken in relation to access to justice for victims and how much it has accomplished to justice those who have committed these crimes. The aspect of time in this direction is important, yet the great volume of subjects and great information that needs to be collected to come up with the report that was then considered a supporting basis for dealing with concrete reports for institutions requires longer time. I consider that the important thing is what the report will produce and not how long it will last... All initiatives that have been launched so far by institutions have remained only in the stage of establishing institutions, but without going out with a final result or going out with the product required. It's important I get a report and with precise recommendations”, he said.

On the other hand, the ombudsman believes that for this major contribution initiative, inter-institutional co-operation, which has so far been constructive and functional.

Also, Celay points out that she is working on digitalizing data, which will facilitate her research work.

And actually, in relation to the ombudsman institution, there has been a tradition of interilateral cooperation, and I don't believe that we have any problem, the important thing is that the co-operation that access to information and answers to the requirements that we have been through the legal terms, which so far has worked well is a satisfactory state. On the other hand, I believe that the greatest help the country institutions can provide is, the commission that will be formed these weeks for this research, or this investigation would be whether all institutions within their mandate offer us full notes, because not every time these notes are preserved and complete, it presents a challenge in our assessment of the facts that we have really asked, but I believe that a better tradition and culture of keeping data, which is seen in institutions as failing, but I believe that we are in the phase of consolidulating such a whole body of the country, he says.

“Digitalization I'm trying to do even in the institution that this case leads in other than systeming and gathering data on a single basis date I'm trying to create a digitalisation system of all spheres”, Qey concluded.