Abbott: International, regional co-operation is needed for prosecuting war crimes

So said at the Fund's Virtual Conference on Humanitarian Law Kosovo (FDHK), on the occasion of presentation of the annual report on monitoring the judgments on war crimes and politically motivated criminal acts in Kosovo during 2020 “War Crimes Courts ♫ Slow progress”, where it stressed the need for resources and additional means for the prosecution and trial of these crimes.

In this case, Justice Minister Albulen Haxhiu said that for two decades political will to address war crimes has been lacking, while adding that one of the priorities of the new government is addressing these crimes.

Haxhiu said it is very important to strengthen the special prosecution's capacities, while citing the fact that Kosovo has only four special prosecutors.

She stressed that it is unacceptable how there is still no institutional record of all crimes that have occurred in Kosovo, as she announced that in May of this year the group for drafting the concept for the establishment of the Institute for Crimes committed during the recent war in Kosovo.

“ (Since war) Over all these years the political will for addressing war crimes has been lacking, it seems that will has reflected even in the institutions of justice, which have not done enough in this regard... Clearly, war crimes cases are more sensitive, not easy, so justice institutions need additional capabilities to address war crimes... Despite the past two decades, I think this is the last time Kosovo has dealt seriously with war crimes. There is no example like Kosovo that has neglected these crimes, so justice is needed for what happened during the war. Criminals should be brought to justice and not roam freely wherever they are”, she said.

The chief of the EU Office in Kosovo, Thomas Szunyog, said that the pursuit of war crimes should be a priority of Kosovo society, for which he added that the EU would provide its support in the process and that it welcomes any progress.

According to him, the Criminal Procedure Code has enormous significance, and as such must be adopted as soon as possible.

War crimes are among the worst and most serious crimes, and prosecution of the perpetrators of these criminal acts should be a priority for societies stemming from war and armed conflicts. Only in this way can we offer justice to the victims and their families. The EU supports this process and welcomes any progress... It is important that these processes be guided by those who have already committed these and have extensive experience in prosecuting war crimes. What's important is that we pay attention to amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure, which will allow court trials in absentia. It is important that we pay attention to the ongoing amendments and to the Code of Criminal Procedure. I think it is important to stress that these two should be adopted at speed”, he said, while adding that monitoring the judgments remains of fundamental importance to ensure its legitimacy.

United Britain's Ambassador Nick Abbott said that the pursuit and trial of war crimes need international and regional co-operation as he expressed the willingness of the United Kingdom to assist in the process.

He stressed that Kosovo still needs resources and means in order to do more to keep up with time.

This issue is very important and I will play a variable role. At the same time, according to the report, we need resources and resources... There is always much more to be done in order to catch up with time because we have not been able to do so until now. At the same time, I think we need international and regional co-operation to help in this direction. I think the UK has expressed its pledge and will continue to work in this direction”, the British ambassador said.

On the other hand, Anka Kurteshi Hajdari, author of the report “War Crimes Courts ] slow progress”, said that the pandemic facing the whole world now a year has also had an impact on the work of judicial institutions, resulting in the development of war crimes judgment.

As he announced some of the other monitoring findings, Hajdari said they have concluded that progress in the prosecution of war crimes is slow.

“in the course of 2020 in various hearings have been held in 11 subjects, against 5 Serbs and 3 Albanians. Regarding other charges involving war crimes, either a political or ethnic background, 23 Albanians, 8 Serbs and a Bosniak... We have estimated that progress in the prosecution of war crimes is still slow and is not in the quality in which Kosovo Judiciary is expected. The blame for slow progress cannot fall solely on the judiciary -- a large number of potential perpetrators of these criminal acts -- is not accessible to judicial bodies in Kosovo”, she said.

Chief Prosecutor Blerim Isufaj, who said that the transition from one mission to another has caused the subjects to be treated almost every time from the beginning, which, according to him, caused various obstacles.

The big number of cases, difficulties in collecting evidence, lack of witnesses, long time from committing crimes, legal barriers, barriers to international judicial co-operation, especially with Serbia, and similar, make us conclude that dealing with these cases has been the biggest challenge for PSRK. Likewise, legal barriers to investigating and judging war crimes in absentia have influenced the achievement of results that would have to be better. We hope that with the recent legal changes these difficulties will be averted, he said.

The Compensation for Perseverance and Trial of War Crimes Had First U n NMIK, to later pass the EULEX mission, and finally this competence has been delegated to the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo.

FDHK remains the only organisation that systematically monitors this profile's judgments.