“Membership in the Council of Europe opens the way for genocide indictment against Serbia”

Minister Haxhiu stresses Serbia continues not to hand over perpetrators during the war against innocent Albanians.

<x) In this regard, let me just briefly mention some of the actions we've taken and in this case as you know in the past year we've first established an institution that will deal with the research and documentation that took place during the war period in Kosovo. On the other hand, we have addressed the question of judgment in the absence of war criminals in view of the fact that Serbia does not hand over war criminals and on the other hand we have addressed the strategy for transitional justice, which is currently in financial assessment by the Ministry of Finance and will be prosecuted for voting at the Government meeting, so addressing the needs of the victims,” says Haxhiu.

She says they have the genocide indictment prioritized, where they have had several meetings in relation to this case with profiled experts associated with genocide.

“E is in the governing programme and priority, even the genocide indictment and we have had several meetings in relation to this case with experts who are profiled in the crime that connects with genocide. However, because of the sensitivity of the matter, I cannot give more information. While, of course, after membership in the Council of Europe we have many roads and, of course, on the basis of that, we will also assess the actions behind Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe to use as a mechanism in terms of establishing justice”, says the justice minister.

Recently, it has been said that Kosovo will be allowed to sue for those found after membership in the Council of Europe.

Humanitarian Law Fund Director Bekim Blakaj says the Kosovo side should insist on implementing the declaration for the disappearances in Brussels.

Kosovo's “Pala had to insist on implementing the joint declaration of Prime Minister Kurti and Serbia's president, Vuciq, that is, the dawning of the fate of missing persons. It had to be pressured to open archives and provide information on the fate of missing persons. The indictment if possible, I don't know under what circumstances it will be possible, but I'm afraid it may be against productive to create some kind of resistance from the other side, from the Serbian side to implement the agreements that have been reached on missing persons. And eventually it does not provide any information on the possible locations of the cemetery or places where the missing persons' bodies” are located, Blakaj declares for Kosovas.

Political Science Professor Dritero Arifi says Kosovo is better off drafting a resolution to condemn genocide.

Kosovo can file a lawsuit, it can be individual, but first of all it is good to make a resolution, it can become much faster. If there is a harmony and co-operation between the Council of Europe and Kosovo member states for a resolution initially to condemn the massacres and the Serbian genocide in Kosovo, this can be achieved very soon, because this is a political decision but is not binding. Then Kosovo must see the legal aspect of whether it can sue Serbia, or individually any citizen who has suffered human damage, material, could sue. But this process must first be completed in local courts”, he emphasises.

Lawyer Ardian Bajraktari also considers it difficult to file an indictment for the missing.

This will be difficult to do, because we are not parties to the ratified Convention, but in the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as a considerable number of international instruments and we have constituent parts of our legislation, respectively, part of the constitution seen in its Article 22... The engagement of institutions of our Republic, with particular emphasis on co-ordination and interaction, even with relevants, our friends, with particular emphasis on the EU, should not be stopped until the dawn of fate and recent disappearances. Because it's an open wound, it's a wound that dates back to 25 years that the war has ended”, it ends.

According to him, even the genocide indictment is impossible because Kosovo is not a member of the United Nations.

Even after 25 years after the war, over 1600 people are found in Kosovo. /Kosovopress