{"id":33698,"date":"2017-06-28T14:13:13","date_gmt":"2017-06-28T12:13:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/33698-families-of-1658-kosovo-disappeared-still-searching-for-their-loved-ones.html"},"modified":"2017-06-28T14:13:13","modified_gmt":"2017-06-28T12:13:13","slug":"families-of-1658-kosovo-disappeared-still-searching-for-their-loved-ones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/33698-families-of-1658-kosovo-disappeared-still-searching-for-their-loved-ones.html","title":{"rendered":"Families of 1,658 Kosovo disappeared still searching for their loved ones"},"content":{"rendered":"

A two-day conference this week in Geneva aims to relaunch the process of identifying 1,658 people who disappeared during the war in Kosovo (1998-1999). On the eve of the conference, families of Serb and Kosovar victims together urged local and international authorities to rise above obstacles and lack of political will.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe the mothers, fathers, spouses, brothers, sisters, daughters, sons and other relatives of the disappeared (\u2026) will not rest until the fate of the last missing person has been clarified,\u201d says the joint appeal signed on June 21 by Serb and Albanian families of people who disappeared in the Kosovo war (1998-1999). \u201cFor 18 years, each day has been agony for every one of us.\u201d They are calling once again for the remains of their loved ones, most of whom were executed, to be returned to them, and that the truth about these crimes be made known so that they can finally grieve. The joint appeal is addressed to Belgrade, Pristina and the international community as the Geneva conference approaches.<\/p>\n

The conference is being held Thursday and Friday under the auspices of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK<\/a>), and brings together not only victims\u2019 families but also delegations from the governments of Serbia and Kosovo, specialist international organizations like the ICRC, and UN experts on forced disappearances. Its results will show whether the urgent appeal of the families is heard by the concerned parties and can allow the search to move forward for the missing, and for judicial action.<\/p>\n

Up to now this has been more or less at a standstill. Out of the 6,044 people recorded in 2002 as disappeared, many were traced in the two years that followed. But then the pace slowed down constantly, with only 4 cases resolved in 2015,14 in 2016 and 6 this year, according to the ICRC.<\/p>\n