On March 31, 2022, the Humanitarian Law Center Kosovo (HLCK) published 2021 report: "Justice for War Victims ‐ What is the Holdup?", which was compiled as a result of monitoring of trials related to armed conflict in Kosovo, as well as ethnically and politically motivated crimes.
On the occasion of this publication, HLCK organized a panel discussion on "Current obstacles in prosecuting war crimes in Kosovo."
The introductory remarks at the conference were presented by the British Ambassador in Kosovo, Mr. Nicholas Abbott, Deputy Head of Mission of the Swiss Embassy in Kosovo, Ms. Pauline Menthonnex Gacaferri and the Head of the Rule of Law Section at the EU Office in Kosovo, Mr. Håkan Ejdervik.
The British Ambassador in Kosovo, Nicholas Abbott, among other things, stressed that time is the enemy in these court proceedings because it affects the efficiency of witness examination. However, the United Kingdom will continue to support Kosovo, not only because of what happened 23 years ago but also because this is an important issue today.
The Deputy Head of Mission of the Swiss Embassy in Kosovo, Ms. Pauline Menthonnex Gacaferri, emphasized that the victims of war crimes and their families deserve justice and only through justice can a lasting peace be built. Among other things, Ms. Menthonnex Gacaferri believes that Kosovo institutions will take into account recommendations from the HLCK report.
The Head of the Rule of Law Section at the EU Office in Kosovo, Mr. Håkan Ejdervik, said that war crimes are among the most serious crimes. As in previous years, this year the HLCK report contains recommendations for local institutions and the judiciary. Among other things, he emphasized that measures should be taken for the four war crimes cases which are pending before the Basic Court in Mitrovica since the transfer of competencies from EULEX to the local judiciary.
After the introductory remarks, the report was presented by Mr. Amer Alija, who is also the author of this report. Mr. Alija, among other things, mentioned findings from trials on war crimes cases and criminal offenses with political and ethnic background in Kosovo, and singled out some of the recommendations for the competent institutions, with the aim of overcoming the current obstacles in processing of war crimes cases in Kosovo.
In the discussion "Current obstacles in prosecuting war crimes in Kosovo" the following panelists presented their views: Drita Hajdari - Head of the War Crimes Department within the SPRK; Mentor Bajraktari - Judge in the Special Department at the Basic Court in Prishtina; Avni Vrajolli - Head of the War Crimes Investigation Department at the Police of the Republic of Kosovo and Artan Qerkini - attorney at law.
Panelists mentioned the challenges they are facing during the processing of war crimes cases, and among other things, that the lack of international legal cooperation with the Republic of Serbia continues to be the main obstacle in the prosecution of war crimes.
For more about the presentation of the report and the panel discussion, please follow the full conference on "Current obstacles in prosecuting war crimes cases in Kosovo."