UN Committee Concerned Over Serbia’s Refusal to Extradite Suspects to Kosovo
The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) today published its findings on Serbia, Belgium, the Central African Republic, Gambia and Malta, after reviewing the five states parties during its last session.
The findings contain the Committee’s main concerns and recommendations on the implementation of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, as well as positive aspects.
As for Serbia, the Committee recommended that our neighboring country “criminalize enforced disappearance as an autonomous offense, revise penalties and statutes of limitations to reflect its gravity, and expand definitions of victims to ensure full inclusion and reparation for all affected individuals,” it reports. Klankosova.tv.
The committee was also concerned “about Serbia’s refusal to extradite citizens wanted by Kosovo judicial authorities and the classification of key military and police archives, hindering investigations.”
“The Committee recommended that the State party prioritize bilateral and multilateral efforts to reactivate cooperation frameworks, to ensure public access to archives, to resume dialogue with Kosovo to implement the Declaration on Missing Persons signed between Kosovo and Serbia in 2023,” the report said, among other things.
The Committee, according to this report, says it has reiterated the concerns raised in 2023 by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition regarding the “stagnation in the will to prosecute Serbian officials for crimes against Kosovo Albanians, with no such indictments in the last five years,” it reports. Kosovapress.
The Committee noted the signing in 2015 of the Agreement on Promoting Regional Cooperation in the Prosecution of War Crimes and the Search for Missing Persons and on the Establishment of Coordination Mechanisms between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia, as well as the information provided by the state party of the region regarding the agreement.
“However, the Committee is concerned that, according to information received, the regional cooperation and coordination required for the effective development of search and identification processes have stalled in recent years, particularly with Croatia and Kosovo,” the committee said.
The Committee recommends that Serbia “take all necessary measures to enhance cooperation with judicial authorities in Kosovo and to facilitate the prosecution of all persons accused of committing enforced disappearances, including agreements on the transfer of cases.”
The Committee said that as of today, it has registered a total of 2011 urgent action cases, which are requests for States parties to immediately search for, locate and protect a missing person.