Lawyer Jovanka Savić tries to invoke the responsibility of the British part of KFOR, for not providing security to citizens in the period when NATO entered Kosovo. She also questions the responsibility of UNMIK and EULEX for inertia in investigating crimes against civilians, RTS reports.
NATO troops entered Kosovo in June 1999. The international community legally assumed responsibility for the security of citizens in Kosovo. However, it turned out that KFOR, UNMIK and EULEX did not protect them from crime, nor did they investigate them.
-The UNMIK Human Rights Advisory Panel lists 235 such cases, ninety-eight percent are Serbs, and UNMIK has investigated only one case in detail, says Savić
It took five years for Jovanka Savić to collect the necessary documents for only eight clients.
The court initially dismissed the case on the grounds that the British troops were not under its jurisdiction, but the United Nations. The case moved to the Appellate Court.
The European Union has waived its immunity in this process. They are waiting for the United Nations to do the same, as it acknowledged that the Human Rights Charter has been violated.
-My clients complained to both the United Nations and EULEX authorities for the observance of human rights. Both bodies have concluded that their rights have been violated, in particular those referred to in Article 2 concerning the right to life, and Article 3, which relates to inhuman treatment, says Savić.
However, these international bodies do not offer any remedy. Therefore, this process can be reflected on the whole international law.
-If we succeed, Member States of the European Union and the United Nations should, when governing foreign territories, apply those standards imposed by their respective laws and constitutions. Otherwise, they should offer a remedy in accordance with their own standards all over the world, not only in Kosovo, and not only in relation to Kosovo Serbs, says Savić.
Jovanka Savić and her team are working for free. They fight over time to collect 16,200 pounds for court costs. They asked for postponement until September 22.
-I do not know if our request will be adopted. If they refuse us, I will have to inform the court on Tuesday, 5th of September, that we cannot continue and I think it would be a supreme irony, Savić said.
Time slowly expires. On Tuesday, this case will either enter history or become history.
