Kosovo prosecutor, Drita Hajdari, spoke at a Belgrade conference about Kosovo’s missing persons and noted that their fate continues to keep many families hostage. “It is a legal obligation and a fundamental human right for families to learn about the fate of their missing members. After the signing of the peace deal, warring parties should have revealed when the missing persons are but did not do so for the lack of political will and because internationals did not put enough pressure on them,” Hajdari said. She added that Kosovo’s special prosecutors got involved on the issue of missing persons at a late stage as this was first an exclusive competency of UNMIK and then of EULEX.

Hajdari said an encouraging fact is the cooperation of associations of missing persons, of Kosovo and Serbia, which “by breaking all possible prejudice are making efforts to provide concrete contribution towards shedding light to the fate of the missing persons.” “Satisfactory results can only be achieved through cooperation of warring parties while non-cooperation will only prolong the anguish of families,” Hajdari added.