• Kosovo, Serbia agree to cooperate on resolving cases of missing persons (RFE)
• Borrell: Kosovo, Serbia fail to agree on lowering tensions in north Kosovo (Reuters)
• Kurti: Draft statute fundamentally incompatible with our Constitution (Koha)
• Management team for drafting statute of Association relieved from duty (media)
• Osmani: Kosovo should have its own draft for the Association (RTK)
• Osmani: Declaration, a moment of relief for affected families (media)
• Petkovic: Declaration confirms we have protected Serbian interests (media)
• Vucic: Pristina unwilling to meet commitment; hope dialogue will continue (media)
• Kurti met with Escobar, before meeting with Vucic and Borrell (RTK)
• Konjufca: I don't expect Serbia to change quickly (RTK)
• First indictment filed, for rape during the war in Kosovo (media)
• Serbia ratifies three agreements of Berlin Process, including Kosovo (RTK)

Kosovo, Serbia agree to cooperate on resolving cases of missing persons (RFE)

The leaders of Kosovo and Serbia have pledged to work together to locate people who went missing during the 1998-99 war in Kosovo.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who mediated talks on May 2 in Brussels between Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, welcomed the agreement.

According to the European Union, 1,621 people remain missing from the war that left more than 13,000 people dead. The majority of those killed and still missing are ethnic Albanians.

"More than 20 years after, their families continue to live in grief, unaware of the whereabouts of their loved ones," Borrell said in a statement. "Families have the right to know the fate of their relatives as does society at large."

He said that solving the issue is not only a humanitarian obligation but also a "crucial enabler for reconciliation and trust between people."

Borrell added that it has become urgent to ensure that the process of identifying the burial sites is completed as soon as possible.

“Memories are fading and individuals, places and events are more difficult to investigate,” he said in the statement.

See Borrell’s remarks here: https://bit.ly/3APfEpQ

The two sides committed to agree on the operational details at the next meeting as part of the dialogue on the normalization of relations at the level of the main negotiators.

The meeting on May 2 was the first between Kurti and Vucic since their March 18 meeting in Ohrid, North Macedonia, where they reached agreement on ways to implement an EU-backed deal on the path to the normalization.

Below find the joint declaration:

Declaration of President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Missing Persons

Emphasizing the importance of resolving the fate of the remaining Missing Persons to bring closure to the suffering of their loved ones and to foster lasting reconciliation and peace,

Bearing in mind that this Declaration follows the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) understanding of Missing Persons, which includes persons forcibly disappeared,

Recalling that all categories of Missing Persons, will be treated with equal priority,

Acknowledging the important work done through the Working Group on Missing Persons, chaired by the ICRC,

Encouraging cooperation with other relevant actors in the field of Missing Persons, in particular International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP),

Recognizing the issue of Missing Persons as a humanitarian one,

Noting the urgent need for additional efforts to alleviate the human suffering of the families,

We jointly commit

to ensure full implementation of respective commitments in the field of Missing Persons,

to closely cooperate on identifying burial sites and follow-up on the excavations,

to ensure full access to reliable and accurate information that helps to locate and identify the remaining Missing Persons within the timeframe 1 January 1998 - 31 December 2000. This includes all materials, notes, orders, documents, videos, audio recordings, and any other documents including those having classified status, under the possession of institutions of both parties, relevant to this context,

to make available all domestic and international documentation of significance in determining the fate of the remaining Missing Persons,

to use satellite data, LIDAR and other advanced technology in detecting mass graves,

to enable and encourage active engagement of families of Missing Persons in the process of identifying their fates,

to adequately ensure the rights and address the needs of the families of Missing Persons,

to establish and work together through a Joint Commission chaired by the European Union and observed by the ICRC with the aim of supporting the effort to resolve the fate of the remaining Missing Persons,

to monitor and support the work and the progress made by the Working Group on Missing Persons through the Joint Commission. In this context, the parties will review and update the Terms of Reference and General framework of the Working Group.

The operational details will be agreed in the next meeting of the EU-facilitated Dialogue on normalization of relations.

Borrell: Kosovo, Serbia fail to agree on lowering tensions in north Kosovo (Reuters)

Leaders of Kosovo and Serbia failed to agree on how to lower tensions in Serb-majority areas in north Kosovo, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Tuesday, warning that any further escalation could undermine the EU-backed deal on normalising ties.

In March, Pristina and Belgrade verbally agreed to implement a Western-backed plan aimed at improving ties but little progress has been seen since.

Some 50,000 Serbs who live in north Kosovo still refuse to take part in Kosovo institutions including police, judiciary and municipal governments they had left last November. They boycotted local election organized by Kosovo authorities last month.

Borrell said that in a meeting with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, he had expressed "grave concern about the situation in the north Kosovo" following elections "with a very low turnout."

He urged parties to compromise and warned that any further escalation could "undermine" the implementation of the EU-backed deal on normalising ties.

Vucic and Kurti failed to agree on framework for securing greater autonomy for Serb-majority municipalities, which is a condition set by Serbs to participate in Kosovo institutions.

Kurti told reporters that a draft proposal on greater autonomy for Serb-majority municipalities, which was presented in the meeting on Tuesday, was not in accordance with Kosovo constitution and cannot be accepted.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/41W1XBb

Kurti: Draft statute fundamentally incompatible with our Constitution (Koha)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that the draft statute presented by the management team in the meeting with the Serbian president was fundamentally incompatible with the Constitution of Kosovo.

After the meeting, in front of the media, Kurti said that he proposed a draft which he called "draft-vision" on the framework that regulates the issue of non-majority communities in Kosovo.

"In this meeting after the agreement for the missing persons, we listened patiently and attentively to the management team that presented a draft statute in a total of 67 articles and then gave our position that such a draft, what we heard and read, is fundamentally incompatible with constitutionality, legality, human rights, European values, minority rights according to European standards and despite this we will be interested in finding solutions. On this occasion, I proposed a draft vision as prime minister regarding article 7 of the basic agreement, taking into consideration article 10. In total, in 10+1 points, I proposed a vision of how the values and principles should be, the framework that regulates the issue of non-majority communities, minorities".

Kurti said that during the meeting he also submitted a document on how from February 27, when the basic agreement between Kosovo and Serbia was reached, Serbia violated it.

"In this document it is clearly seen, factually and documented, that out of 11 articles of the basic agreement, eight of them have been violated by Serbia. In the months of March and April alone, eight articles were violated. I also submitted a document with three statements of the president of Serbia where he says that he did not agree with the basic agreement to implement it in its entirety", Kurti said.

He has added further that he has requested guarantees from the EU's high representative for foreign policy, Josep Borrell, and from the emissary for dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, if there is an agreement. Kurti said that he received this guarantee. Kurti has also told the media that he has also submitted a document about the member of the Management Team drafting the draft statute for the Association, Danijela Vujicic.

“I said that she was sworn in the Parliament of Serbia and has a conflict of interest. I have listed some facts about the coordinator. I told them in a reasoned and logical manner that the draft statute is fundamentally incompatible with constitutionality, and therefore it is better to start discussions on the basis of a draft vision that I proposed,” he said.

“The draft vision is inspired by an agreement made by Serbia for the normalization of relations with Croatia. This agreement foresees the rights and provisions for the protection of the Serbian minority in Croatia. I was inspired by that model. Croatia became an independent state after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. We are part of the same dissolution process. Considering that Croatia is a member of the EU and NATO and has normalized relations with Serbia, we are also aspiring to this direction. It was the right model from where I got the inspiration to write the draft vision with 11 points or 10+1," Kurti said.

See Kurti’s vision here: https://bit.ly/42eX71S

Management team for drafting statute of Association relieved from duty (media)

Most news websites report that Kosovo’s Minister for Local Government, Elbert Krasniqi, has relieved from duty the management team for drafting the statute of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo. “After the presentation in Brussels yesterday of the draft statute of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, in line with the responsibilities given to the Management Team by the Brussels agreements in 2013 and 2015, this team is now with a status,” Krasniqi wrote in a Facebook post. “Therefore, today on 3 May 2023, I have decided to relieve from duty the members of this management team, Danijela Vujicic, Jelena Bolovic, Igor Kalamar and Dejan Radojkovic”.

Osmani: Kosovo should have its own draft for the Association (RTK)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani has requested that Kosovo have its own draft for the Association of municipalities with Serb majority and not to allow a draft, as she said, "of the so-called management team" to become the basis of negotiations.

"The so-called management team will present a draft. My expectations as president are that the Republic of Kosovo has its own draft, because we dare not allow the draft of a so-called management team, which in reality is a draft of Vucic, to become the basis of negotiations. So, let's have our draft, which under one is in full accordance with the Constitution of Kosovo and under two is in accordance with the decision of the Constitutional Court of 2015, and also in accordance with the written position of the USA, which ensures that neither sovereignty nor territorial integrity is affected nor the principle of state unitarity, which means a fully functional state internally," Osmani emphasized after the tributes on the occasion of the 24^th anniversary of the massacre in Vushtrri.

She has insisted that the draft of Kosovo should be the one that will become the main basis of this process, not the draft of a management team that is led and controlled by the Serbian president.

Osmani: Declaration, a moment of relief for affected families (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani issued a statement after the approval of the Declaration on Missing Persons between Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic in Brussels.

“The fate of the forcibly disappeared has long been a deep wound in our society. The families who continue to seek the whereabouts of theirs loved ones, who were forcibly disappeared by the Milosevic regime and through a system of state-sponsored war crimes and genocide, have for over two decades been carrying this heavy burden in their hearts and on behalf of an entire country. They have inhumanly been denied justice and peace for too long. We hope today's agreed Declaration in Brussels will pave the way for the acknowledgment of these crimes and for justice. But above all, a moment of relief for the families who have undergone inexplicable pain and suffering. This declaration will require immediate implementation and on this, as we know from previous agreements, Serbia has an abysmal track record,” Osmani tweeted.

Petkovic: Declaration confirms we have protected Serbian interests (media)

The head of the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo, Petar Petkovic, said on Tuesday evening Pristina and Belgrade had agreed on the term "forcibly disappeared" in a declaration on missing persons after two years of obstructions by Pristina.

He said a signed statement by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic had been enclosed to the text of the declaration to clarify important matters related to the term.

"The declaration confirms that we have protected Serbian interests. For over two years, Serbia insisted on this declaration being adopted while Pristina obstructed that over the term 'enforced disappearance', defined under Point 2 of the international convention on enforced disappearance. Pristina insisted on that term to be able to call Belgrade to account for enforced disappearances, but we did not agree to that, and the term 'forcibly disappeared' was agreed on," Petkovic told reporters in Brussels.

It is not a legal construct, but a term that indicates the circumstances of a person's disappearance, Petkovic explained.

Vucic: Pristina unwilling to meet commitment; hope dialogue will continue (media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said late on Tuesday that Kosovo did not want to meet a commitment it had made ten years ago and that this had been clear since a presentation of a draft statute of a Community of Serb Municipalities at a Brussels meeting earlier in the evening.

"I was very concerned - it is clear Pristina does not want to meet its commitment from ten years ago. We hit the wall for the first time today and it was clear since the moment the steering team's draft was presented," Vucic said, noting that Pristina's representatives had tried to humiliate two female members of the team.

"Their (Pristina's) reaction was that it is unacceptable to them and not in line with their constitution and that they do not want another 'Republika Srpska', even though all articles contain clear references to previously agreed articles from 2013 and 2015. There is no item that has not been agreed or signed," Vucic told reporters in Brussels after a new round of the EU-facilitated Belgrade-Pristina dialogue that concluded around 9 pm.

"I hope discussions will be continued and that we will be able to find solutions in the future," he added. "You will hear countless excuses, but the essence is this: the EU came out with its proposal and I accepted that proposal, but Pristina refused that, too." I hope someone will influence Pristina to change its positions, otherwise we are in a "dead-end situation", he said. "I hope that by the next round at technical level, be it held on May 18, 20 or in the days after May 20, there will be a reaction that could influence a change of positions," he said.

He said he was not optimistic but that he was able to promise on behalf of Serbia that he would do everything in his power to preserve peace.

Kurti met with Escobar, before meeting with Vucic and Borrell (RTK)

Prior to meeting the EU High Representative Josep Borrell, the EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic in Brussels, Prime Minister Albin Kurti met with the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the United States for European and Eurasian Affairs and at the same time the special envoy of the United States of America for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar. Kurti’s office said in a statement that the meeting was friendly and productive.

"Prime Minister Kurti started the meeting by thanking Mr. Escobar for the support of the United States of America on the occasion of voting in the first phase of Kosovo's application for membership in the Council of Europe, calling it a meritorious achievement of the Republic of Kosovo" reads communique.

"It was discussed about today's meeting, the agenda and the expectations, emphasizing the need for full, good faith and unconditional implementation of what was agreed on February 27 in the Basic Agreement and March 18 in the Implementation Plan."

Konjufca: I don't expect Serbia to change quickly (RTK)

Kosovo Assembly President, Glauk Konjufca, said on Tuesday that he does not expect an agreement with Serbia. "It is difficult to reach an agreement because Serbia wants Kosovo as part of it. We have liberated Kosovo with many sacrifices and at a very high price, and these are incompatible positions. I don't expect that Serbia will change quickly and that we will have a democratic Serbia which accepts the people of Kosovo as a sovereign subject and Kosovo as an independent state," Konjufca said after the tributes on the occasion of the 24^th anniversary of the massacre in Studime of Vushtrri.

Therefore, he said, we must continue our direction and this, according to him, is the protection of vital national and state interests.

" ... At the same time, let's prepare and organize ourselves so that our institutions are at the top of their duties for any situation in which we may find ourselves facing this aggressor state, which has not changed at all politically from the positions it has had for a long time years of war and during the genocide in Kosovo," Konjufca added.

First indictment filed, for rape during the war in Kosovo (media)

Kosovo’s Special Prosecutor’s Office has filed an indictment against the person with the initials D.R under the suspicion that he sexually assaulted a woman during the war in Kosovo.

According to the announcement of the Prosecutor’s Office, this is the first indictment in absentia as “all efforts to find the accused have been exhausted.”

According to the Prosecution, the accused was a member of the military reserve forces of Serbia, at the time of the war in Kosovo.

According to the indictment, he committed sexual violence against an Albanian woman, who after suffered “physical injuries to the body as well as severe permanent psychological trauma”.

The exact number of victims of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo is not known. According to a report by the American Center for Disease Control and Prevention, this figure reaches up to 20 thousand.

The Kosovo Center for the Rehabilitation of Torture Survivors (QKRMT) has data on about 900 victims.

In Kosovo, for the first time this year, April 14 is marked the Day of Survivors of Sexual Violence during the last war.

This day, according to the authorities, was announced to “recognize the pain” of all survivors of sexual violence during the war and to contribute to the collective memory.

Serbia ratifies three agreements of Berlin Process, including Kosovo (RTK)

Serbia has ratified the three mobility agreements signed at the summit of the Berlin Process in November last year. This ratification is considered an important step on the way to a common regional market.

These three agreements deal with the recognition of higher qualifications, freedom of movement with IDs and the recognition of professional qualifications for doctors of medicine, dentists and architects.

So far, of the six countries of the Western Balkans, only Bosnia and Herzegovina has not moved in this direction. This process is being blocked by Milorad Dodik, the head of Republika Srpska, who is refusing to recognize the travel documents of Kosovo.

On the other hand, the government of Montenegro has approved them and is expected to ratify them in the Parliament.

The agreements by the state leaders of Kosovo, Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, were signed on November 3 in Berlin after almost two years of negotiations, and will enter into force after ratification by all states.