27 April 2013

On the anniversary of the Kosovo Day of the Missing, the Head of EULEX Bernd Borchardt made the following statement:

"There are still 1754 persons missing from the Kosovo conflict. This is why EULEX assists the Department of Forensic Medicine (DFM) of the Kosovo Ministry of Justice in its efforts to determine the fate of the Missing. Additionally, EULEX/DFM coordinates intensively with family associations, individual families and several other stakeholders.

So far this year EULEX/DFM and the War Crimes Investigation Unit (WCIU) have conducted 25 field operations in the Pejë/Peć, south Mitrovicë/Mitrovica, north Mitrovicë/Mitrovica, Suharekë/Suva Reka, Prizren/Prizren, Gjakovë/Đakovica, Klinë/Klina and Skenderaj/Srbica areas. Seven of these resulted in exhumations where the remains of 28 individuals were recovered.

Since the beginning of the mission, EULEX/DFM and WCIU have conducted 384 field operations. So far the remains of 334 individuals have been returned to families. Of these, 255 were missing persons, while the rest belong to criminal cases or requests for confirmation of identity by families.

However, much work remains to be done. EULEX will continue to support the Department of Forensic Medicine in its efforts to determine the fate of those who are still unaccounted for".