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

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Country/entity: Kosovo
Region: Europe and Eurasia
Agreement name: Declaration of President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Missing Persons
Date: 2 May 2023
Agreement status: Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement: Yes
Agreement/conflict level: Interstate/intrastate conflict(s)
Balkan Conflicts (1991 - 1995) (1998 - 2001)
Former Yugoslavia

The disintegration of former Yugoslavia post cold war saw conflicts which became mediated and produced peace agreements in Slovenia (where the brief independence conflict was mediated by the EC Troika in 1991), Croatia (between Croatian and Serb populations 1991-1995), in Bosnia (between Croatian, Serb and Bosniak populations 1992-1995), in Macedonia (where mediation played a key pre-emptive role in preventing large scale conflict in 2001), in Kosovo (between Kosovar Albanians and Serbian population and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), but also between FRY and NATO, 1998-1999), and a conflict in the Presevo Valley (between Albanians in South Serbia and FRY, 2000-2001). The continued fall-out of the disintegration of former Yugoslavia also saw mediated agreement and ultimate dissolution of the Union between Serbia and Montenegro.

Bosnia-Herzegovina

In 1991, after nationalist parties won the first multi-party elections in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a violent process of disintegration commenced. With its mixed population, Bosnia-Herzegovina became the centre of the following civil war that began in 1992 between the newly formed army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (mostly Muslim Bosniacs), and the parastatal forces of self-declared Bosnian Croat (Herzeg-Bosnia) and Bosnian Serb (Republika Srpska) entities within Bosnia-Herzegovina, supported by Croatia and Serbia, with various, often short-lived, coalitions. The General Framework Agreement (Dayton Peace Agreement), signed in 1995, split the country into two ethno-federal entities, the Bosniak-Croat Federation and the Republika Srpska, and included continued peacekeeping and institutional administration by international actors.

Kosovo

The conflict between Serbs and Kosovar Albanians has a long history and always involved territorial disputes as well as ethno-political, cultural and linguistic factors. The most recent phase of the conflict began in November 1997 when the Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA or UCK) began their campaign for the independence of Kosovo from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY – then Serbia and Montenegro). The subsequent war lasted until the NATO intervention, which undertook bombing campaigns of Belgrade and other places in Serbia during spring 1999. The main agreements solving the conflict were internationally driven and, finally, a UNSC resolution imposed a post-conflict arrangement in the wake of what was essentially a NATO military victory. In February 2008, Kosovo’s parliament declared independence, but independence is still internationally disputed.
Stage: Framework/substantive - partial
Conflict nature: Government/territory
Peace process: Kosovo-Serbia Normalisation Process
Parties: Not signed, agreement mentions the following parties as having produced it:
On behalf of Serbia, President Aleksandar Vučić
On behalf of Kosovo, Prime Minister Albin Kurti
Third parties: Not signed, agreement mentions the following parties as having produced it:
European Union
Description: This agreement sets out broad principles for facilitating the search for missing persons, focusing on the ICRC definition of missing persons, and supporting the sharing of documentation and use of technology in locating and researching burial sites.

Agreement document: XK_RS_230502_Declaration of President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister Albin Kurti (opens in new tab) | Download PDF

Groups

Children/youth: No specific mention.
Disabled persons: No specific mention.
Elderly/age: No specific mention.
Migrant workers: No specific mention.
Racial/ethnic/national group: No specific mention.
Religious groups: No specific mention.
Indigenous people: No specific mention.
Other groups: No specific mention.
Refugees/displaced persons: No specific mention.
Social class: No specific mention.

Gender

Women, girls and gender: No specific mention.
Men and boys: No specific mention.
LGBTI: No specific mention.
Family: No specific mention.

State definition

Nature of state (general): No specific mention.
State configuration: No specific mention.
Self determination: No specific mention.
Referendum: No specific mention.
State symbols: No specific mention.
Independence/secession: No specific mention.
Accession/unification: No specific mention.
Border delimitation: No specific mention.
Cross-border provision: No specific mention.

Governance

Political institutions (new or reformed): No specific mention.
Elections: No specific mention.
Electoral commission: No specific mention.
Political parties reform: No specific mention.
Civil society: No specific mention.
Traditional/religious leaders: No specific mention.
Public administration: No specific mention.
Constitution: No specific mention.

Power sharing

Political power sharing: No specific mention.
Territorial power sharing: No specific mention.
Economic power sharing: No specific mention.
Military power sharing: No specific mention.

Human rights and equality

Human rights/RoL general: No specific mention.
Bill of rights/similar: No specific mention.
Treaty incorporation: No specific mention.
Civil and political rights: No specific mention.
Socio-economic rights: No specific mention.

Rights related issues

Citizenship: No specific mention.
Democracy: No specific mention.
Detention procedures: No specific mention.
Media and communication: No specific mention.
Mobility/access: No specific mention.
Protection measures: No specific mention.
Other: No specific mention.

Rights institutions

NHRI: No specific mention.
Regional or international human rights institutions: No specific mention.

Justice sector reform

Criminal justice and emergency law: No specific mention.
State of emergency provisions: No specific mention.
Judiciary and courts: No specific mention.
Prisons and detention: No specific mention.
Traditional Laws: No specific mention.

Socio-economic reconstruction

Development or socio-economic reconstruction: No specific mention.
National economic plan: No specific mention.
Natural resources: No specific mention.
International funds: No specific mention.
Business: No specific mention.
Taxation: No specific mention.
Banks: No specific mention.

Land, property and environment

Land reform/rights: No specific mention.
Pastoralist/nomadism rights: No specific mention.
Cultural heritage: No specific mention.
Environment: No specific mention.
Water or riparian rights or access: No specific mention.

Security sector

Security Guarantees: No specific mention.
Ceasefire: No specific mention.
Police: No specific mention.
Armed forces: No specific mention.
DDR: No specific mention.
Intelligence services: No specific mention.
Parastatal/rebel and opposition group forces: No specific mention.
Withdrawal of foreign forces: No specific mention.
Corruption: No specific mention.
Crime/organised crime: No specific mention.
Drugs: No specific mention.
Terrorism: No specific mention.

Transitional justice

Transitional justice general: No specific mention.
Amnesty/pardon: No specific mention.
Courts: No specific mention.
Mechanism: No specific mention.
Prisoner release: No specific mention.
Vetting: No specific mention.
Victims: No specific mention.
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),
Recognising 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 normalisation of relations.
Reparations: No specific mention.
Reconciliation: No specific mention.

Implementation

UN signatory: No specific mention.
Other international signatory: No specific mention.
Referendum for agreement: No specific mention.
International mission/force/similar: No specific mention.
Enforcement mechanism: No specific mention.
Related cases: No specific mention.
Source: No specific mention.

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

02.05.2023 EEAS Press Team

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),

Recognising 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 normalisation of relations.