Serbian and Kosovan negotiators reached an agreement in Brussels on Tuesday to accelerate the search for more than 1,600 people still missing from the 1998-1999 war.
Of the 6,065 people reported missing between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2000, 1,607 cases remain unresolved, according to the European Union’s diplomatic service.
The agreement is a significant step forward following a year marked by armed clashes and other incidents that have hindered normalisation between Serbia and Kosovo.
Belgrade negotiator Petar Petkovic and Pristina negotiator Besnik Bislimi agreed to create a joint working group to oversee the implementation of a May 2023 declaration by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.
The declaration establishes cooperation between both parties to identify burial sites and ensure full access to information needed to locate and identify missing persons.
Petkovic stated that both sides agree to form “a joint commission, which will support the working group chaired, as before, by the International Committee of the Red Cross.” Bislimi described the agreement as “positive news.”
“We hope this will positively influence the work of the joint commission. If it does not produce results on the ground, it serves no purpose,” added Bislimi.
While welcoming the agreement, the European Union emphasised “the urgent need to take additional efforts to allow affected families and the wider community to move forward.”
The Kosovo war, a conflict in the former Serbian province, resulted in approximately 13,000 deaths, mostly ethnic Albanian Kosovars. It ended in spring 1999 after a NATO air campaign forced Serbian forces to cease fighting.
Serbia has never recognised Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008.
