The Acting President of the Republic of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, participated today in the closing ceremony of the “We Miss Them” project, which, through documentaries and public debates, has brought to attention the stories of the families of forcibly disappeared persons and their incessant demand to know.
“But the stories of the families do not end with the project. They remain even when the screen turns off and the debate ends. They remain in the homes where the same question has been asked for years: how do you accept that your loved one disappears forcibly during the war and your family is left without any answers?” said Acting President Haxhiu.
According to her, enforced disappearance severs this thread of meaning, adding that there is no explanation that can make a family’s wait any easier, nor any words that can replace the person who is missing.
“However, the inability to understand does not remove the obligation to know. Primo Levi wrote that if understanding is impossible, knowing is imperative. For the families of missing persons, this is their only demand: to know where their loved ones are,” the Acting President emphasized.
According to her, there are no answers because Serbia has yet to open its military, police, and state archives; therefore, Serbia bears direct responsibility in this process. She noted that these archives may contain information on orders, burials, exhumations, and locations that families have been seeking for more than a quarter of a century.
“The mass graves discovered on Serbian territory have made it clear that the concealment of traces was deliberate. The opening of archives cannot remain a matter of Belgrade’s will. International partners must treat this as Serbia’s clear obligation towards the families, towards justice and towards the truth. Around 1,600 people remain on the lists of missing persons, and are often mentioned merely as numbers and statistics. However, such documentaries go beyond statistics, giving us their names, faces, and stories through the voices of those who have been waiting for far too long”, said Acting President Haxhiu.
She added that from Drenas to Mitrovica, from Peja to Prizren, from Gjilan to Ferizaj, and from Gjakova to Prishtina, these stories remind us that the experience of loss may not be the same in every household, but the waiting and the demand for answers are the same.
According to Acting President Haxhiu, the demand to know cannot remain solely within the memory of the families; it requires, in her view, daily institutional commitment: investigation, documentation, forensic work, cooperation with the families, and the pursuit of every piece of information that may lead to the truth.
“I would like to thank the Institute of Forensic Medicine, the Government Commission, the Special Prosecutor’s Office, the Police, and our international partners for their work in locating persons who were forcibly disappeared and in addressing war crimes. In recent years, progress has been achieved thanks to increased capacities and legal amendments that have enabled trials in absentia, in response to Serbia’s lack of cooperation. The institutions of the Republic of Kosovo remain committed to supporting this work, because justice for war crimes remains an inevitable obligation,” Acting President Haxhiu stated.
She further stated that, in this regard, Kosovo has taken important steps by addressing this issue within both the legal and institutional framework.
“In July 2023, Kosovo joined the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP). In August 2023, the Institute for Crimes Committed During the War was established, while the Transitional Justice Strategy 2024–2034 places truth-seeking, justice, reparations, and institutional reform at the core of this field. This work has also produced tangible results. The identification of persons who disappeared following the Kralan Massacre and their reburial after so many years reminds us that no case is closed until the families have received answers,” said Acting President Haxhiu.
Acting President Haxhiu thanked BIRN Kosovo, ACDC, the European Union, and everyone who contributed to this project, adding that the most special thanks are owed to the families who agreed to speak.
“They did not speak in order to turn their pain into a public narrative, but because they know that the truth must have both a voice and witnesses. Missing persons are names that belong to the memory of this country and the responsibility of its institutions. Until answers are found for them, this work cannot be considered complete,” Acting President Haxhiu concluded.
