The Acting President of the Republic of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, participated today in the Conference marking the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict: “Together for Recognition and Support”.<\/p>\n
In her address to the participants of this conference, Acting President Haxhiu said that in post-war Kosovo, many things were counted: burned houses, massacres, people killed, missing persons, damage, graves, long columns, what was seen was counted, but according to her, what remained inside the person remained nameless and without a place in our public narrative.<\/p>\n
“Sexual violence during the war was one of the crimes that was kept silent for too long. It became a refuge for the pain that a person carries with them, even when the war is over. The word about this crime came late because it was surrounded by a lot of fear, a lot of shame and a lot of judgment. For this reason, today we must speak very carefully. The confession belongs to the people who were raped during the war. We are here to clearly say that the Republic of Kosovo, our Republic, owes them recognition, justice and state care”, said Acting President Haxhiu.<\/p>\n
Acting President Haxhiu said that those who committed and ordered this crime should be punished by our justice system, and according to Acting President Haxhiu, very little has been done in this regard since the end of the war.<\/p>\n
“Unfortunately, the international missions that came to Kosovo for this purpose never took seriously the issue of addressing the crimes that Serbia has committed in our country. I have said it before and I repeat it today: the missions that had the responsibility to deal with war crimes, in fact, did not deal with them. In recent years, there has been progress in this regard, I believe that we all agree on this. But the crimes committed by Serbia in Kosovo have been so numerous and so serious that even the steps taken recently, no matter how important, still seem insufficient,” Acting President Haxhiu emphasized.<\/p>\n
On this occasion, Acting President Haxhiu called on justice institutions to take action and not stop their commitment to addressing war crimes.<\/p>\n
“Now, fortunately, there are also sentences against persons who committed sexual violence during the war, as well as many investigations and indictments. On this occasion, I must thank Ms. Feride Rushiti for the great work she has done in this regard, but also all the organizations that, in fact, have replaced the state. Because it is our state that should have dealt with this issue since the end of the war. However, the actions related to the strengthening of justice institutions, the increase in the number of police officers, the Transitional Justice Strategy, as well as the trial in absentia, were taken too late”, said Acting President Haxhiu.<\/p>\n
She further said that the work of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo will continue, because war crimes, as we know, are neither forgiven, they are not subject to amnesty and are neither subject to the statute of limitations.<\/p>\n
“Punishing criminals, among others, also sends a clear message that serious human rights violations will not go unpunished. That is why it is extremely important to continue working and engaging. But, even with the convictions for war crimes, trust in institutions increases and the suffering of people violated during the war is recognized,” Acting President Haxhiu asserted.<\/p>\n
Acting President Haxhiu said that the state cannot undo what happened, but the state is present with mechanisms, people, and institutions that are making the path easier for survivors of sexual violence during the war.<\/p>\n
“I join the Commission’s call to apply for recognition of status, because this not only highlights a serious crime that occurred during the war, but also shows the state’s concern for people sexually abused during the war,” said Acting President Haxhiu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Acting President of the Republic of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, participated today in the Conference marking the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict: “Together for Recognition and Support”. In her address to the participants of this conference, Acting President Haxhiu said that in post-war Kosovo, many things were counted: burned houses, massacres, people killed, missing persons, damage, graves, long columns, what was seen was counted, but according to her, what remained inside the person remained nameless and without a place in our public narrative. “Sexual violence during the war was one of the crimes that was kept silent for too long. It became a refuge for the pain that a person carries with them, even when the war is over. The word about this crime came late because it was surrounded by a lot of fear, a lot of shame and a lot of judgment. For this reason, today we must speak very carefully. The confession belongs to the people who were raped during the war. We are here to clearly say that the Republic of Kosovo, our Republic, owes them recognition, justice and state care”, said Acting President Haxhiu. Acting President Haxhiu said that those who committed and ordered this crime should be punished by our justice system, and according to Acting President Haxhiu, very little has been done in this regard since the end of the war. “Unfortunately, the international missions that came to Kosovo for this purpose never took seriously the issue of addressing the crimes that Serbia has committed in our country. I have said it before and I repeat it today: the missions that had the responsibility to deal with war crimes, in fact, did not deal with them. In recent years, there has been progress in this regard, I believe that we all agree on this. But the crimes committed by Serbia in Kosovo have been so numerous and so serious that even the steps taken recently, no matter how important, still seem insufficient,” Acting President Haxhiu emphasized. On this occasion, Acting President Haxhiu called on justice institutions to take action and not stop their commitment to addressing war crimes. “Now, fortunately, there are also sentences against persons who committed sexual violence during the war, as well as many investigations and indictments. On this occasion, I must thank Ms. Feride Rushiti for the great work she has done in this regard, but also all the organizations that, in fact, have replaced the state. Because it is our state that should have dealt with this issue since the end of the war. However, the actions related to the strengthening of justice institutions, the increase in the number of police officers, the Transitional Justice Strategy, as well as the trial in absentia, were taken too late”, said Acting President Haxhiu. She further said that the work of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo will continue, because war crimes, as we know, are neither forgiven, they are not subject to amnesty and are neither subject to the statute of limitations. “Punishing criminals, among others, also sends a clear message that serious human rights violations will not go unpunished. That is why it is extremely important to continue working and engaging. But, even with the convictions for war crimes, trust in institutions increases and the suffering of people violated during the war is recognized,” Acting President Haxhiu asserted. Acting President Haxhiu said that the state cannot undo what happened, but the state is present with mechanisms, people, and institutions that are making the path easier for survivors of sexual violence during the war. “I join the Commission’s call to apply for recognition of status, because this not only highlights a serious crime that occurred during the war, but also shows the state’s concern for people sexually abused during the war,” said Acting President Haxhiu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":189713,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-189969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n