Kosovo: Perpetrators of acts of violence with ethnic motives remain unpunished

WRITTEN QUESTION

Submission: To the Commission

11 June 2003

Subject: Kosovo – Perpetrators of acts of violence with ethnic motives remain unpunished

According to a report by Amnesty International, minority communities in Kosovo continue to be at risk of ethnically motivated attacks, the number of which has decreased, but still remains significant. Based on UN Security Council Resolution 1244/99, the responsibility for protecting the citizens of Kosovo and promoting human rights in the region was entrusted to the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). In practice, however, effective mechanisms for redress of acts of violence and other threats to their physical, mental, and psychological integrity have not yet been effectively established. The Commission is asked, given the ongoing shaping of the post-war regime in Iraq, whether it intends to exert pressure on UNMIK and the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government to seriously address the issue of impunity for ethnic attacks and take the necessary steps to ensure human rights in Kosovo.