Persons unaccounted for in connection with the crisis in Kosovo

Family News Network of the International Committee of the Red Cross

Balkan conflict

This list, prepared by the International Red Cross (ICRC), includes victims of both sides.

Persons unaccounted for in connection with the crisis in Kosovo

The crisis in Kosovo has left a painful and tragic legacy. Apart from the physical suffering and devastation, thousands of families are suffering the anguish of uncertainty about the fate of their relatives unaccounted for.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been gathering information on persons unaccounted for directly from families since January 1998. The ICRC works on behalf of families of all communities, whether living in Kosovo or elsewhere. The information it has collected has been submitted to the relevant authorities and political leaders in both Belgrade and Pristina, with the request that they do everything possible to ascertain the whereabouts of the persons unaccounted for.

Ref. MK-N-00001-31

Click on the link corresponding to the first letter(s) of the name of your relative:

A	BA to BEQ	BER to BZ	C	D
E to F	G	HA to HAZ	HE to J	KA to KQ
KR to KZ	L to ME	MI to MZ	N to P	Q to R
SA to SHE	SHI to SZ	T to U	V to Z	.

The scale of the problem

So far, as from May 15 2000, the ICRC has gathered and recorded the following information on missing persons:
Persons reported as unaccounted for during the Kosovo crisis
01.01.98 to 15.05.2000

Total number of request received from families:		4,941
Total number of persons whose fate has been clarified: of which:		1,573
confirmed dead	199
confirmed alive of which:	1,374
visited in prison	1,306
Total number of persons that remain unaccounted for: of which:		3,368
persons reportedly arrested by the Yugoslav Armed and Security Forces or abducted by Serb civilians:	2,018
persons reportedly abducted by the Kosovo Liberation Army or Kosovo Albanian civilians:	370
persons for whom there is no information on whereabouts:	980

Visits to people currently detained in relation to the Kosovo crisis
on 15.05.2000

Kovovo
Persons visited in KFOR places of detention	68
FRY
Persons visited in places of detention in FRY (Serbia and Montenegro)	1245
Persons released by the authorities and transported by the ICRC to Kosovo from July 1999 to 15 May 2000	750

Visits to detainees: while the ICRC had been visiting Kosovo Albanian prisoners held by the Serbian authorities for many years before the current crisis, these visits had to be broken off during the conflict between NATO and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999 for security reasons. In June 1999 the ICRC was able to negotiate the resumption of these visits and by July it had registered some 1'700 detainees, whose families were immediately informed. Further visits have been taking place continuously since then which have enabled ICRC to establish the fate of around 1'300 people reported missing.
Approaches to the authorities concerned: repeated efforts were made during the internal conflict between the Serbian security forces and the KLA, through KLA field personnel and their political counterparts, to try to establish the fate of some 150 Serb civilians whose families had reported them abducted. Similar approaches on behalf of Kosovo Albanians were conducted with the authorities in Belgrade. Further efforts have been made at a local level since the ending of hostilities in Kosovo. Regrettably, no firm information on the plight of the 150 people, and the others reported since, has so far been forthcoming.
Tracing in the field: extensive efforts have been made by ICRC field teams in towns and villages throughout Kosovo to urge the population to come forward with information. A system of "tracing by event" was introduced, in which details were gathered of people who disappeared or were allegedly detained/abducted at the same time. Based on the ICRC's experience in Bosnia & Herzegovina, this could help provide additional information leading to the clarification of cases. Families were also invited to notify their missing relatives to the ICRC or the Yugoslav Red Cross in FRY.
Co-ordination with other agencies: the ICRC has been officially recognised as the lead agency in the question of missing persons in Kosovo, and has established a co-ordination group with other organisations to share information. It strongly encourages the continuation of the exhumation and identification process begun last year and has a good working relationship with those involved.

SOURCE http://www.cicr.org/icrceng.nsf/c1256212004ce24e4125621200524882/6a4bf8e778d5668e412568da004cb570?OpenDocument

Last update : 06.06.2000

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