Day Three – Justice and Migration

 

By Isabel Tönshoff

In the first half of the third day of our virtual trip to Kosovo we did not travel to Pristina, but instead, stayed in the Netherlands for an online meeting with the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC). The KSC is located in The Hague and has the temporary mandate to investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the Kosovo War in the period of 1998-2000. Established in 2016, the court was constituted by the Kosovar parliament and is therefore part of the Kosovar jurisdiction. Even though the KSC only puts individuals on trial rather than political organisations, countries, or ethnic communities, it is heavily politicised and part of the public debate  in both Kosovo and Serbia. Thus, what became strongly apparent during our meeting was that jurisdiction remains a key question in the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue as both sides continue calling for justice regarding crimes committed over 20 years ago now. It seems that settlement of these old disputes and sources of bitterness or grief is a crucial step before both countries can move forward and pursue their mutual goal of European integration. Many Kosovar politicians and members of government appointed since 2000 were Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders during the war, such as the former president Hashim Thaçi. Putting them on trial in front of the KSC, holding them responsible for their contribution to violence and hostility, and provoking their political withdrawal is particularly important to bring the process of reconciliation forward and to establish sustainable peace. As we learned during the meeting, outreach is an essential part of the KSC’s work to educate the public about the trials and the principles behind them so that they can understand the purpose of the jurisdiction.

Our second meeting was with three very inspiring members of the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) Kosovo who told us about the many projects they are currently working on. Kosovo and the region around it have always been exposed to alternating fluxes of migration and particularly during the war, more than 1 million people were displaced. Today, the IOM is trying to assist those that voluntarily want to return by supporting their reintegration into society. Through community stabilisation programmes they aim to contribute to the creation of an inclusive multi-ethnic society, thereby reducing emigration push factors. Building societal connections through supporting language rights, fostering joint initiatives and appropriate media reporting is a key factor in reconciliation and social cohesion in Kosovo. 

Again, I realised how important engagement on the community levels is to bring about sustainable change and peace. Finally, they told us about their initiative for reintegration and rehabilitation of returning foreign terrorist fighters. This is an issue which is also highly relevant for other European countries. The IOM's approach of supporting these often very stigmatised people and their families revealed the need to directly tackle the reasons why people have left. Examples of their efforts include providing language classes, mental health support, school enrolment, self-employment, civil registration, and close cooperation with religious institutions. Overall, dealing with challenges of migration and reintegration is not only an issue in Kosovo but relatable to many other countries. Thus, I think we can learn a lot from the work done by IOM and other organisations in Kosovo.