Volunteers in Action

Reaching out to the Missing
By Marcella Carew and Angela Griep

UN Volunteer Serguei Koutcherenko is an Outreach Officer with the Office on Missing Persons and Forensics (OMPF), which is part of the Department of Justice. The unit was set up to tackle the complex task of locating missing persons as a result of the conflict in 1999. OMPF acknowledges the sad inevitability that four years after the war, these people are unlikely to be found alive. The unit handles the process of locating, identifying and returning mortal remains to the affected families.

As Valerie Brasey, Chief of OMPF’s Outreach section explains, “we focus on locating and identifying mortal remains, assisting families in their search for their loved ones and finally helping them to achieve closure, in partnership with the UNMIK Police Missing Persons Unit (MPU)”. Forensic findings about war crimes or similar criminal acts are the responsibility of other police units like the Central Criminal Investigation Unit (CCIU), and the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY). “These organisations handle the prosecution element of cases associated with our work”, explains Valerie.

Approximately 4,000 people are still missing in Kosovo, mainly due to those cases that require identification and also the lack of information regarding missing persons. The harsh reality is some missing persons will never be found, Valerie explains, “for example we are unlikely to find the remains of bodies destroyed in a burning house”. OMPF’s priority is to locate and identify missing persons despite facing such obstacles. It is an extremely heavy burden for families who still do not or may never know the fate or whereabouts of their loved ones.

The rumours that perpetuate regarding hidden detention centres in Kosovo and Serbia add another complication. OMPF is aware of cases where extortionists try to make money from the families’ desperation. Valerie explains, “a person would call an affected family and say ‘if you give me €2,000, you will be able to speak with your brother for a minute over the phone’. Usually people find a way to pay, and of course their brother never calls”. It is difficult to identify these extortionists due to the families’ hope that they may still find their relatives alive. They tend not to contact the police in the belief that they are protecting the safety of their loved ones. “I would like to stress that so far all information received about hidden detention centres has been proved negative on investigation”, says Valerie.

Officers from OMPF and UNMIK police travel throughout Kosovo to locate as many missing persons as possible. “The officers are briefed about the locations and circumstances of the disappearances”, explains Serguei. When a body is found, international and national forensic specialists try to identify the person. “We also organise clothing exhibitions for families to assist with the identification process”, adds Serguei. “Clothing found in the graves is catalogued and laid out for family members to inspect the articles in the hope that they may recognise their relatives’ clothing”.

The family are always the first to be informed once mortal remains are identified. A team consisting of an Outreach Officer, a police officer from MPU and an interpreter then visit the family to explain the next stage of the procedure. “We usually arrange three family visits”, Serguei says, “which is understandably an incredibly difficult task”.

Serguei continues, “we inform the family that the body has been identified during the first visit. The team then waits a few days to give the family time to come to terms with this information and to inform other family members. During the second visit, we discuss matters such as funeral arrangements and at the third visit the body is returned to the family”.

This procedure, although necessary to achieve closure for the families, is painful for everyone involved. “In some cases we cannot notify the families in advance that we are coming because they have no phone. Therefore they are not prepared for the difficult news they are about to receive”, explains Serguei. “There are times when this is so painful for family members, they blame those who have brought the information”.

Outreach Officers are given psychological support and the option of attending psychosocial training workshops to help them cope with this type of situation. “I find my colleagues’ broad experience as well as a wonderful team spirit a great support”, adds Serguei.

Family members have set up associations as a means of coping with their experiences and they meet regularly to exchange information. “An Outreach Officer is always present at these meetings. I think it is important that we participate to ensure the families get as much help as possible in liaising with the relevant authorities and also to answer their questions as far as possible”, says Serguei.

Serguei worked for 18 years as a police officer in the Ukraine, his home country. In 1994 he went to Croatia as a Civil Police Monitor on his first mission. Serguei came to Kosovo as a UNV in June 2001 and began his assignment as an International Trainer and Municipal Civil Registration Officer before transferring to OMPF in July 2002. “I really like being a UNV as I find my work challenging on many levels. I also meet many people from different nationalities and backgrounds and enjoy learning from them”, he says.

For more information please contact:

Angela Griep, UNV Public Information Officer, UNMIK, Email griep@un.org, or
Chrsitine Botejue-Kyle, UNV Programme Manager, UNMIK, Email botejue-kyle@un.org