UNMIK/PR/828
Tuesday, 24 September 2002

Plans Completed for setting up Medical Examiners' Office of Kosovo

PRISTINA - The Office on Missing Persons and Forensics has completed plans for setting up the new Medical Examiners' Office (MEO) of Kosovo. The creation of the MEO is part of the reorganization of the medico-legal system in Kosovo, a project which has been transferred from the Department of Health to the Department of Justice.

The Medical Examiners' Office will be a state of the art facility including an autopsy suite, histology and toxicology laboratories, a 24-hour rape crisis centre, medical teaching resources, and centralized offices for doctors and residents.

The Fushe Kosova/Kosovo Polje site designated for the new facility will also house a fully-equipped Crime Laboratory and Kosovo Police Service facilities. It is expected that the tendering process for the construction of this facility will start shortly and OMPF plans to break ground well before the end of the year.

The first sufficiency examination for the local doctors to be employed in the new facility will take place on Thursday 26th September. An international board of expert forensic doctors has been convened to oversee the hiring process.