UNMIK/PR/417

PRESS RELEASE - 15 November 2000

UNMIK Meets FRY Delegation to Discuss Detainees

PRISTINA---UNMIK officials met today in Pristina with the Head and one expert of the FRY Presidential Office for Refugees, IDP's, and Missing Persons, accompanied by a co-Minister from the Serbian Ministry of Justice, to seek concrete steps toward resolution of issues concerning detainees and missing persons.  The meeting was serious and constructive, and addressed the security and well-being of detainees from Kosovo, access to all prisons and prisoners, and the proposed Amnesty Law in FRY. 

Specifically, the delegation:

· Stated that a Law on Amnesty would be submitted to the FRY parliament in the very near future;
· Provided UNMIK with official lists of Kosovar prisoners currently held in all Serbian detention facilities;
· Acknowledged and shared the concerns of family members for the personal security of detainees, especially in the prisons at Nis and Pozarevac;
· Agreed to facilitate visits by international organizations to all detention facilities in Serbia;
· Agreed to facilitate prison visits by family members and relatives of detainees, both in Serbia and Kosovo;
· Agreed to work with UNMIK to facilitate delivery of packages to individual detainees, especially food, medicine, clothing and hygiene articles.
· Agreed to establish regular direct contacts to make sure each of these objectives can be promptly followed-up, and to discuss other initiatives

Practical measures to facilitate the release of persons unjustly detained were addressed, as well as measures to coordinate and accelerate the resolution of all the cases of persons missing from all Kosovo communities. 

Dr. Kouchner, who has been closely following the preparations for this meeting, stated: “This is just a beginning but, if the promises are met, it will go a long way towards healing the wounds of all parties affected by this ongoing tragedy”.  He added: “When I brief the Security Council tomorrow on events in Kosovo, I will encourage the international community to push further for fast and concrete action, especially in the passing of the Amnesty Law.” 

SRSG also stressed that he would once again be asking the international community to do their utmost to further the development of this process towards a definitive resolution of all the issues concerning the detainees and missing persons.

The delegation subsequently visited prisoners in the detention facilities in Pristina and Camp Bondsteel before returning to Belgrade.