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Reaffirm publicly the need to achieve progress on accountability
in Kosovo, particularly for political violence, attacks on minorities, and war
crimes.
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Conduct a full review of the progress toward accountability
through the criminal justice system since 1999, including but not limited to
crimes with an ethnic or political dimension, and war crimes. Based on the
results of the review, undertake serious reorganization and reform to
structures and operational procedures, including consideration of efforts to
consolidate the courts and mandate the use of case management systems.
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Determine, in collaboration with the UNMIK Department of Justice
and the OSCE, whether a special court or chamber within one of the existing
courts is necessary to give priority to serious or sensitive casesincluding
those involving an ethnic or political dimension and war crimes. Ensure that
any proposals take into consideration the resources and personnel required.
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Develop an action plan with a timetable, in collaboration with
the international and national police and prosecutors, and Department of
Justice, to establish a judicial police branch to work directly with
investigative prosecutors in the investigation of criminal cases, as required
under the law. The action plan should include intensive theoretical and
field-based training components for police and prosecutors.
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Ensure that international and national prosecutors are
sufficiently trained in their new role as investigative prosecutors, and on
effective collaboration with the new judicial police branch.
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Take immediate steps, in collaboration with the UNMIK Department
of Justice, UNMIK Police and KPS, the OSCE, and the PISG Ministry of Justice to
reinvigorate and improve upon existing witness protection programs in Kosovo,
including legislative amendments and the adoption of new protocols where
necessary.
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Continue to work with member states of the European Union and
other governments to establish a sustainable mechanism for witness relocation.
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Restore the Ombudsperson Institutions mandate to cover the
functioning of international bodies and institutions operating in Kosovo, in
recognition of the value of external and independent monitoring and review
capacities.
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Immediately reevaluate the Departments strategy for addressing
accountability for crimes, including war crimes and ethnic violence, by
completing a comprehensive assessment of current efforts to establish a
functioning criminal justice system, and communicating to the highest levels of
the international administration its resource, staffing, and other needs.
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Work with the Office of the SRSG and the OSCE to determine
whether there is a need for a special court or chamber to give priority to
serious or sensitive casesincluding those involving an ethnic or political dimension
and war crimes.
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Prioritize the creation of an effective witness protection system
for Kosovo, including updating staff training on the current law and practice
and directly addressing with the Office of the SRSG and the police any gaps
and/or concerns in the implementation of witness protection measures the
Department has observed during the course of its monitoring, investigative, and
prosecutorial work.
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Liaise with the Contact Group and E.U. governments and the ICTY
for concrete assistance in developing an effective witness protection system.
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Develop, in collaboration with UNMIK Police and KFOR, a practical
strategy for securing evidence and testimony from military and civilian
personnel who have left Kosovo.
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In cooperation with the Office of the SRSG, the PISG Department
of Judicial Administration, the OSCE, and the PISG Ministry of Justice and
Kosovo Judicial Council, publicly clarify future arrangements for monitoring
and oversight of the national judiciary. The arrangements should take into
account the new law on the Ministry of Justice and the creation of the Kosovo
Judicial Council and the phasing out of international involvement in the
judicial system. A realistic assessment of the capacities currently available
within existing institutions to conduct detailed oversight of the courts work
must be undertaken as part of this coordination and review effort.
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Develop concrete programs for collaboration between national and
international prosecutors and judges, aimed at ending their segregated functioning,
and improving professional standards among national prosecutors and judges.
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Prioritize implementation of the investigative responsibilities
for prosecutors and the police under the criminal procedure code.
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Conduct an outreach and public information campaign, in
collaboration with the PISG, the OSCE, and national justice system, to ensure
that the public is aware of the outcome of important cases, may access overall
statistics on conviction rates, and understands whom to approach with
information about investigations or prosecutions, and that members of the
public are able to obtain information on the status of cases in which they are
a party or witness.
OSCE Mission in Kosovo
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Provide input to the Department of Justice and the Office of the
SRSG on the issue of whether a special court or chamber is needed to give
priority to serious or sensitive casesincluding those involving an ethnic or
political dimension and war crimes. If the need for such a court or chamber is
identified, advise on its structure and requirements, based on the OSCEs
ongoing judicial systems monitoring experience throughout the former Yugoslavia.
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Collaborate with the UNMIK Department of Justice, UNMIK Police
and KPS, and the PISG Ministry of Justice, to ensure the development of an
effective witness protection system in Kosovo.
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Conduct further training, including field-based training, for
prosecutors in their new role as investigative prosecutors. Work with the
Kosovo Judicial Institute on developing more effective training, including
joint police-prosecutor trainings where feasible. Facilitate the identification
and provision of expert trainers and lecturers for the Kosovo Judicial
Institute, including from outside Kosovo.
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Ensure that the missions monitoring mandate is not compromised
by its capacity-building activities, by creating a clear division between
responsible departments, ensuring autonomy for the OSCE Legal Systems
Monitoring Section, and making its findings public in a timely fashion.
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Consider further efforts to support intensive on-the-job training
and capacity-building for independent nongovernmental human rights monitors to
help ensure effective long-term monitoring of international and national
justice initiatives in Kosovo.
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Demonstrate a coordinated and clear commitment to achieving
accountability for serious crime in Kosovo, including for abuses committed
between 1998 and 2000.
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Establish a public outreach mechanism so that reliable
information on the progress of investigations is available. This information
should be timely, comprehensive and transparent.
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Develop a joint strategy for further coordination between KPS and
UNMIK Police for the conduct of investigations, including regular and
transparent reporting channels on cases between municipal stations and with
headquarters.
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As a matter of investigative policy, take steps to be more
proactive in investigations.
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Take concerted steps toward the creation of a KPS judicial police
branch that works directly with prosecutors on the investigations of criminal
cases in accordance with the criminal procedure code.
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Carry out training to ensure that officers are properly trained
in their new role to support the investigations by prosecutors, and conduct
regular assessment in coordination with the UNMIK Department of Justice, the
OSCE, Kosovo Judicial Institute, the PISG Ministry of Justice and the national
prosecutorial offices, to evaluate progress.
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Evaluate, in collaboration with the OSCE, the UNMIK Department of
Justice, and Office of the SRSG, existing witness protection measures in Kosovo
with an eye toward addressing witness intimidation obstacles for the long term.
Take necessary steps to reinvigorate and/or reform current protocols, including
measures to ensure that situations of witness intimidation are taken seriously
and dealt with swiftly and publicly.
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Work with the Ministry of Justice and the UNMIK Department of
Justice to develop a strategy for ensuring that personnel have handed over
necessary evidence or given official testimony prior to their departure from
the mission. An additional strategy needs to be developed to address the
failure to have secured this evidence or testimony once the departure has taken
place.
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The office of the UNMIK Police commissioner should carry out an
investigation into the role of the KPS and UNMIK Police in bringing to justice
those responsible for crimes committed during March 2004, including where
offences were alleged to have been committed by KPS officers.
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The KPS professional standards unit should give regular public
updates on the status of investigations into allegations of police misconduct
during the March 2004 riots.
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Affirm the importance of achieving progress on accountability
through criminal prosecutions for all crimes, including war crimes,
ethnically-motivated crime, and ordinary crime.
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Collaborate with the UNMIK Department of Justice, the Kosovo
Judicial Council, the OSCE, UNMIK Police and KPS to ensure the development of
an effective witness protection system in Kosovo.
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Establish a central computerized caseload management system for
all courts in Kosovo, in consultation with judges, prosecutors, the PISG
Department of Judicial Administration, the Kosovo Judicial Council, and the
UNMIK Department of Justice.
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Take immediate steps, in association with the UNMIK Department of
Justice, the PISG Department of Judicial Administration, the Kosovo Judicial
Council, and the court system, toward implementing a centralized database
system of final verdicts, accessible to the public in either electronic or
bound report format. A standard procedure for the public to request (and
receive) information on cases should be established and widely publicized so that
it is an accessible public information tool.
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Clarify with the Office of the Prosecutor the arrangements for
case management and supervision over prosecutors offices.
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Develop, in consultation with the Office of the Prosecutor and
the UNMIK Department of Justice, procedures for the regular sharing of
information between prosecutors, including between international and national
prosecutors, and the development of standard protocol.
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Ensure the provision of ongoing training for judges on
sentencing, in cooperation with the Kosovo Judicial Institute and the OSCE,
including application of sentencing guidelines. Regularly review sentencing
practices for consistency with guidelines, and refresh training as required.
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Ensure that prosecutors receive additional training, in
cooperation with the Kosovo Judicial Institute and the OSCE, particularly as
regards their role as investigative prosecutors. Regularly review their work
and refresh training as required.
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Carry out an evaluation to determine whether consolidation of the
number of courts in Kosovo would deliver a more efficient justice system and
facilitate monitoring of its operation.
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Clarify the hierarchy and functioning of the prosecutorial
offices in Kosovo and the work of individual prosecutors to facilitate
effective case management and oversight.
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Mandate the participation of all prosecutors in training on their
role as investigative prosecutors in the new system, ensuring in collaboration
with the Kosovo Judicial Institute and the OSCE that the training includes
field-based and joint police/prosecutorial aspects.
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Develop in collaboration with the UNMIK Department of Justice
opportunities for the sharing of best practices between prosecutorsnational to
national and national to international.
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Conduct an outreach campaign to attract greater numbers of
candidates to train as prosecutors, with support from the Ministry of Justice,
universities, and legal aid and reform organizations. Consider for example the
creation and implementation of an internship program for law students.
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Affirm the importance of achieving progress on accountability
through criminal prosecutions for all crimes, including war crimes,
ethnically-motivated crime, and ordinary crime.
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Collaborate with the UNMIK Department of Justice, the OSCE, UNMIK
Police and KPS to ensure the development of an effective witness protection
system in Kosovo.
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Establish, and ensure the implementation of, a central
computerized case management system for all courts in Kosovo, in consultation
with judges, prosecutors, the PISG Department of Judicial Administration, the
PISG Ministry of Justice, and the UNMIK Department of Justice.
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Work with the UNMIK Department of Justice, the PISG Department of
Judicial Administration, and the courts toward implementing a centralized
database system of final verdicts, accessible to the public in either
electronic or bound report format. A standard procedure for the public to
request (and receive) information on cases should be established and widely
publicized so that it is an accessible public information tool.
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Mandate the participation of all judges in continuing education
on criminal law topics, including sentencing and developments as regards the
new criminal procedure code and criminal code. Regularly review sentencing
practices for consistency with guidelines and appropriate application of the
law, and refresh training as required.
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Standardize communication and reporting so that information
provided on the caseload and disposal of cases in the courts facilitates the
Councils task of overseeing the work of the courts.
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Assess, in collaboration with UNMIK and the PISG Ministry of
Justice, whether consolidation of the number of courts in Kosovo would deliver
a more efficient justice system and facilitate monitoring of its operation.
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Prioritize the achievement of measurable accountability for
crime.
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High-level government officials should publicly support police
and prosecutorial efforts to achieve success in solving serious, political, and
inter-ethnic crime, including by emphasizing the duty of members of the public
to cooperate with such investigations and prosecutions as part of their civic
responsibilities.
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Cooperate fully with the efforts by the Office of the SRSG, the UNMIK
Department of Justice, UNMIK Police, and KPS, to establish an effective witness
protection system.
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Support the further development of the judicial system, including
through the allocation of necessary funds for a centralized database, judicial
and prosecutorial training and recruitment, and outreach.
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Ensure that a functioning criminal justice system, including
accountability for violence against minorities and war crimes, is accepted by
all parties as integral to the successful resolution of Kosovos status.
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Ensure that the E.U. Planning Team for the Rule of Law Mission in
Kosovo includes a specific focus on accountability for inter-ethnic violence,
including March 2004-related cases, and war crimes as part of its overall focus
on the functioning of the criminal justice system.
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Ensure that UNMIK and its implementing partners, including the
newly established Ministries of Justice and Internal Affairs, have the
necessary material and political support for the mid-to-long-term to achieve
their justice and policing goals.
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The European Union should condition ongoing financial support to
the criminal justice system to observable improvements in policing, prosecutions,
and the work of the courts. Regular progress reports from the U.N. and PISG
should be supplemented by E.U. auditing and evaluation.
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Provide the material support necessary to enable the creation of
an effective system for witness relocation and protection, including by making
a public commitment to relocate witnesses from Kosovo.
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Provide the necessary financial and political support to ensure
that international civilian and military personnel who have left Kosovo are
able to give evidence in criminal proceedings in Kosovo either in person or by
video-link.
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Take every opportunity to address the concerns described in this
report, including by emphasizing, in all bilateral and multilateral dialogues
on Kosovo, the importance of a functioning criminal justice system and
accountability for political violence, attacks on minorities, and war crimes.
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