The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton hailed on Wednesday Kosovo parliament’s vote to extend EULEX mandate and to support setting up an international court to deal with alleged crimes committed by ethnic Albanian guerrillas during the 1998-1999 conflict.
Catherine Ashton hails Kosovo’s support to special war crimes court
“I welcome today’s vote by the Kosovo Assembly, which supports the transitioning of EULEX’s mandate and confirms the commitment to establish a specialist Court to adjudicate over the 2011 Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly report allegations,” Ashton said in a statement.
The report by the Council’s special rapporteur Dick Marty alleged that ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army should be held accountable for abductions, summary executions and organ trafficking of some 500 prisoners, mostly Serbs and Roma.
“I commend the government and the members of the Assembly for their leadership and commitment to justice, demonstrated through what we acknowledge to be a sensitive and difficult decision. The decision taken today by the members of the Assembly will strengthen the rule of law and improve the credibility of its international image,” Ashton said.
