The Head of the Delegation of the EU to BiH/EU Special Representative, Ambassador Peter Sørensen, together with the EUFOR Commander, Major General Dieter Heidecker, and senior diplomats visited two major excavation sites in Sarajevo and Prijedor. During this visit, they received briefings about the results of the work so far and repeated their support for this important process. The visit was organized by the International Commission on Missing Persons, which is providing technical assistance to BiH authorities in locating, recovering and identifying persons missing from the conflicts of the 1990s.
“The European Union, together with other members of the international community, is fully committed to assisting BiH authorities in accounting for missing persons from the armed conflicts of the 1990’s. While 70% of those missing have been accounted for, approximately 9,000 persons remain unaccounted for. Their families have the right to know what happened to their missing relatives. Governments, military authorities and former armed groups have an obligation to provide all the relevant information they hold, and to assist in efforts to put families back together. We fully support the work of ICMP which ensures that a rule of law based approach, incorporating the latest in modern forensic methods. The EU is very impressed with the work that BiH Missing Persons Institute and ICMP have accomplished so far and has, since 2003, supported their work with over 5 million Euros of funding and will continue to support the process with 2 Million Euros in the next two years, in addition to over 33 million Euros provided in bilateral contributions by EU Member States,”said Ambassador Sørensen.
ICMP Director General Kathryne Bomberger said: “The excavation sites that we are visiting are some of the most complex undertaken in the region. The process of investigating these disappearances is a painstaking one that requires the careful excavation of clandestine gravesites and the precise documentation of evidence that is recovered. The ICMP is dedicated to providing its full technical assistance to ensure that the BiH authorities not only provide answers to the families of the missing, but that they also ensure justice for all victims.”
The excavation works at the Sarajevo city dump began in April and, so far, the BiH Missing Persons Institute and the BiH Prosecutor’s Office have been removing 20 years worth of garbage deposits in preparation for finding and recovering remains. According to witness accounts, up to 100 persons may still be buried there. The ICMP’s assessment is that the main issues for completing this excavation will be suitable logistical support, safety considerations and sufficient funding. The ongoing excavation at Tomasica, near Prijedor, began in September. Previous excavations were carried out in 2004 and 2006 where it was concluded, through ICMP’s DNA-identification process, that parts of these bodies were also found at the secondary grave of Jakarina Kosa, from where the remains of some 360 persons were exhumed.
