Last March, the European Union negotiated an agreement between the Balkan states of Serbia and Kosovo to normalize their relations. This agreement left observers clinging to uncertain hope. Twenty-five years after the two states separated during the violent fragmentation of what was then Yugoslavia, they remain tense neighbors. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić supported the agreement but refused to sign it (Serbia does not recognize Kosovo’s independence).
But yesterday, both parties took a first step beyond simple good faith. Meeting in Brussels, Mr. Vučić and his counterpart, Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti, pledged to work together to find people missing during the 1998-99 war. This victim-centered approach shows how empathy and truth are precursors to justice and peace. It recognizes dignity rather than ethnic identity.
“Resolving the issue of missing persons is not only a humanitarian obligation,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s chief mediator, said in a statement after a meeting of Balkan leaders in Brussels. “It is also a crucial factor in reconciliation and trust between peoples. »
Smaller than Connecticut, with a population more than 90% Albanian, Kosovo separated from Serbia during a war that lasted 17 months and left more than 13,000 dead. The EU has recorded 6,065 cases of missing people. Of these issues, 1,621 remain outstanding. They are presumed dead and their remains are scattered throughout the region in unmarked graves.
The statement signed yesterday opens by emphasizing “the importance of resolving the fate of the remaining missing persons in order to end the suffering of their loved ones.” This point builds on lessons learned in countries like South Africa, Colombia and Cyprus, which have based transitional justice on empathy for the families and communities of conflict victims. These experiments showed the broader healing effect of comforting individuals by removing uncertainty about what happened to their lost loved ones.
Finding out what happened to the missing people “is a prerequisite for lasting peace,” wrote Grażyna Baranowska, a Polish law professor, in a study on Kosovo and Cyprus. She notes that families of the missing are more likely to embrace each other across enemy lines. Their desire for truth rather than revenge “may result in broader interaction” for peace between post-conflict communities.
That’s a key insight for Juan Manuel Santos, the former Colombian president who brokered peace during his country’s longest guerrilla war in 2016. “The victims taught me that the ability to forgive can overcome hatred and resentment,” he said.
Yesterday’s agreement was a long time coming. Serbia supported a “draft agreement” in October 2020 to create a joint commission on missing persons in Kosovo. Belgrade took a similar step two years earlier in Croatia, where more than 1,800 cases remained unresolved. But years later, Croatia still accused Serbia of not sharing vital information held by its security services.
Today, with its EU membership imminent, Belgrade has the opportunity to demonstrate where its values lie. The agreement requires the two sides to cooperate on missing persons cases through a joint commission chaired by the EU.
“Victims must be placed at the very center of this process,” UN Special Rapporteur Fabián Salvioli said in December of the Serbia-Kosovo peace process. “The exaltation of nationalist and ethnic sentiments for political purposes (…) can lead to a resurgence of violence.”
The world’s lessons in post-conflict empathy continue to accumulate. If they take root in Kosovo, they could flourish in other societies – such as Ethiopia – which are now seeking to emerge from ethnic or religious conflicts.