First of all, the victims who survived and families of the killed and disappeared find themselves in unenviable position in the context of war crimes trials while awaiting justice to be done. When it comes to support mechanisms within the international justice framework, detainees seem to be much better protected and taken care of than the victims. This may be seen as a double standard in human rights guarantees for (a) alleged perpetrator and (b) victim of the crime....

1. To Investigate Allegations about the Fate of the Missing in Kosovo For more than three years the Humanitarian Law Center has been researching and collecting information about the killed and missing in Kosovo in the period 1998 - 2000. According to the data of the International Committee of the Red Cross, there are still approximately 1,900 persons missing in Kosovo: 1,400 Albanians and 500 Serbs and other non-Albanians....

At least 120,000 people were killed in the armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia in the periods from 1991-1995 and 1998-2000 and the fate of 17,158 missing persons has not yet been revealed. Those who ordered war crimes and direct perpetrators of war crimes are prosecuted before the Hague Tribunal, internationalised trial chambers in Kosovo, the State Court in BiH, and national courts in Serbia, Croatia, and Montenegro. 250 indictees have been convicted to date and are serving their sentences, while approximately 400 Serbs have been convicted in absentia before courts in Croatia. Trials of 23 indictees are in process before the Hague Tribunal, while approximately 200 indictees are currently prosecuted for war crimes in the countries on the territory of the former Yugoslavia. A trial before the Hague Tribunal lasts for approximately two years, while there are cases before national courts that have lasted several years. This is the situation in Croatia, in terms of trials in absentia (Korana Bridge case and Lovas trial in absentia), and in Serbia and Kosovo in terms of retrials (the Ovčara case – Serbia and the Lap Group case – Kosovo)....

According to the ICRC data, the fate of 17,158 people, who went missing during the armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, has not yet been revealed. On the basis of international law, their families have the right to know what happened to their closest family members and who is responsible for what happened to them. They also have the right to reparations, compensation of damages, social, physical and psychological support of the society in order to relieve the traumas they have been going through. All of us, who have been lucky enough to avoid direct and permanent influence of crimes on our lives, have the right to seek government measures that should prevent the recurrence of such crimes. These measures include: truth-seeking about crimes, criminal prosecution of perpetrators, inclusion of an accurate historical account about breaches of human rights and international humanitarian law in books at all levels of education, commemorations, and paying respect to victims....