World Roma Day (April 8) - United Nations must take responsibility for own mistakes

On the occasion of the World Roma Day (April 8), the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) calls on United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to finally compensate the approximately 600 Roma who, after the Kosovo war, were provided shelter in lead-contaminated UN refugee camps, where they suffered severe health damage.

“It is high time for the UN to follow the recommendations of its own Human Rights Advisory Panel, the HRAP, and to take responsibility for the mistakes of the UN Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK,” the human rights organization appealed to Guterres. “If the United Nations doesn’t abide by its own rules, it will lose credibility.” Apart from that, the UN Secretary-General must also apologize to the refugees for their medical treatment.

In 2016, the Human Rights Advisory Panel recommended individual compensations for the victims – as the STP had been demanding for years, and as several persons concerned had asked the American lawyer Diane Post to advocate for in their name. Previously, the panel found that UNMIK had committed numerous legal violations in trying to take care of the Roma, the Ashkali, and the Kosovo-Egyptians.
“The UN must take responsibility for these rights violations, which will have long-term consequences for the refugees and their children, in some cases for their entire lives,” said Jana Causevic, the STP’s expert on Southeast Europe. “This is the only way the UN can live up to its own guideline that statutes and law apply to everyone – equally. It is bitter to learn that the UN is apparently not willing to follow its own rules, especially for the members of the Roma minority who are exposed to discrimination and persecution in many countries.”

In 2017, Guterres suggested to establish a trust fund for all Roma in the region surrounding the former refugee camps, to be able to pay for infrastructure measures and support for the members of the minority group – without clarifying which countries would have to contribute to the fund. To date, no funds have been provided. “Guterres’ proposal is absolutely non-binding. I doubt that the victims will get anything out of this,” Dianne Post criticized. “My clients, however, demand justice and individual compensation, as envisaged by the HRAP decision.”