OSCE Presence holds International Conference on enforced disappearances and missing persons
“Enforced and involuntary disappearances in dictatorship and authoritarian past and contemporary settings: a social, legal and historical appraisal of transitional and transformation polices and mechanisms,” was the topic of an international conference held in Tirana and online, from 13 to 15 December 2021.
The OSCE Presence in Albania and the University of Tirana’s Centre for Justice and Transformation jointly organized the event with the financial support of the German Government. Academics, practitioners and policy-makers who experienced authoritarian regimes and dictatorships discussed the issue of missing persons in transitional justice and transformation settings and ways to foster human rights and rule of law.
In his opening remarks, Vincenzo Del Monaco, Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania said: “Not one single case of enforced disappearances seems to have been solved successfully to date. Justice and reconciliation is still pending for the missing persons’ relatives. Evidence suggests that they are often compelled to undertake identification and, in some cases, perform arduous excavation of suspected mass graves single-handedly. Working closely with the Albanian institutions and civil society, the Presence has been involved in enhancing institutional capacities, supporting legislative and policy-making efforts and promoting academic and policy debate on the issue of missing persons in Albania.”
In his online address, Ulsi Manja, Minister of Justice said that the issue of enforced disappearances should be dealt with the utmost of care and sensitivity. He also mentioned steps taken by Albania’s Government over the last years, especially focusing on establishing a common database on missing people. The database will enable the collection of accurate and reliable information on missing persons.
“Nothing belongs to the past, everything is present and has the potential to become the future,” said the German Ambassador, Peter Zingraf, quoting Fritz Bauer, public prosecutor of the first of the Auschwitz trials in the 1960s. “Germany financially supports the OSCE project on transitional justice because we know about the importance of coming to terms with even the darkest sides of Albania’s history, and just like Fritz Bauer, I truly believe that facing one’s past is fundamental for the wellbeing of the society, today and in the future.”
Around 6,000 Albanians have gone missing during the communist regime, and their whereabouts are still unknown. This human rights violation deeply and constantly affects the families of the missing. The OSCE Presence in Albania stands alongside the authorities in their efforts to identify and recover those who have gone missing during the communist regime.