April 27 marks the National Day of Missing Persons. Today the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) remembers the 1,641 men, women and children of Kosovo, whose fate remains unknown.

For 21 years, their loved ones have been waiting. The lack of political will of the responsible state continues to deny them their right to know, their right to the truth, and their right to justice.

Society must continue to support, remember and honor the victims of war, those who remain missing, and those who were victims of sexual violence,. The demand for justice should be at the center of all efforts for peace building between the two societies. Attempts to forget the past would be a breach of human rights and the right to justice. Without Justice, There Can Be No Peace.

KWN asserts that crimes against humanity, genocide and other serious human rights violations are not prescripted. It is unacceptable to talk about amnesty, when victims from the war have been waiting for justice for over two decades. Peace agreements cannot integrate amnesty for these crimes. Since they are crimes against humanity they need to be internationally recognized and punished; attempts to deny this justice go against international law and UN conventions. It is the duty of states to protect human rights, and the denial of justice for crimes committed is a denial of this right.

As a society, we must make efforts to demand justice in order to unite all Kosovars, both in the majority community and minority community. We must unite in our demand to punish all those who commit war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.