Marty: EULEX powerless, ad hoc structure needed

CoE Rapporteur Dick Marty said that the EU mission in Kosovo, EULEX, in its current incarnation, is powerless to investigate organ trafficking. The Swiss senator advised for an ad hoc judicial structure to be set up, which would be located outside of Kosovo, should be created specially for the purpose. Marty: EULEX powerless, ad hoc structure needed In an interview for the Serbian language news site Vesti based in Frankfurt, Germany, Marty said there is a danger that the whole story could go no further than the support his report received in the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. "An ad hoc judicial structure needs to be created - established specially to investigate the organ trafficking and located outside of Kosovo, which would have the right to apply measures to protect witnesses and their families - just just during the process, but afterwards as well. The witnesses have so much to say that their lives would not be worth much afterwards if their identities were revealed," Marty said. "I do not think EULEX, the way it is forced to operate today and the way it is organized, can conduct a serious investigation. Besides, if we look at the justice systems and the international judiciary in the region, these structures have not been able to protect witnesses. As soon as there is a high-level case or a case that touches a certain level in the criminal hierarchy, testimonies become not just difficult, but impossible to obtain. Witnesses and their families are intimidated, and some have been killed," he stressed. Noting that "some people might be satisfied with simply passing the resolution, as a virtual statement that nothing will come of", he said that a structure should be established that would be efficient in uncovering the truth. "The strong vote of support is an important step, but it is just one stage, which will be irrelevant unless there is a well prepared follow-up, and unless there is a political follow-up. I see this as the main danger," Marty warned. Dick Marty (Beta)

Marty: EULEX powerless, ad hoc structure needed

In an interview for the Serbian language news site Vesti based in Frankfurt, Germany, Marty said there is a danger that the whole story could go no further than the support his report received in the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly.

"An ad hoc judicial structure needs to be created - established specially to investigate the organ trafficking and located outside of Kosovo, which would have the right to apply measures to protect witnesses and their families - just just during the process, but afterwards as well. The witnesses have so much to say that their lives would not be worth much afterwards if their identities were revealed," Marty said.

"I do not think EULEX, the way it is forced to operate today and the way it is organized, can conduct a serious investigation. Besides, if we look at the justice systems and the international judiciary in the region, these structures have not been able to protect witnesses. As soon as there is a high-level case or a case that touches a certain level in the criminal hierarchy, testimonies become not just difficult, but impossible to obtain. Witnesses and their families are intimidated, and some have been killed," he stressed.

Noting that "some people might be satisfied with simply passing the resolution, as a virtual statement that nothing will come of", he said that a structure should be established that would be efficient in uncovering the truth.

"The strong vote of support is an important step, but it is just one stage, which will be irrelevant unless there is a well prepared follow-up, and unless there is a political follow-up. I see this as the main danger," Marty warned.