Petkovic calls on UN to engage to stop persecution of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija

GENEVA - Speaking at the UN headquarters in Geneva, the head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic called for more substantial engagement by UN member states to mobilise the international community to urgently put an end to persecution of Serbs and other non-Albanians in Serbia's southern province.

At an event held as part of the High-Level Segment of the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Petkovic also called for consistent exercise of the powers of UNMIK - the UN mission in the province - in line with UNSCR 1244.

He spoke about unbearable living conditions faced by Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo-Metohija, with special emphasis on a grave jeopardy to the fundamental human rights of Serbs, the Office for Kosovo-Metohija said in a statement.

At the event, titled Serious Violations of the Human Rights of Serbs and Other Non-Albanians in Kosovo-Metohija, Petkovic gave many examples of human rights violations in the province as well as of Pristina's flagrant violations of agreements from the Brussels dialogue amid a worrying surge of ethnically motivated incidents since Albin Kurti's rise to power.

Srpska lista deputy leader Dalibor Jevtic recalled the January 6, 2023 Orthodox Christmas Eve shooting and wounding of young Serbs Stefan and Milos Stojanovic in Gotovusa near Strpce, and noted that no one had been called to account for the attack.

Marija and Dara Radosavljevic from Doljane near Zvecan gave an account of a June 17, 2022 incident in which Dara and her underage brother Kristijan were brutally beaten up by the so-called Kosovo Police during a quad ride.

The event was hosted by the Serbian MFA and Serbia's Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva.