MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On August 3, the Kosovo government approved the establishment of a court for war crimes allegedly committed by ethnic Albanians who fought on the side of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the war.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the judicial body, located outside of the country's borders, will operate under Kosovo law and appoint international judges and prosecutors.
"The Kosovo government and lawmakers made the right decision for justice and accountability," Lotte Leicht, EU director at HRW, said in the statement.
Leicht added it was necessary to go further and urgently establish the court to address allegations of serious crimes by an independent and secure body.
The United States and the European Union insisted on the introduction of a special court following a 2010 Council of Europe's report on human organs trafficking in Kosovo during the years of hostilities, allegedly committed with the involvement of the KLA fighters.
The KLA was formed during the mid-1990s by Kosovo Albanians seeking independence from Serbia and a creation of monoethnic state. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.