Head of the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party (SP), Taulant Balla has presented this Thursday in the Parliament of Albania the resolution on the groundlessness of the claims raised about the illegal organ trafficking in Dick Marty's report. 

In his speech, Taulan Balla emphasized that during 10 years of investigations by the European authorities on the alleged crimes of Dick Marty, not a single evidence or fact has been found. 

In this context, he said that the resolution requires a review of resolution 17-82 by the Assembly of the Council of Europe, reviewing the allegations of organ trafficking in Albania and Kosovo.

Full resolution below:

ON THE UNBASEDNESS OF CLAIMS ABOUT ILLEGAL TRAFFICKING OF HUMAN ORGANS 

IN KOSOVO AND ALBANIA 

Referring to Resolution 1782 (2011) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe ("APKiE") on "Investigating allegations of inhumane treatment of persons and illegal trafficking of human organs in Kosovo", which was based on a report (Doc. 12462, dated January 7, 2011) of Dick Marty, ("Report"), then member and rapporteur of the Committee for Legal Affairs and Human Rights in APKiE; 

Recalling that the Report was drawn up following a motion for resolution (Document 11574, dated April 15, 2008), authored by the former member of APKiE, Konstantin Kosachev, Russian Federation, European Democratic Group, based on the memories of Mrs. Carla Del Ponte, former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ("ICTY"), who in her book "The Hunt: I and the Criminals of War", published two months after the declaration of Kosovo's Independence and about three months after resigning as ICTY prosecutor, raising suspicions that members and leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army ("KLA") had committed inhumane treatment of persons and illegal trafficking of human organs in Kosovo and Albania, crimes that cannot be to be investigated by the ICTY for lack of jurisdiction as well as due to the limited mandate in time and territory of this court. These claims had been investigated by the ICTY office before, during Del Ponte's tenure, but no evidence had been found to substantiate the claims of the commission of these crimes; 

Underlining that the Dick Marty Report, following the claims of the former prosecutor Carla Del Ponte and the motion for resolution initiated by the Russian deputy in APKiE, Kosachev, although it is not a fact-finding report or investigation, raises claims of inhumane treatment of persons and illegal trafficking of human organs suspected to have been committed by KLA members and leaders against Serbian citizens, Kosovars and the Roma community or other minorities of Kosovo in the Albanian territory, more specifically in the north of Albania: Kukës, Burrel, Rripe, Cahan and Fushë Krujë, in the period after the end of the war in Kosovo, mainly after June 1999, and has served as a document based on the recommendations in Resolution 1782 (2011) of APKiE, addressed to the member countries of the Council of Europe, the European Union and international organizations, Kosovo, Albania, Serbia and on which a number of constitutional and/or legal and regulatory initiatives were carried out as well as ins activities constitutional in Kosovo, Albania and the European Union (EULEX), as described below in this Resolution; 

Appreciating the Kosovo Assembly that had the political will, even though some of those who voted were accused of the crimes alleged in the Dick Marty Report, to approve constitutional amendment n.24 of August 2015 that provided for the creation of specialized chambers for the criminal prosecution on the claims related to what is alleged in the Dick Marty Report and which was also the subject of investigation by the Special Investigative Task Force of the European Union set up according to the decision of May 2011 of the Political and Security Committee of the European Union for some changes in the operational plan of EULEX , following Resolution 1782 (2011) of APKiE; 

Bringing attention to the action of the political class of Kosovo for the constitutional amendment n.24 of August 2015, the APKiE also evaluated it in Resolution 2094 (2016) "The situation in Kosovo and the role of the Council of Europe", which in point 3, says expressly that: "The Assembly welcomes the adoption by the Assembly of Kosovo of the constitutional amendments which paved the way for the creation of specialized chambers for the criminal prosecution of cases investigated by the Special Investigative Task Force, as a continuation of Assembly Resolution 1782 (2011) for the investigation of claims for inhumane treatment of persons and illegal trafficking of human organs in Kosovo. The Assembly considers this decision as a step towards reconciliation and a sign of the government's willingness to fight impunity."; 

Appreciating and also recalling that pursuant to the constitutional amendment, as well as Law No. 04/L -274 "On the ratification of the international agreement between the Republic of Kosovo and the European Union on the mission of the European Union for the rule of law in Kosovo", the Assembly of Kosovo approved Law No. 05/L -053 "For the Specialized Chambers and the Specialized Prosecutor's Office", giving jurisdiction to these independent and temporary bodies, part of the justice system of Kosovo, in whose composition there are no Kosovar citizens, to investigated and prosecuted the alleged crimes that were reported in the Dick Marty Report and that were also the subject of criminal investigations conducted by the Special Investigative Task Force of the European Union;

Underlining that even the European Union's Special Investigative Task Force headed by Clint Williamson, authorized in 2011 for a full criminal investigation into allegations of killing people for the purpose of extracting and selling their organs, never found evidence and facts supporting the claims in the Dick Marty Report; 

Noting that neither the Office of the Special Prosecutor, which was created to investigate and prosecute individuals for crimes alleged in the Dick Marty report, in any of its investigations or in any of the indictments that were brought against former - to the leaders of the KLA in 2020, does not mention any case related to the trafficking of human organs; 

Emphasizing the readiness and willingness of Albania to cooperate without reservations with all international institutions in order to give a final answer to the claims in the Dick Marty Report and to go to the end of this process, to close once and for all good chapter that no alleged crimes like those mentioned in the Dick Marty Report have been committed in Albania, as well as underlining Albania's effective assistance and cooperation with any fact-finding or investigative mission of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, EULEX of the European Union or others who have had an interest in conducting investigations and especially in implementation of the recommendations of APKiE Resolution 1782 (2011), even before the establishment of the Specialized Chambers or the Office of the Special Prosecutor in Kosovo; 

Noting that expression of Albania's will to cooperate in the interest of justice and uncovering the truth about the alleged crimes in the Dick Marty Report, is the approval by the Assembly of Albania of Law no. 53/2012 "On Jurisdictional Relations in criminal matters with the EULEX Special Investigative Task Force", which authorizes the competent authorities of the Republic of Albania to provide the European Union Special Investigative Task Force with the cooperation and relevant assistance requested; 

Recalling that the adoption of Law no. 53/2012 by the Assembly of Albania was assessed in the APKiE Report (Doc. 13586), dated September 2, 2014 "Respect of obligations and commitments by Albania" where in point 5.5 "Follow-up of the report of Assembly for inhumane treatment of persons and illegal trafficking of human organs in Kosovo", paragraph 129, expressly states: "We welcome the fact that the Albanian authorities have offered full and unimpeded cooperation to the EULEX investigators for these alleged crimes in Albanian territory. Considering it of great importance that the claims raised in this report be fully and transparently investigated, the Assembly of Albania adopted the law "On jurisdictional relations in criminal cases with the EULEX special investigation unit" in May 2012. Based on this law, EULEX Prosecutors are allowed to investigate within the Albanian territory on the alleged implications of Albania in the illegal trafficking of human organs in the Albanian territory. They have had the full support of all competent institutions. Regarding the independent and separate investigation by the Albanian authorities, as requested by the Assembly, the authorities stated that their investigations so far have not confirmed Marty's findings."; 

Underlining that after the entry into force of Law no. 53/2012, the Albanian authorities cooperated closely with the Special Investigative Task Force of the European Union and the specialized bodies in Kosovo, offering all the help, the necessary assistance, the required information as well as carrying out appropriate actions in relation to them, in order to clarify the truth about the allegations in the Dick Marty Report; 

Noting that from the entry into force of Law no. 53/2012 until today, none of the specialized bodies in Kosovo or international organizations have raised any claim for the lack of cooperation of the Albanian authorities in this process;

Underscoring the seriousness and responsibility of the Assembly of Albania to exercise parliamentary control for the implementation of Resolution 1782 (2011) of APKiE and Law no. 53/2012 by the Albanian authorities through the establishment of a Special Commission for the realization of this parliamentary function with the decision of Assembly of Albania no. 72/2020, which could not complete its activity due to the end of the IX legislature of the Assembly (2017-2021), but managed to receive complete information and reports that prove that the readiness of the Albanian authorities has been effective and these authorities have responded in a timely and constructive manner to the requests of foreign authorities for cooperation, help, assistance and concrete actions according to the provisions of Law no. 53/2012, thereby simultaneously fulfilling the recommendations of Resolution 1782 (2011) for Albania; 

Noting that from the acts, evidence, reports and information collected by the Special Commission set up by the decision of the Assembly no. 72/2020, there is no fact or evidence to prove the claims raised in the Dick Marty Report for the murder of persons with the intention extraction and sale of their organs and illegal trafficking of human organs in Kosovo and/or Albania; 

Emphasizing that Dick Marty, after his visits to both Kosovo and Albania, has never presented any evidence to prove the alleged crimes committed in connection with the trafficking of human organs, as he claims in his Report ; 

This being so, even after more than a decade from Resolution 1782 (2011) of the APKiE, it turns out that none of the missions and/or investigations of local or international justice bodies have found any facts or any evidence to prove the claims made. in Dick Marty's Report on murder for the purpose of illegal trafficking of human organs in Kosovo and/or Albania; 

Respecting and not interfering in any investigation or trial procedure against specific persons, KLA war leaders and being committed to the full implementation of the recommendations of the KLA Resolutions as a member country of the Council of Europe; 

Sharing the same opinion with Dick Marty, where it is stated in his Report that: "Truth and accountability are an absolute necessity if there is to be lasting reconciliation and stability in the region"; 

Appreciating the legitimacy of the KLA's heroic struggle for the liberation of the country and being convinced that despite the fact that no parallels can be drawn between the inhumane massacres, ethnic cleansing, deportations, murders, rapes, looting and war crimes, by leaders and members of the machinery official Serbian war and its paramilitaries during the war in Kosovo, on the one hand, and the integrity of the just cause of the KLA war as a reaction in defense of the life and freedom of the people in Kosovo, on the other hand, any suspicion of crimes must be clarified by the bodies of justice according to the principles of the regular legal process, but the process for this matter will have to end sometime, in order for the peoples to find a way to reconcile and live together, healing the wounds of the past; 

ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA 

- Finds that, after more than ten years of in-depth investigations by the EU's Special Investigative Task Force and its successor, the Office of the Special Prosecutor, the allegations made in the Dick Marty Report of the killing of persons for the purpose of extracting and selling of their organs and illegal trafficking of human organs in Albania and/or Kosovo, included in Resolution 1782 (2011) of APKiE, point 1 and point 4, remain unargued, unproven and not based on evidence and facts, therefore, they should be considered as such by all national and international institutions. 

- Congratulates the authorities of the Republic of Kosovo, which, in accordance with the requirements provided for in point 19.6 of Resolution 1782 (2011) of APKiE, have cooperated without reservations with EULEX and any other judicial body mandated to carry out follow-up investigations as well as in within any other procedure aimed at discovering the truth. 

- Salutes the authorities of Kosovo, which, in accordance with an international agreement and constitutional amendment no. 24 of August 2015, approved the establishment of the Specialized Chambers of Kosovo and the Office of the Specialized Prosecutor, an integral part of the judicial system of the Republic of Kosovo and temporary in nature, with the primary purpose of investigating and/or prosecuting the crimes alleged in the Dick Marty Report. 

- Calls on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to produce a follow-up report and therefore a review of Resolution 1782 (2011), reassessing the allegations of illegal trafficking of human organs in Albania and/or Kosovo, in the light of the developments that have occurred during this decade, updated facts, evidence and information, as well as regarding the commitment, readiness and full cooperation of Albania and Kosovo in the service of the truth and the establishment of justice.

- Requests the Albanian Government to remain fully committed to assisting justice and identifying responsibility for all crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia and reiterates its call to all interested parties to cooperate with the International Mechanism for carrying out the remaining functions of criminal courts (IRMCT), within its jurisdiction.

– Expresses the unwavering will to help justice and support any effort aimed at discovering the truth.