On the International Day for the Prevention of Sexual Violence in Conflict, Vasfije Krasniqi-Goodman shared her powerful testimony and that of thousands of other Kosovar survivors at the United Nations on June 19, 2025.
Representing the Office of the Presidency of Kosovo as the Special Envoy for Sexual Violence during the War in Kosovo, Krasniqi-Goodman reminded the world that these crimes are not forgotten and must not go unpunished.
“At this event organized by the Permanent Missions of Albania, Ukraine, and Sudan to the UN, Kosovo sent a clear and strong message: justice for survivors of sexual violence in conflict is not a choice – it is a moral and international obligation,” stated the Presidency’s announcement on June 20, 2025.
Krasniqi-Goodman’s Advocacy and Ongoing Challenges
Krasniqi-Goodman was appointed Special Envoy for Sexual Violence during the war in Kosovo by President Vjosa Osmani on December 30, 2023. She is among the first women in Kosovo to publicly reveal that she was sexually assaulted by Serbian forces in 1999.
In an interview on the “Kallxo Përnime” program on May 3, 2025, activist Krasniqi-Goodman recounted her experience regarding the lack of serious treatment from state institutions and society in Kosovo.
On April 14, 2025, the advocacy campaign “Trauma Has No Deadline” was launched by organizations working with survivors of wartime sexual violence in Kosovo from 1998-1999. On the same date (April 14, 2025), the Government decided to extend the deadline for submitting applications for recognition of victim status for wartime sexual violence for another two years, until May 15, 2027.
However, at the launch of this campaign, Vasfije Krasniqi-Goodman, fellow sexual violence survivor Shyhrete Tahiri Sylejmani, and representatives of other organizations advocating for wartime sexual violence victims called for the complete removal of this deadline.
Context: Wartime Sexual Violence and Accountability
Based on statements from Kosovo’s institutional officials, approximately 20,000 cases of sexual violence occurred during the last war.
For the massacres, other war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo by Serbian and Yugoslav forces during the 1998-1999 war, the highest political and military leaders of the former Yugoslavia and Serbia were prosecuted, and some were convicted:
- Slobodan Milošević, former President of Yugoslavia, was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Serbian and Yugoslav forces in Kosovo, as well as in the wars in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. His trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague did not conclude, as Milošević died in custody on March 11, 2006.
- Milan Milutinović, former President of Serbia, was acquitted of war crime charges during the Kosovo conflict.
- Nikola Šainović, former Deputy Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war.
- Dragoljub Ojdanić, former Chief of the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for crimes against humanity.
- Nebojša Pavković, former Commander of the Third Army of the Yugoslav Army, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war.
- Vladimir Lazarević, former Commander of the Pristina Corps of the Yugoslav Army, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for crimes against humanity.
- Sreten Lukić, former Chief of Staff of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs for Kosovo, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war.
