PRISTINA (AFP)--Kosovo's government and foreign donors must promptly close contaminated Roma settlements and relocate hundreds of inhabitants, a prominent human rights think tank said Wednesday.
"The Kosovo authorities need to work with international donors to close lead-contaminated camps occupied by internally displaced Roma without delay, relocate their inhabitants, and provide medical treatment for lead poisoning," Human Rights Watch said in a report.
The U.N. resettled the Roma in camps in a heavily contaminated area near a defunct lead mine in Kosovo's north after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's 11-week air war ended the breakaway Serbian province's 1998-1999 conflict.
The move was originally intended to be temporary, yet about 670 Roma still live in camps near the site, with damaging consequences for their health.
World Health Organization-backed testing confirmed children in the camps were badly affected, with some suffering from stunted physical and mental growth.
"Excessive lead levels in the human body can cause damage to the nervous and reproductive systems, as well as kidney failure," the HRW report said.
"Very high lead levels result in coma and death. Lead is particularly harmful to children, as it can cause irreversible brain damage.
HRW researcher Wanda Troszczynska-van Genderen said: "Roma have been stuck in these poisoned camps for a decade.
"How long would the U.N. and Kosovo officials put up with it if their own families were forced to live in a place like that?"
To make things worse, HRW said, the camps are located in a municipality under the control of ethnic Serbs, who don't accept the jurisdictions of the Kosovo government after it declared independence from Serbia in February 2008.
"After 10 years, it's about time we had some momentum to solve this problem," said Troszczynska-van Genderen.
"It is vital that the U.S. and E.U. work with the authorities in Kosovo, including in Serb-controlled municipalities, to solve the crisis."
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Publié le 24 Juin 2009 Copyright © 2009 Dowjones