A/HRC/45/CRP.10 foetus, requiring mutigenerational efforts for prevention. High levels of lead during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature birth and low birth weight. Lead also causes long-term harm in adults, including increased risk of high blood pressure and kidney damage. Half of the RAE residents were children aged 14 or younger. 21 16. According to testimonies gathered by the Special Rapporteur in 2019, many of those affected among the RAE community, including children, are still experiencing a myriad of health problems, including seizures, kidney disease, behavioural and emotional challenges, as well as memory loss – all common long-term effects of lead poisoning.22 A. Detailed chronology of events 17. Prior to the Kosovo conflict, the Roma living in the Mitrovica/Mitrovicë region comprised one of the most distinctive communities in Northern Kosovo. The Roma Mahalla, comprised around 700-750 houses, with an estimated 8,000 inhabitants (approximately 1000 families).23 During 1998 and 1999, thousands of representatives of the Roma community were forced to flee by the armed conflict, becoming IDPs or refugees in neighbouring countries and in Europe. 18. In 1999, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) assisted IDPs, distributing food and organizing makeshift camps in Cesmin Lug and Zitkovac. These camps were supposed to be a temporary solution until Roma houses in the Mahalla were reconstructed. Other IDPs spontaneously occupied abandoned army barracks at Kablare (next to the Cesmin Lug camp) and Leposavic, a town 45 kilometres from Mitrovica/Mitrovicë.24 19. With the exception of Leposavic, all the new IDP camps were located near the Trepca complex, a mine for lead and other heavy metals. Under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999), UNMIK had the obligation to administer the Trepca smelter on an interim basis. In August 2000, after an environmental audit warned that the smelter was an “unacceptable source of air pollution” and after testing of French Kosovo Force (KFOR) soldiers serving near its facilities revealed that their Blood Lead Level (BLL) had increased dramatically, the former Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo (SRSG), Bernard Kouchner, ordered the closure of the plant as an emergency health measure. 20. During 2000, UNMIK and KFOR contingents based in northern Mitrovica/Mitrovicë assessed the soil toxicity in and around the camps, which indicated high lead contamination in the camps. KFOR contingents implemented measures to protect their personnel, including removing personnel with high blood lead levels from the area. 21. In November 2000, UNMIK commissioned a report to provide recommendations on how to assess risks and means of mitigation. The report recommended comprehensive epidemiological studies, periodic environmental sampling, and robust medical monitoring and medical treatment for those in need. However, it reportedly concluded that the costs of any such strategy exceeded the financial capacities of UNMIK. During the period 2000-2004, no further steps were taken to address the issue of decontamination in the region. 25 22. In October 2001, UNMIK took over the responsibility for managing the camps from UNHCR.26 In 2004, the World Health Organization (WHO) assessed the situation in the camps, producing an internal report to UNMIK on how to manage the risks, and which recommended finding a more suitable location for the IDPs and closing the existing camps. 21 22 23 24 25 26 ibid. WHO, https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health; Public statement of the UN Special Rapporteur, March 2019 https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24319&LangID=E. HRW report, https://www.hrw.org/report/2009/06/23/kosovo-poisoned-lead/health-and-human-rightscrisis-mitrovicas-roma-camps. ibid. ibid. UNMIK took up functions as interim administration after Kosovo’s Declaration of Independence in 2008. See S/2008/458. 5