27. Expresses concern about Kosovo’s limited framework for witness protection, which is particularly important in high-profile cases; underlines the importance of a fully functioning witness protection programme; calls on the Kosovo authorities to strengthen the effectiveness and credibility of the witness protection system, and on EULEX to increase its support for these efforts; urges the Member States to accept more cases of witness relocation and underlines the need to continue to seek ways to acknowledge the suffering and respect the right to truth and justice of all victims of war crimes, including support for the establishment o ...[+++]f the RECOM regional truth commission;

25. Expresses concern about Kosovo’s limited framework for witness protection, which is particularly important in high-profile cases; underlines the importance of a fully functioning witness protection programme; calls on the Kosovo authorities to strengthen the effectiveness and credibility of the witness protection system, and on EULEX to increase its support for these efforts; urges the Member States to accept more cases of witness relocation and underlines the need to continue to seek ways to acknowledge the suffering and respect the right to truth and justice of all victims of war crimes, including support for the establishment o ...[+++]f the RECOM regional truth commission;

39. Welcomes the progress in the reform of the judiciary but calls for more efforts to ensure the professionalism of judges and prosecutors, as well as their independence from any political interference, and to tackle corruption in their ranks; welcomes, to this end, the active role of the Constitutional Court in ensuring the constitutionality of the parliamentary processes and in providing clarity on the issue of functional immunity; notes that, despite progress in some areas, the judicial system in Kosovo remains weak and that a significant backlog of cases persists; stresses, in this regard, the need to pursue reforms; underlines that for the justice system to function properly it is of utmost importance that fully functional and effective progr ...[+++]ammes for witness protection and witness relocation are in place, and calls for immediate steps to implement the witness protection law and to establish witness protection units within the police and the judiciary; calls, moreover, on the EU Member States, and on other countries participating in EULEX, to commit themselves to participate in witness relocation programmes; regrets the fact that the court in Mitrovicë/Mitrovica still does not function at full capacity, and calls on the Kosovar and Serbian authorities to resolve the issue in order to improve access to justice for citizens in the north;

39. Welcomes the progress in the reform of the judiciary but calls for more efforts to ensure the professionalism of judges and prosecutors, as well as their independence from any political interference, and to tackle corruption in their ranks; welcomes, to this end, the active role of the Constitutional Court in ensuring the constitutionality of the parliamentary processes and in providing clarity on the issue of functional immunity; notes that, despite progress in some areas, the judicial system in Kosovo remains weak and that a significant backlog of cases persists; stresses, in this regard, the need to pursue reforms; underlines that for the justice system to function properly it is of utmost importance that fully functional and effective progr ...[+++]ammes for witness protection and witness relocation are in place, and calls for immediate steps to implement the witness protection law and to establish witness protection units within the police and the judiciary; calls, moreover, on the EU Member States, and on other countries participating in EULEX, to commit themselves to participate in witness relocation programmes; regrets the fact that the court in Mitrovicë/Mitrovica still does not function at full capacity, and calls on the Kosovar and Serbian authorities to resolve the issue in order to improve access to justice for citizens in the north;

35. Welcomes the progress in the reform of the judiciary but calls for more efforts to ensure the professionalism of judges and prosecutors, as well as their independence from any political interference, and to tackle corruption in their ranks; welcomes, to this end, the active role of the Constitutional Court in ensuring the constitutionality of the parliamentary processes and in providing clarity on the issue of functional immunity; notes that, despite progress in some areas, the judicial system in Kosovo remains weak and that a significant backlog of cases persists; stresses, in this regard, the need to pursue reforms; underlines that for the justice system to function properly it is of utmost importance that fully functional and effective progr ...[+++]ammes for witness protection and witness relocation are in place, and calls for immediate steps to implement the witness protection law and to establish witness protection units within the police and the judiciary; calls, moreover, on the EU Member States, and on other countries participating in EULEX, to commit themselves to participate in witness relocation programmes; regrets the fact that the court in Mitrovicë/Mitrovica still does not function at full capacity, and calls on the Kosovar and Serbian authorities to resolve the issue in order to improve access to justice for citizens in the north;

3. Member States shall ensure that victims of trafficking in human beings receive appropriate protection on the basis of an individual risk assessment, inter alia, by having access to witness protection programmes or other similar measures, if appropriate and in accordance with the grounds defined by national law or procedures.