Kosovo: UN mission chief
urges local leaders to help bring calm to Mitrovica
31 JANUARY – The head of the United Nations peace operation
in Kosovo has urged local leaders to take steps towards calming
tensions in the divided city of Mitrovica, where 20 members of
international and police security forces (KFOR) were wounded in
grenade attacks today alone. FULL
STORY >>
Security Council members
condemn attacks by Albanian extremists in southern Serbia
30 JANUARY – Members of the Security Council today strongly
condemned the attacks by ethnic Albanian extremist groups in southern
Serbia and stressed the need to bring the perpetrators to justice.
FULL STORY
>>
New head of UN Mission
in Kosovo announces priorities of his administration
26 JANUARY – Creating a legal framework for the forthcoming
general elections and guaranteeing security are the top priorities
of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), the
new chief administrator told correspondents at a press conference
yesterday in Pristina. FULL
STORY >>
UN envoy urges on Belgrade
to release all Kosovo prisoners
24 JANUARY – The head of the United Nations mission in Kosovo
today demanded the immediate return of all Kosovo prisoners detained
in Serbia. FULL
STORY >>
UN health agency to send
team to Kosovo to examine effects of depleted uranium
19 JANUARY – The United Nations World Health Organization
(WHO) announced today that it would send a team of experts to
Kosovo in response to concerns over the possible effects of depleted
uranium used during the 1999 Balkans conflict. FULL
STORY >>
Top UN peacekeeping official
briefs Security Council on Kosovo
18 JANUARY – The United Nations Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK) has made "impressive progress" in
many areas over the past 18 months, particularly in strengthening
the local police and reconstructing homes and schools, a top UN
peacekeeping official told the Security Council today as it met
to discuss the situation in the province. FULL
STORY >>
Kosovo: UN mission chief
outlines priorities in progress towards self-government
16 JANUARY – In his first meeting with Kosovo's Interim
Administrative Council (IAC), the new head of the United Nations
peace operation there outlined today his main priorities for his
tenure, including speeding up the work that will lead to the establishment
of provisional self-government. FULL
STORY >>
Uranium 236 found in
ammunition tips at NATO-targeted sites in Kosovo: UNEP
16 JANUARY – Early laboratory results confirm that pieces
of ammunition tips found at sites targeted by NATO during the
1999 Kosovo conflict contain Uranium 236, indicating that the
uranium was reprocessed, the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) said today. FULL
STORY >>
New head of UN mission
in Kosovo stresses need to speed up election preparations
15 JANUARY – On his first day as head of the United Nations
peace operation in Kosovo, former Danish Defence Minister Hans
Haekkerup today highlighted the need to speed up the preparatory
process that will lead to the territory's first general elections,
which he said should happen "as soon as possible." FULL
STORY >>
UN Kosovo mission approves
new regulation on human trafficking
15 JANUARY – The United Nations Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK) has approved a regulation making human trafficking
a crime punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison. FULL
STORY >>
Hailed for "tireless
efforts," Kouchner steps down as head of UN Kosovo mission
12 JANUARY – The man who has led the United Nations mission
in Kosovo for the past year and a half, Dr. Bernard Kouchner of
France, stepped down today after making what Secretary-General
Kofi Annan said was "extraordinary contribution" to
the UN effort of rebuilding the conflict-torn land. FULL
STORY >>
UN in Kosovo takes steps
to thwart possible ill effects of depleted uranium
11 JANUARY – As the lead organization dealing with all public
health aspects relating to depleted uranium in Kosovo, the United
Nations has taken several measures to protect the civilian population
against any possible ill effects from the ammunition used by NATO
during the 1999 air strikes, the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK) said today. FULL
STORY >>
"Stop the killings,"
UN Kosovo chief says in farewell address
11 January – Bidding farewell to the people and leaders
of Kosovo, the outgoing chief of the United Nations operation
there has made a final plea to all Kosovars to renounce violence
and strive to build a solid and long-lasting peace. FULL
STORY >>
Head of UN Kosovo mission
visits site hit by depleted uranium ammunition
9 JANUARY – The head of the United Nations Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) today visited a site which was hit by
ammunition containing depleted uranium during the 1999 Balkans
conflict. FULL
STORY >>
UN chief in Kosovo seeks
health experts' opinion on effects of depleted uranium
8 JANUARY – Secretary-General Kofi Annan's chief envoy in
Kosovo is seeking a team of health experts to assess the effects
of depleted uranium resulting from the Balkans conflict of 1999,
a United Nations spokesperson told reporters in Pristina today.
FULL STORY
>>
Depleted uranium samples
from Kosovo analyzed in European labs: UN agency
5 JANUARY – The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
announced today that samples of depleted uranium (DU) from Kosovo
were now undergoing rigorous analysis in five European labs to
determine whether the use of the substance during the Balkans
conflict may pose any risk to human health or the environment.
FULL STORY
>>
Kosovo: outgoing head
of UN mission welcomes successor
4 JANUARY – Dr. Bernard Kouchner, the head of the United
Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), welcomed
today his successor, Hans Haekkerup, who arrived in Pristina for
a series of briefings on the position he will assume on 15 January.
FULL STORY
>>
UN steps up efforts to
seize illegal weapons in Kosovo
3 JANUARY – Responding to increasing incidents of gun violence
around Kosovo, United Nations police stepped up efforts to confiscate
illegal weapons in the Pec region, a UN spokesman said today in
the province's capital of Pristina. FULL
STORY >>
In New Year message, head
of UN mission urges Kosovars to promote tolerance
2 JANUARY – Kosovo will have a "good year" in
2001 only if the recent upsurge in violent acts - primarily against
Kosovo Serbs - comes to an end, the head of the United Nations
peace operation there said in a statement marking the start of
the new year. FULL
STORY >>
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