UN
envoy to Kosovo pays tribute to its late president
26 January 2006 – The senior United
Nations envoy to Kosovo today paid tribute to the character
and vision of its late president, Ibrahim Rugova, and urged
the people of the province to carry through with his vision
of unity and stability.
“All who met President Rugova were struck
by his warmth, his wisdom, and his dedication,” Søren
Jessen-Petersen told those present at a memorial ceremony. “At
a time, and in a region, where so many set their eyes upon the
past, President Rugova was always focused on the future.”
The envoy stressed that the path laid by Mr.
Rugova “led – and still leads – towards a
Kosovo that is democratic, multiethnic and free. A Kosovo that
is firmly integrated into Europe, and which retains the strong
links to the United States that he did so much to build.”
This perspective, Mr. Jessen-Petersen said,
must guide Kosovo forward. “It is a vision whose fulfilment
he did not live to see, but whose realization will be achieved
through the unity and commitment of those who follow him.”
Mr. Rugova, who was battling lung cancer,
died on Saturday. During his term in office, which began in
February, 2002, the President survived a number of assassination
attempts, including a grenade attack on his home in March 2004
and an explosive offensive against his convoy one year later.
The UN has run Kosovo since the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) drove out Yugoslav troops
amid grave human rights abuses in fighting between Serbs and
Albanians in 1999.
Top
of page
Security
Council says people of Kosovo should pursue peace despite President’s
death
23 January 2006 – Mourning the
death of the President of Kosovo, Ibrahim Rugova, members of
the Security Council today urged the people of the province
to peacefully conclude talks on its final status.
Mr. Rugova, who was suffering from lung cancer,
died this weekend, prompting a flurry of tributes, including
those from United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his
Special Representative to Kosovo, Søren Jessen-Petersen.
In a statement to the press today, Council
President Augustine P. Mahiga of Tanzania voiced the 15-member
body’s “deep condolences to the Assembly and the
people of Kosovo for the untimely death of their leader.”
”The Council trusts that the people
of Kosovo, while mourning this great loss, will continue nonetheless
to pursue the peaceful conclusion of the process already underway
to determine the final future status of Kosovo in the interests
of peace, stability and the well being of the entire population
of Kosovo,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Special Envoy for the
status process, Martti Ahtisaari, announced that, out of respect
for the late President, he had decided to delay the decentralization
talks that were previously scheduled to take place in Vienna
on 25 January.
Top
of page
Kosovo:
UN officials mourn crash deaths of NATO-led Slovak troops, civilians
23 January 2006 – Senior United Nations officials today
mourned the deaths of 42 troops and civilians from Slovakia
who died in a recent plane crash while serving with the NATO-led
Kosovo International Security Force (KFOR). Through his spokesman,
Secretary-General Kofi Annan reacted with sadness to the fatal
crash of a military plane last Thursday night in north-eastern
Hungary en route from Kosovo to Slovakia.
“He extends his profound condolences
to the Slovak Government and to the bereaved families and wishes
a speedy recovery to the sole survivor,” spokesman Stephane
Dujarric said.
Mr. Annan’s senior envoy to Kosovo,
Søren Jessen-Petersen, voiced his sympathy in a statement
released on Friday. “My thoughts are with the families
of those who lost their lives, and I extend to them my heartfelt
condolences on behalf of UNMIK,” he said, referring to
the UN Interim Administration Mission which runs Kosovo. He
also voiced hope that the survivor would quickly regain health.
In a conversation with Slovak Foreign Minister
Eduard Kukan, Mr. Jessen-Petersen paid tribute to the country’s
important contribution to KFOR.
KFOR is a NATO-led international force
responsible for establishing and maintaining security in Kosovo.
It has been operating in the province since 1999 under a United
Nations mandate.
Top
of page
Addressing
Kosovo Assembly, UN envoy pays tribute to late President
22 January 2006 – The senior United Nations envoy to Kosovo
today delivered an address to the province's Assembly in tribute
to the memory of its late President, Ibrahim Rugova.
“We were all, of course, aware of the
seriousness of the President's illness, but still yesterday's
news was a shock,” said Soren Jessen-Petersen. Mr. Rugova
was battling lung cancer at the time of his death on Saturday.
The UN envoy recalled his first meeting with
Mr. Rugova. “Then, as afterwards, he struck me with the
constancy of his political vision and the firmness of his dedication
towards a single aim – the aim to which he dedicated his
life – that of a free Kosovo,” Mr. Jessen-Petersen
said.
That vision, he stressed, remains in the
hands of Kosovo's political leaders “whose unity and commitment
to the President's vision will be vital in the coming months.”
Preparations are being finalized for
talks on the future status of Kosovo, which the UN has administered
since NATO troops drove out Yugoslav forces in 1999.
Top
of page
Kosovo:
Annan mourns death of President Ibrahim Rugova, urges continued
unity
21 January 2006 – United Nations
Secretary-General Kofi Annan today mourned the passing of Kosovo's
President, Ibrahim Rugova, and urged that his legacy of peace
be sustained in the period ahead.
In a statement released by his spokesman,
the Secretary General hailed the late politician for having
“demonstrated true leadership and advocated a peaceful
solution for Kosovo.”
He noted that Mr. Rugova passed away at a
crucial moment, with final preparations now underway for talks
on Kosovo's future status. “The Secretary General trusts
in the maturity of Kosovo's institutions and believes that the
loss of Kosovo's President will not disrupt this process,”
the spokesman said.
The Secretary General also called on the
Kosovo political leaders to maintain their unity and continue
cooperating with his Special Envoy, Mr. Martti Ahtisaari, and
his Special Representative, Mr. Soren Jessen-Petersen.
In Kosovo, the senior UN envoy and key leaders
issued a joint statement. “Together with the people of
Kosovo we are united in our grief and sorrow,” Mr. Jessen-Petersen,
Assembly Speaker Nexhat Daci, Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi,
PDK leader Hashim Thaci, ORA leader Veton Surroi, and Co-ordinator
of Status Working Groups Blerim Shala said.
“Together with the people we are united
in our determination to see Kosovo continue on its path towards
a peaceful and prosperous future,” they pledged.
In his own personal statement, Mr. Jessen-Petersen
said, “The best tribute we can pay to President Rugova
and his legacy is to stay united during the coming months. Indeed,
this is the moment for all the people and political leaders
of Kosovo to pull together and show the maturity and wisdom
that would serve Kosovo well now and in the future.”
Martti Ahtisaari, the UN Special Envoy for
the future status process for Kosovo, issued his own statement
praising the late President for his determination to work for
a better future. “I expect the momentum generated by President
Rugova to be sustained, and that Kosovo's political leaders
assume the responsibility to remain unified and actively support
our common efforts to realize Kosovo's status,” he said.
Mr. Ahtisaari reiterated his commitment to
leading the status process “to culminate in a political
settlement that determines the future status of Kosovo.”
In September, officials announced that Mr.
Rugova had lung cancer.
Mr. Rugova received a majority of votes during
elections in late 2001 but only came to office in February of
the following year after Kosovo's Albanian parties reached an
accord which paved the way for him to assume the presidency.
During his term in office, he survived a number of assassination
attempts, including a grenade attack on his home in March 2004
and an explosive offensive against his convoy one year later.
The UN has run Kosovo since the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) drove out Yugoslav troops
amid grave human rights abuses in fighting between Serbs and
Albanians in 1999.
Top
of page
Top
UN Kosovo envoy urges Roma to move to newly-refurbished camp
11 January 2006 – The chief United
Nations envoy to Kosovo is urging displaced persons from the
country’s Roma minority to relocate from their current,
lead-polluted camps to a newly-refurbished facility which opened
last week, after hearing their concerns over another move to
temporary dwellings.
“Of course, this is not the permanent
solution, but there is no doubt that conditions are much better
than what we have in the camps,” Secretary-General Kofi
Annan’s Special Representative, Soren Jessen-Petersen,
told Roma leaders yesterday at the Cesmin Lug Roma camp, before
joining them on a tour of newly-renovated Camp Osterode, which
formerly housed French troops.
He stressed that health and hygiene, electricity,
water and heating were all better in the Osterode facility,
children would have access to education and recreation and income-generating
activities would be available.
Most of the displaced in the camps came from
the main Roma neighbourhood, known as the Roma Mahalla, which
was destroyed during the conflict between majority Albanians,
Serbs and Yugoslav forces in 1999. The UN has administered Kosovo
since NATO forces drove out the Yugoslav troops that year.
Reconstruction of the Roma Mahalla has started,
with the first phase of rubble clearing completed and work on
the first two buildings planned.
“There is no doubt whatsoever that what
we all want to see is the permanent return to the Mahalla,”
Mr. Jessen-Petersen said.
“We are working on that, and mobilizing
donors for the resources needed to continue the work to rebuild
the Mahallah,” he assured the Roma leaders.
Top
of page
Displaced
Roma in Kosovo to leave lead-tainted camps, UN says
6 January 2006 – A newly-refurbished
camp will open on Monday for internally displaced Roma populations
in Kosovo that are enduring unhealthy lead levels in their present
dwellings, the United Nations Mission in that province (UNMIK)
announced today.
The displaced Roma will be
temporarily housed in Camp Osterode, recently vacated by French
forces, until the ongoing reconstruction of their permanent
homes in northern Kosovo is completed.
UNMIK said that the new camp
will closely follow recommendations by the World Health Organization
(WHO), to protect children and pregnant women from lead poisoning.
The mission has offered to help the Roma relocate.
This past June, Dr. Walter
Kalin, a UN expert on the rights of internally displaced persons
(IDPs) appealed to the international community to provide resources
to evacuate the Roma population affected by lead poisoning in
camps in Northern Mitrovica.
`Camp Osterode, which had
housed a French unit of the international Kosovo Force (KFOR),
was refurbished with contributions from international donors.
According to UNMIK, the Camp offers access to health and hygiene
infrastructure, social supports, children's programmes as well
as employment and training opportunities for residents.
In a meeting in Camp Osterode
today, representatives of UNMIK, WHO, and other agencies and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in the camps called
on Roma leaders to support an immediate relocation to the new
camp following its opening on 9 January.
Most of the displaced came
from the major Roma neighbourhood, known as the Roma Mahala,
which was destroyed during the conflict between majority Albanians,
Serbs, and Yugoslav forces in 1999. The UN has administered
Kosovo since NATO forces drove out the Yugoslav troops that
year.
Reconstruction of the
Roma Mahala has started, with the first phase of rubble clearing
completed and work on the first two buildings planned.
Top
of page
More
than two dozen UN personnel were killed in 2005 – Staff
Union
5 January 2006 – Fatal attacks against United Nations
civilian and military personnel stationed around the globe more
than doubled last year compared to 2004 as 32 people were killed
in incidents that ranged from bombings in Kosovo to ambushes
by gunfire in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the
world body's Staff Union said today.
The UN employees that died
from malicious attacks last year comprised nine civilians, two
policemen, one security guard and 20 peacekeepers, it said.
That number was up from at least 15 United Nations employees
– seven peacekeepers and eight civilians – killed
in 2004.
“These incidents once
again serve as a tragic reminder of the innumerable risks undertaken
daily by United Nations staff across the globe,” said
Guy Candusso, First Vice-President of the Staff Union. “These
were only the most visible attacks against United Nations personnel
working in many dangerous and hostile environments around the
world.”
Rosemarie Waters, the Staff Union President, called on Member
States to prosecute the perpetrators of the attacks. “This
demonstrates the need to end the current situation of impunity,
with too few perpetrators brought before the law,” she
said.
Last year, one of the most
treacherous places for the UN was DRC, where 13 staffers were
killed. It was also the site of one of the bloodiest attacks
that produced the largest number of fatalities among the world
body's personnel when unidentified militia members ambushed
and murdered nine Bangladeshi peacekeepers in the country's
eastern Ituri district in late February of last year. The blue
helmets, who had been trying to protect a camp for internally
displaced persons from harassment by local militias, lost their
lives in the worst-ever attack against the UN Organization Mission
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC).
Four other peacekeepers died
throughout the year in separate attacks in the troubled African
nation, including the last fatality of the year - which occurred
when a MONUC peacekeeper from India was killed on Christmas
Day.
Haiti turned out to be another
hazardous locale for UN personnel as six people met violent
deaths. Two peacekeepers working with the UN Stabilization Mission
in Haiti (MINUSTAH) were killed on 20 March 2005 in two separate
incidents while the year came to a close when the driver of
a vehicle carrying two UN policemen died after being shot by
unidentified gunmen.
Three days later, a MINUSTAH
peacekeeper died after being shot in the head as his armoured
vehicle was attacked in the Cité Soleil neighborhood
of Port-au-Prince, one of Haiti's most dangerous areas.
Civilians also became victims
of violence; the first fatality of the year occurred when a
staff member of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) died of gunshot
wounds in Nairobi on 4 January.
Six days later, a staff member
of the African Regional office of the World Health Organization
(WHO) died as a result of a knife attack in her car in Harare,
Zimbabwe, It was the first murder of a UN staff member in that
country.
Later that month, a Nigerian
police offer who served with the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK) was killed in a bomb explosion as he drove
to his work at the Pritzen Regional Police Headquarters in Kosovo.
The incidents were gathered
by the Staff Council Standing Committee on the Security and
Independence of the International Civil Service, which is part
of the Staff Union.
Top
of page
Explosion
damages bus in Kosovo, UN reports, urging prosecution of perpetrators
5 January 2006 – Reacting to an explosion against a bus
carrying passengers in Kosovo, the United Nations Interim Administration
Mission (UNMIK) there today said those responsible must be found
and brought to justice, and stressed that violence must not
impede the political process.
The blast yesterday evening
in Suha Rekë/Suva Reka hit a bus carrying 55 passengers
of various Kosovan communities of Albanian, Gorani, Bosniac
and Turkish ethnicity as well as one of Chinese nationality.
No injuries were caused and the passengers continued their journey
on another bus under police escort, according to an UNMIK spokesman.
“Such a reckless act
of criminal violence is condemnable and clearly not in the interest
of Kosovo,” said spokesman Neeraj Singh. “We call
upon those who have information on this crime to co-operate
with law enforcement agencies to ensure that such ill-intentioned
individuals or groups are isolated, identified and brought to
justice.”
Last month, the senior UN
envoy to Kosovo, Søren Jessen-Petersen, asked police
to enhance security measures across the province to ensure that
a safe and secure environment is maintained during talks on
its status.
“Attempts by isolated
individuals or groups to disrupt Kosovo’s way forward
must not be tolerated,” the spokesman said.
UNMIK Police and Kosovo Police
Service have launched ‘Operation Stringent Security’
instituting vigorous police patrols and vehicle checkpoints
throughout Kosovo with a focus on potentially vulnerable areas.
Over the past month, 352 persons have been arrested and 84 weapons
have been seized.
Police Commissioner
Kai Vittrup today reiterated that police will remain on high
alert during the status process.
Top
of page
