Process to decide Kosovo's final status could
begin this year, Security Council told
24 February 2005 – There are good chances that the process
leading to talks on the final status of Kosovo could begin in
the second half of this year but also risks that tensions could
rise in tandem, the top United Nations envoy administering the
ethnically divided province said today.
"Those bent on derailing the process
may see violence as their only means to do so," Secretary-General
Kofi Annan's Special Representative Søren Jessen-Petersen
told the Security Council in presenting the latest report on
Kosovo, which the UN has run since the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) drove out Yugoslav troops amid grave human
rights abuses in fighting between Albanians and Serbs in 1999.
"The message must be clear: provocations
and violence cannot be allowed to stop progress towards a stable,
multi-ethnic society," he added, ruling out partition as
"simply not a realistic option" for the province,
now legally part of Serbia, where ethnic Albanians outnumber
other communities, mainly Serbs, by about 9 to 1.
"The society we are trying to build in
Kosovo must have space for all communities as a stable, tolerant,
multi-ethnic democracy," said Mr. Jessen-Petersen. "As
such, all talk about partition of Kosovo becomes an agenda for
those who may be eager to re-ignite the divisions and flames
of the past."
He noted that the last three months have been
marked by a positive trend but that the challenges ahead are
considerable. On the credit side he cited continuing improved
security, with rates low for serious crimes and showing no evidence
of ethnic bias in policing and judicial processes.
Tangible progress has also been made in implementing
the so-called Standards, eight goals in areas such as democratic
institutions, minority rights and an impartial legal system,
but "there is further to go to ensure that the positive
processes are translated into action on the ground," he
said.
The local Albanian-dominated government has
also undertaken reconstruction of almost all properties damaged
or destroyed last March when, in the worst violence since the
UN took over, an onslaught by Albanians to drive out Serb, Roma
and Ashkali communities led to 19 people being killed, nearly
1,000 injured and hundreds of homes and centuries-old Serbian
cultural sites razed or burned.
On the debit side, Mr. Jessen-Petersen said,
the security environment remains fragile, minority communities
continue to feel insecure and Serbs are often victims of misinformation
disproportional to the facts on the ground, leading to perceptions
of insecurity that prevent many of the displaced from returning
home.
Serbs are "regrettably" still staying
outside most political and democratic processes after their
boycott of last October's election and appear to be waiting
for more positive signals from Serbia following a 12-month boycott
of direct contacts between the Serbian Government and Kosovo,
which are now about to resume.
"So there is progress, but at the same
time problems do remain. Much more has to be done to reassure
the minorities that they have a future in Kosovo, to guarantee
freedom of movement for the minorities, and to speed up the
process of returns of displaced persons," the envoy declared.
"2005 is a key year for Kosovo. There
is now broad agreement on a clear way forward and a clear timetable
that could lead us to the negotiations on final status in the
second half of this year. To defer this process for much longer
would only prolong the pain, increase the risks, and delay the
day when the region will turn its back to a painful past and
move forward on a common European future," he added.
While praising Mr. Jessen-Peterson’s
work, Nebosja Covic, head of the Coordination Centre of Serbia
and Montenegro for Kosovo and Metohia, said Kosovo’s parliament
and government were not truly multi-ethnic, there was no protection
for non-Albanian communities from being out-voted, and constant
attacks on Serbs and other non-Albanians were not “isolated
incidents.”
It was therefore unjustifiably optimistic
to think there would now be a major turnaround in just a few
months, creating conditions for negotiation on the future status
of the province, he added, but he stressed that Serbia stood
ready to participate, at all levels, but on equal footing from
beginning to end, in all processes.
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UN envoy urges visiting Serbian President to
show Kosovo that Belgrade will foster trust
13 February 2005 – The
senior United Nations envoy for Kosovo today urged the visiting
Serbian President to send positive signals on Belgrade's readiness
to build bridges of trust.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative,
Søren Jessen-Petersen, voiced hope that Serbian President
Boris Tadic would use his first visit to Kosovo since 1999 to
obtain a complete view of the current situation in the province.
During their meeting at the headquarters
of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK),
the envoy also suggested that the Serbian leader speak with
representatives of all communities.
Mr. Jessen-Petersen noted that progress is
needed in reaching standards set for Kosovo in the areas of
freedom of movement and the return of displaced persons. In
this context, he encouraged once more the full participation
of Kosovo Serbs in the political and democratic process in order
to ensure that maximum progress could be made on issues important
to them.
In the meeting, the envoy and the President
also discussed the reconstruction of religious monuments. The
Provisional Institutions of Self-Government and UNMIK have made
funds available and work is ready to proceed, pending a re-engagement
of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the process.
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Foes of multi-ethnic democracy still threaten
Kosovo’s progress – UN envoy
10 February 2005 – The closer ethnically-divided Kosovo
moves towards final status talks, the greater the risks of provocation
by those who do not want to see a multi-ethnic democracy established
in the war-torn province that the United Nations has administered
for the past five years, the top UN envoy said today.
“2005 is and will be a crucial year
for Kosovo,” Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special
Representative Søren Jessen-Petersen told the Permanent
Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, of the province the UN has run since
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) drove out Yugoslav
troops amid grave human rights abuses in fighting between ethnic
Albanians and Serbs in 1999.
“Kosovo remains one of the last pieces
of the Balkan jigsaw that still confronts us with serious threats
to stability. It must be a prime objective of the international
community in 2005 to address this situation. Let us be clear:
2005 must be the year to move forward and fling open the windows
of opportunity,” he said, ruling out any idea of partition
as a solution.
“Challenges are staggering,” he
added. But he noted a great improvement in security, even if
fragile, since the province was shaken last March by the worst
violence since the UN took over, when an onslaught by Albanians
to drive out Serb, Roma and Ashkali minorities led to 19 people
being killed, nearly 1,000 injured and hundreds of homes and
centuries-old Serbian cultural sites razed or burned.
Above all it is imperative to bring the Serbs
into the process, he said, noting that their participation has
not improved since their almost total boycott of last year’s
Assembly elections. The economy must be improved and unemployment
cut, he added.
“For the majority Kosovo-Albanian community,
a functioning civil society is gradually taking shape. However,
many members of minority communities, notably Kosovo Serbs,
still feel insecure. Some municipalities continue to hamper
returns. Isolated incidents of stoning of minority transport
do happen – and are not always adequately condemned by
local political leaders. Illegal occupation and use of property
remain widespread,” he said.
As the province approaches a comprehensive
mid-year review of the situation, the local Kosovo authorities
must make a sustained effort to achieve the so-called Standards
– eight goals in areas such as democratic institutions,
minority rights and an impartial legal system – which
are seen as a crucial step on the road to determining its final
status.
“Suffice it to say that the Kosovo
society we are helping to build, not the least through Standard
implementation, is a place with internal peace, with space for
all communities and at peace with its neighbours as a stable,
tolerant, multi-ethnic democracy,” he declared.
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European Roma live in abject conditions far
behind general population – UN
3 February 2005 – The Roma people
in Central and southeastern Europe suffer from "abject
living conditions," falling far behind majority populations
on measures such as unemployment, housing, school enrolment,
literacy, access to essential drugs, running water and modern
communications, according to a new United Nations survey.
"These conditions are unacceptable in
countries that are part of the European Union or aspire to be,"
Andrey Ivanov, Human Development Adviser at the UN Development
Programme (UNDP) Bratislava Regional Centre in Slovakia said.
"We need action now to close the appalling development
gap that separates the Roma from the majority populations in
this region."
Conducted in 10 countries – Albania,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic,
Hungary, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania,
Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia – as well as Kosovo, the
survey, the most accurate picture ever compiled, shows that:
Five times more Roma live below the poverty line than do the
majority populations surveyed in Bulgaria and Serbia; three
times more in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and
Romania.
In Romania, 7 out of 10 Roma do not have access
to running water, while 8 out of 10 Roma cannot afford essential
prescription drugs.
In Kosovo, only 1 out of 10 Roma aged 12 and
above has finished primary school. In all other countries surveyed
except the Czech Republic, fewer than 2 out of 10 Roma have
completed primary education.
The Roma in the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia owe in electricity bills more than seven times what
they earn in a month. And their debts to the water utility amount
to more than four times their monthly income.
In Romania, only 2 out of 10 Roma households
have a telephone compared with 7 out of 10 for the majority
population living in close proximity.
The data release is timed to coincide with the launch of the
"Decade of Roma Inclusion," a 10-year effort to integrate
the Roma into the European mainstream. The decade aims to provide
a policy framework for governments to set their own goals for
Roma integration. The current dataset provides a strong analytical
backbone to future policies.
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UN transfers prison authority to local government
in Kosovo
1 February 2005 – The United Nations today handed over
complete management of detention centres in Kosovo to local
officials as it continues to prepare for final status talks
on the ethnically divided province, which it has run since the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) drove out Yugoslav
troops amid fighting in 1999.
“This is yet another manifestation of
the SRSG’s (Special Representative of the Secretary-General)
and my own commitment to the continued transfer of responsibilities
and competencies to Kosovo,” Principal Deputy Special
Representative of the Secretary-General Larry Rossin told a
ceremony at UN headquarters in Pristina, the capital.
“The transition in penal management
must continue in tandem with that in the police and judiciary,
to ensure a balanced growth of all three arms of justice in
Kosovo,” he added, hailing this milestone achievement.
The move followed the transfer last month
of some economic powers from the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK), including the chairmanship of the Economic
and Fiscal Council to Prime Minister Ramush Haradina.
The centres handed over today were in Prizren
and Peja/Pec. “In its quest for international standards,
Kosovo has the advantage of having a brand new correctional
service that has been bred in modern democratic values and does
not carry the burden of retrograde penal management practices,”
Mr. Rossin said.
Last month Special Representative Søren
Jessen-Petersen announced agreement with Mr. Haradina’s
government on speeding up moves towards a multiethnic society,
noting that all involved had a very tight timetable to meet
by mid-2005, when they need to show clear progress to move on
to final status talks.
Both stressed then that the highest priority
remained progress on the so-called Standards – eight goals
in areas such as democratic institutions, minority rights and
an impartial legal system – which are seen as a crucial
step on the road to determining the final status of Kosovo,
where Albanians outnumber other communities, mainly Serbs, by
about 9 to 1. Before NATO’s intervention the province
was ruled from Belgrade, the capital of Serbia and Montenegro.
Last March the province was shaken by
the worst violence in the five years of UN administration when
an onslaught by Albanians to drive out Serb, Roma and Ashkali
communities led to 19 people being killed, nearly 1,000 injured
and hundreds of homes and centuries-old Serbian cultural sites
razed or burned.
