Kosovo
parties find common ground in first round of status talks, says
UN envoy
22 February 2006 – The first round
of direct negotiations between delegations from Albanian-majority
Kosovo and Serbia on the future status of the Serbian province
found common ground on the issue of decentralization of services,
according to the United Nations envoy who chaired the talks,
which ended today.
“The kind of matters we discussed are
not earth-shattering matters in the political sense, but they
are extremely important for the people concerned and we tried
to approach this really from a practical point,” Albert
Rohan, the Deputy Special Envoy of Secretary-General Kofi Annan
for the future status of Kosovo said at a press conference in
Vienna, where the talks were held.
Delegates exchanged views on municipal concerns
such as health care, education, culture, social welfare, police
and justice, provisions on which will have to be incorporated
into any resolution on Kosovo’s future status, according
to Mr. Rohan.
Future status options could include independence
or autonomy for Kosovo where Albanians outnumber Serbs and others
by 9 to 1, and which the UN has administered ever since North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces drove out Yugoslav
troops amid grave rights abuses in ethnic fighting. Serbia opposes
independence.
Last month, Secretary-General Annan called
on Kosovo leaders to work to promote government reform and other
key goals in the province, saying he was “seriously concerned”
by the slow progress and setbacks between May and December last
year.
Both parties decided to meet again on
17 March to continue the discussion of decentralization, including
such matters as local finance, inter-municipal cooperation and
links between Kosovo municipalities and municipalities in Serbia
as well as with Belgrade.
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UN
envoy tells Security Council that Kosovo operation now in ‘critical
phase’
14 February 2006 – Speaking to
the Security Council today, the senior United Nations envoy
to Kosovo said the next few months offered great opportunities
for the province’s leaders and its people to work together
to decide their future, saying also that the UN mission was
now in its most critical phase.
In his latest report to the 15-member body,
Søren Jessen-Petersen said that major developments in
the province since October included the death last month from
lung cancer of Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova, the start of
a process to determine the province’s future status and
the efforts made at decentralisation.
“Much has been achieved – much
more must and will be done. The next months offer an opportunity
for Kosovo’s leaders to redouble their efforts, to reach
out to Kosovo’s Serbs and to the other minorities, and
to register solid and substantive progress,” Mr. Jessen-Petersen
said.
“With the beginning of the status process,
the United Nations Mission in Kosovo has entered its most critical
phase. Now, as in the past, our focus must remain on building
in Kosovo a society that is democratic, multi-ethnic, inclusive
and tolerant,” the senior envoy added.
Mr. Jessen-Petersen also called on Kosovo’s
Serbs to take “an active part in the central and municipal
institutions” if they wish to shape the province’s
future and said Belgrade must also encourage and support such
participation.
“Our goal must now be to make good the
political wrongs of the past, with a focus on the rights of
all people – of individuals and families – for the
future,” he added.
Mr. Jessen-Petersen noted that last week Kosovo’s
Assembly had elected Fatmir Sejdiu as the province’s new
President, saying this had demonstrated a “mature and
dignified” political response to the recent death.
The UN envoy also said that President Sejdiu
had already discussed the former President’s vision on
the status of Kosovo with the province’s negotiating team,
ahead of a meeting on decentralisation between Pristina and
Belgrade to be held in Vienna next week.
“The majority in Kosovo, who suffered
so much as a minority themselves in the past, has a right to
expect that their aspirations will be met when Kosovo’s
status is decided. The minorities, who have in turn suffered
revenge and isolation, have a right to expect that their concerns
will be just as seriously heard and addressed,” Mr. Jessen-Petersen
concluded.
Kosovo has been run by the UN since 1999,
when NATO drove out Yugoslav troops amid human rights abuses
in fighting between Serbs and Albanians.
Last month, Secretary-General Kofi Annan
called on Kosovo Serb leaders to work to promote government
reform and other key goals in the province, saying he was “seriously
concerned” by the slow progress and setbacks between May
and December last year.
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Kosovo:
UN envoy hails election of new president
10 February 2006 – The senior United Nations envoy to
Kosovo today welcomed the election by the province’s Assembly
of Fatmir Sejdiu to serve as president, succeeding Ibrahim Rugova,
who passed away last month.
“President Sejdiu takes office at a
decisive time for Kosovo, when it is crucial to maintain unity
and stability in order to advance the process that will determine
Kosovo’s status,” Søren Jessen-Petersen said
in a statement.
He voiced confidence that the new leader will
“continue the work to help the aspirations of the people
of Kosovo to a peaceful, multi-ethnic, democratic and prosperous
Kosovo.”
In this process, Mr. Jessen-Petersen pledged
his personal support and that of the UN Interim Administration
Mission (UNMIK), which has been running the province since 1999,
when NATO drove out Yugoslav troops amid human rights abuses
in fighting between Serbs and Albanians.
The UN envoy congratulated the new leader
on the “very strong support” he received from the
Assembly.
“I also congratulate the Assembly
for moving quickly, after the tragic loss of President Ibrahim
Rugova, to take the political processes in Kosovo forward,”
Mr. Jessen-Petersen, who is Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s
Special Representative, added.
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UN
urges displaced people in Kosovo to leave polluted camps immediately
9 February 2006 – United Nations agencies in Kosovo renewed
emergency calls today for internally displaced persons (IDPs)
to leave lead polluted camps in the northern part of the province
and move their families to the safer UN-run camp of Osterode.
Stressing that the move was particularly important
for the health of children, the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK),
the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s
Fund (UNICEF) warned that the lead levels in the affected camps
were such that “no amount of remediation on these sites
can protect the residents.”
In a joint press release from Pristina, the
capital of the UN-run province of Kosovo, the agencies declared
that the only solution is for the IDPs “to relocate to
a safer location immediately.”
The statement said that the IDPs affected
come from the Roma, Ashkaeli and Egyptian communities but the
appeal to move to the safer camp was also directed at local
authorities and community leaders.
“Lead is highly toxic to humans. Young
children, especially those under 5 years of age and fetuses,
are the most vulnerable. Exposure to lead causes a variety of
adverse health effects, including impaired mental and physical
development,” the organizations said.
Camp Osterode, which can accommodate around
550 people, has been cleaned and refurbished by UNMIK in line
with recommendations from a team of environmental engineers
from the United States who had tested the site for lead contamination.
WHO had also tested the site and concluded that “the camp
is considerably safer from a lead stand point than the current
camps.”
At Osterode, the housing units have been completely
renovated and most are centrally heated. Arrangements are also
in place for continuous electricity and water supply and there
will be a doctor and two nurses on duty, as well as professional
camp managers, according to the statement.
“Most importantly, Osterode will be
a safer place for the IDPs to live as we and they finalize plans
to return to their former homes in the Roma Mahala or elsewhere,”
the organizations said, stressing that the temporary measure
was only a “stepping stone to the permanent return of
the IDPs to their homes.”
Kosovo has been run by UNMIK since 1999, when
NATO drove out Yugoslav troops amid human rights abuses in fighting
between Serbs
Last month, Secretary-General Kofi Annan
called on Kosovo Serb leaders to work to promote government
reform and other key goals in the province, saying he was “seriously
concerned” by the slow progress and setbacks in recent
months.
UN
envoy to Kosovo hails nomination of candidate for Kosovo President
8 February 2006 – The senior United Nations envoy to Kosovo
today welcomed the nomination of Fatmir Sejdiu as candidate
for the presidency of Kosovo to replace Ibrahim Rugova, who
died of lung cancer last month.
“Kosovo recently suffered a profound
loss with the passing of President Rugova,” he said.”
In spite of the sadness we all feel, it is important that the
political process goes on in order to carry forward the vision
of President Rugova.”
Welcoming the the unanimous nomination by
the LDK party, the envoy anticipated “the Assembly of
Kosovo moving promptly to the election of a new President of
Kosovo.”
He also pledged that Kosovo's institutions
can continue to rely on the UN Interim Administration Mission
in the province (UNMIK) for support “during the crucial
months ahead.”
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