News Coverage Archives - July 1999

Secretary-General Kofi Annan says regional approach can support lasting peace and stability in Balkans.
JULY 30 -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan told world leaders gathered in Sarajevo on Friday that the focus on regional roots of conflict in the Balkans would help create a framework for lasting peace and stability.
In a message delivered by his Balkans Special Envoy, Carl Bildt, the Secretary-General told the Stability Summit for South Eastern Europe that goal could be achieved by ensuring the true integration of the region into the larger economies of the continent, and by continuing to place respect for human rights of both minorities and majorities at the core of reconstruction.

The Secretary-General said the continued emphasis of the international community should be on enabling the people and parties themselves to build lasting peace and democracy.

At the close of the Summit in Sarajevo Friday, participants adopted a 15-point declaration outlining a steps to enhance regional peace and stability. Specifically, governments committed themselves to efforts to achieve economic and political reform, development and enhanced security in the region. They also pledge to pursue democratization and the protection of human rights, transition to a market economy, establishment of the rule of law, and regional cooperation.

The two-day meeting, which was chaired by the European Union, was attended by some 40 heads of State and Government, and more than 15 international and regional organizations.

UN interim administration is the only government in Kosovo says Bernard Kouchner.
JULY 30 -- The only government in Kosovo is the UN interim administration, not any other "so-called" government, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, head of the UN operation in the province, said on Friday.

Speaking to the press in Sarajevo following the close of the Stability Pact Summit, Dr. Kouchner said although the mandate of the Interim Administrative Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) was temporary, it would fully exercise its civil authority over the province.

Dr. Kouchner, as the Secretary-General's Special Representative, heads UNMIK which holds ultimate legislative and executive powers pending the establishment of self-government.

The UN was not, however, in competition with any of the parties, Dr. Kouchner said. It would cooperate closely with all groups to develop a system of democratic self-government. He said all Kosovar parties must participate in the Kosovo Transitional Council, which serves as the highest political authority in the province.

UN mission has made real progress in restoring civilian life in Kosovo says top UN official.
JULY 30 -- The United Nations Mission in Kosovo had achieved real progress in a relatively short period of time, Sergio Vieira de Mello, the man who set up UN operations in the province, said on Friday.

At a press briefing at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Vieira de Mello said the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) had succeeded in convening the first meeting of the Kosovo Transitional Council, which allows political parties and ethnic groups to have input in the UN decision-making process.

The Mission had also put local radio and television station back on the air, started recruitment for a local police force, repatriated refugees, distributed humanitarian assistance and appointed judges and prosecutors.

Mr. Vieira de Mello who is the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said that the assumption of some civil authority by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) could not be seen as a truly negative development.

If persons assuming civil responsibility were carrying out their functions democratically and inclusively, they should be maintained, said Mr. Vieira de Mello. However, if they were not, they would be removed by UNMIK, with the backing of the KFOR international military force.

Responding to recent press criticism that slowness on the part of the UN had allowed the KLA to take over civil authority, he said since arriving in Kosovo on 13 June -- just 24 hours after KFOR -- UNMIK had made great strides in setting up the civil administration.

The UN was not a colonial power sent to Kosovo to impose authority from abroad, he said. It was there to promote self-government and autonomy. Each person in a role of civil authority would operate under the sole authority of Dr. Kouchner, cooperate closely with a UN regional administrator and be assisted by UN civil affairs officers.

Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova expected to return to province.
JULY 30 -- UNMIK announced that there were reports that Ibrahim Rugova, leader of the LDK, was back in Pristina today. "We welcome his return to Kosovo and look forward to his participation in the Council" said an UNMIK Spokesman.

UN Special Representative Kouchner had repeatedly urged Rugova to return to the Kosovo Transitional Council. As Dr. Kouchner put it after the first Council meeting held on 16 July, it is impossible to imagine discussing the future of Kosovo in the Council without having the LDK present and obviously to have Mr. Rugova there would add weight to that body.

First repatriation flights to land directly at Pristina airport on Monday.
JULY 30 -- The UN High Commissioner for Refugees expects the first flights bringing back refugees directly to Pristina airport will land on 2 August. Most of the return flights will still be landing at Skopje airport, in view of Pristina's limited capacity. All of the returnees from abroad have so far been flown to Skopje and then taken by bus to Kosovo.

In related news, the numbers of returnees to Kosovo from neighboring countries have dropped dramatically. Around 2,500 Kosovars went back home over the past two days, including 1,700 from abroad. Just 788 Kosovars returned from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the last two days while figures from Albania were not available.

Dialogue established between Serb and Albanian communities in town southwest of Pristina.
JULY 30 -- In an encouraging development at variance with reports from elsewhere in Kosovo, local Serb representatives from Orahovac have told the UN refugee agency that they are now keen to stay on since there have been significant changes in the environment there and a dialogue has been established with the Albanian community.

Start-up of UN mission in Kosovo "moving along very well" -- US Secretary of State.
JULY 29 -- The head of the United Nations mission in Kosovo Dr. Bernard Kouchner met in Pristina today with visiting US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who said the start-up of the UN operation was proceeding very well.

Speaking to the press after an hour-long briefing by Dr. Kouchner and KFOR commander Lt. General Mike Jackson, Secretary Albright said she was encouraged by the cooperation between the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and KFOR, the international security force, which, she noted, were working very well together.

Responding to a question about reported dissatisfaction with the speed of UNMIK deployment, Ms. Albright said, "I have not been critical of the speed. I have understood that this is a very difficult mission."

In comparison to other start-ups in other places, Ms. Albright said she thought this mission was "moving along very well. I respect what Ambassador Kouchner is doing. He's not alone. He has to be supported by the international community."

Mrs. Albright met separately at UNMIK headquarters with Dr. Kouchner and the heads of UNMIK's four "pillars" responsible for civil administration, humanitarian assistance, institution-building and reconstruction.

According to UNMIK, the discussions focused on the full range of issues facing the UN mission and KFOR, including the maintenance of security in the territory, establishment of respect for the rule of law, the early deployment of civilian police, deployment of customs officers at Kosovo's international borders and the need to support rapid rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts.

Deployment of UN international police in Kosovo proceeds on schedule.
JULY 29 -- The deployment of international police personnel in Kosovo continues on schedule, a United Nations spokesman said on Thursday.

With the arrival in Pristina of 37 officers from Sweden and 101 police from Bangladesh over the past two days, the total number of UN police now stands at 372.

When fully deployed as part of the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), UNMIK police will be charged with providing temporary law enforcement and developing a professional and impartial Kosovo Police Service.

During the initial period, while the international security force, KFOR, is responsible for ensuring public safety and order, the UN police is advising KFOR on civilian police functions and establishing contact with local communities.

According to UNMIK, UN civilian police officers are now deployed at all border crossing points with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania.

Head of UN Kosovo mission, Secretary-General's special envoys to attend Sarajevo summit on Balkans stability.
JULY 29 -- Secretary-General's Special Envoys for the Balkans and his Special Representative in Kosovo will take part in the Stability Pact Summit which opened this morning in Sarajevo, a UN spokesman announced on Thursday.

Dr. Bernard Kouchner, who heads the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), will join in Sarajevo Secretary-General's Special Envoys Carl Bildt and Eduard Kukan, who have been dispatched to take part in the two-day event organized to address peace and stability in the region.

On Friday, Mr. Bildt is scheduled to deliver, on behalf of the Secretary-General, a statement to the Summit, which brings together leaders from nearly 40 States. Human rights, economic reconstruction and security in countries of the region are among the issues on the forum's agenda.

General Assembly authorizes $200 million for financing of UN mission in Kosovo.
JULY 28 -- The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday authorized Secretary-General Kofi Annan to enter into commitments of up to $200 million to fund the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). press release

Approving UNMIK's funding on the recommendation of its budgetary committee, the Assembly decided that $125 million of that amount would be apportioned among Member States, as an ad hoc arrangement.

By its resolution, which was adopted without a vote, the Assembly, by adopting a resolution without a vote urged all Member States to make every effort to ensure payment of assessed contributions to the Mission in full and on time.

The Assembly also emphasized that all future peacekeeping missions shall be given equal and non-discriminatory treatment in respect of financial and administrative arrangements. It stressed that all peacekeeping missions shall be provided with adequate resources for the effective and efficient discharge of their respective mandates.

By other terms of the text, the Assembly emphasized that no peacekeeping mission should be financed by borrowing money from funds from other active peacekeeping missions.

UN officials outline cost of urgent humanitarian and reconstruction needs in Kosovo at donors conference.
JULY 28 -- Senior officials from the United Nations Mission in Kosovo outlined the cost of meeting urgent humanitarian and reconstruction needs in Kosovo at an international donors conference held on Wednesday in Brussels.

Over 100 countries and international organizations attending the conference pledged more than $2 billion, including $245 million in emergency funds, to see returning refugees through winter.

The conference was convened by the World Bank and the European Union to begin the process of mobilizing funds to rebuild Kosovo.

According to the World Bank, urgent financial requirements over the next five months, include $45 million to cover a budget deficit presented by the Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) and $200 million for immediate basic needs identified by UN agencies.

Addressing the conference, Jolly Dixon, who heads UNMIK's reconstruction arm, stressed that appropriate financing was needed to cover current expenditures, including salaries for local administration and public utilities. Donors shared his view that building up a local administration was of the utmost importance.

Dennis McNamara of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which leads UNMIK's humanitarian component, outlined the basic needs, including shelter, food, education in early fall and delivery of health services. He said as many as 500,000 Kosovars needed help rebuilding homes before winter.

Mr. McNamara said that UNHCR could only provide aid for basic emergency shelter and stressed that the emergency assistance must be complemented by long-term reconstruction programmes provided by other agencies.

After a comprehensive assessment in coming months, a more accurate figure of the cost of reconstruction, peace-implementation and recovery will be presented to the next donors conference in October.

At funeral of slain Serb civilians, top UN official in Kosovo calls for an end to cycle of violence.
JULY 28 -- Pledging to make every effort to find the perpetrators of what he called "a horrible and horrific crime," the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Kosovo, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, on Wednesday paid his condolences to the families of the 14 Serbs found shot dead in a field in Kosovo last Friday.

Dr. Kouchner attended a funeral service for the Serbs at the village of Gracko near Lipljan, which is close to the site of the killings, south of the capital, Pristina. Several hundred Serbs attended the funeral, which was officiated by the Serbian Orthodox Church leader, Patriarch Pavle.

Before the service, Dr. Kouchner met with Bishop Artemije, of Prizren, at the historic Gracanica monastery, where Bishop Artemije has been staying with other Orthodox clergy members since June.

"Please receive my deepest regrets and sorrow regarding this horrible massacre," Dr. Kouchner told Bishop Artemije. "Let's wish that the Serbs and Albanians and all the communities can work and live together. It means working towards peace and dialogue and I know that it will take time."

"We are doing our best to find the people who committed these crimes," Dr. Kouchner said. "The investigations are going on, we must find the people and justice must prevail. We have to find a way to stop the cycle of violence."

Message by head of UN mission in Kosovo aired on Pristina radio in first broadcast since late June.
JULY 28 -- A message by the head of the United Nations mission in Kosovo was aired on Radio Television Pristina on Wednesday in a first broadcast since the radio station went out of operation at the end of June.

In his statement, which was translated into Albanian, Serbian and Turkish, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, the head of the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), said that the UN wanted to "put a new type of public information" at the disposal of everybody.

The first broadcast was a joint effort of UNMIK and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which prepared a segment for the programme.

"We want to open the dialogue with you in this way," Dr, Kouchner said, addressing his audience.

Stressing need for reconciliation, Secretary-General says UN will stay the course to build multi-ethnic Kosovo.
JULY 27 -- Stressing that reconciliation was the United Nations' goal in Kosovo, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today that violence would not be allowed to undermine UN efforts to bring peace to the war-torn province.

"Our message is one of reconciliation and we want to build a multi- ethnic Kosovo and we are going to stay on the course," the Secretary- General told the press at UN Headquarters this afternoon outside the Security Council chamber.

Responding to a question from a reporter about the inquiry into Friday's massacre of 14 Serb farmers, Mr. Annan said that his Special Representative Dr. Bernard Kouchner was energetically looking for those responsible to ensure that they were punished.

"This kind of impunity cannot be allowed to stand," the Secretary- General stressed. While noting that the anger and the frustration was understandable, he underscored that violence was not the way to resolve this kind of conflict.

Meanwhile in Kosovo, the UN civilian police have begun questioning witnesses and others who might have information about the shootings of the Serb civilians.

The UN police are working closely with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and KFOR to quickly bring those responsible for the mass killing to justice.

Dr. Bernard Kouchner, who heads the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, announced today that he would attend the funeral for the 14 victims, which scheduled to be held on Wednesday in the village of Gracko.

UN refugee agency releases new findings on destruction of housing in Kosovo villages.
JULY 27 -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday released the latest results of its effort to assess the housing situation in the roughly 1,500 Kosovo villages damaged during the conflict.

According to the UN agency's survey of roughly one third of all villages, 54 per cent of the houses suffered severe damage or complete destruction, with nearly 40 per cent falling in the "completely destroyed" category.

The assessment of 456 villages also found severe damage or complete destruction of 32 per cent of village schools.

The assessment, which was conducted by UNHCR with the help of numerous NGOs, is a follow-up to an earlier survey which covered only 141 villages.

UN-led team of experts assesses environmental impact of Balkans crisis.
JULY 27 -- A team of international experts dispatched by the United Nations has just concluded the first review of damage to the environment and to human settlements following the Kosovo conflict.

The team from the joint Balkans Task Force of two UN agencies -- the UN Environment Programme and the UN Centre for Human Settlements (HABITAT) -- ended its work on Monday after visiting the hardest-hit industrial sites in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

As part of an independent scientific and technical assessment of the impact of the Balkans crisis, the team of 12 scientists visited such sites as the Pancevo industrial complex, which includes a fertilizer plant, oil refinery and petrochemical factory, as well as fuel depots and car, copper and transformer factories.

The scientists looked for toxic compounds such as dioxins and PCBs and took extensive soil and ground-water samples, which will be sent to independent laboratories for analysis. In addition, they gathered information on earlier pollution incidents to build up a picture of the state of the environment before the conflict.

A second Task Force team, based in Pristina, is remaining in the area to develop systems for land title registration, and means for resolving tenancy and property disputes. Cooperating closely with the UN Interim Administrative Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), that team is also working to strengthen municipal administrations and leadership.

Security Council members condemn massacre of 14 Serb farmers in Kosovo.
JULY 26 -- Members of the Security Council condemned the killing of 14 Serb farmers in a Kosovo village last Friday.

In a press statement issued Monday evening, the members of the Council said they were "deeply shocked and gravely concerned" at the massacre of the Serbian civilians and called for a speedy investigation to bring those responsible for the criminal act to justice.

Council members voiced their support for the work of the UN Interim Administrative Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the international security force, KFOR, to ensure peace and security for all inhabitants of Kosovo.

UN humanitarian agencies say over $400 million needed for Balkans this year.
JULY 26 -- Twelve United Nations humanitarian agencies and the International Organization for Migration today urged donors to continue funding humanitarian work in the countries of south-eastern Europe affected by the string of bloody conflicts which have devastated the region in the last decade of the twentieth century. press release

"Billions of dollars have been spent to pay for military interventions which finally brought peace to the Balkans. We are now asking for a fraction of that to do the necessary humanitarian work", said Sergio Vieira de Mello, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator and former United Nations administrator in Kosovo.

The United Nations agencies said they had already received more than $500 million for the Balkans this year. They warned that lack of further funding could jeopardize vital humanitarian work in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the remaining months of 1999.

The UN said it had been forced to revise its funding requirements several times this year to keep up with rapidly changing challenges of the Kosovo crisis, which sent fresh shock waves through the entire Balkan region.

"One day we were looking at helping hundreds of thousands of Kosovo refugees in neighbouring countries to get through the winter. A few weeks later they all flooded back home and we had to shift our resources to Kosovo", said Sadako Ogata, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), whose organization leads the relief effort in the Balkans.

The 77-page joint funding appeal says $290 million is needed for the rest of the year to tackle humanitarian tasks in the aftermath of the Kosovo crisis -- the Balkans' latest humanitarian drama. But the appeal makes clear that funds should not be seen as a substitute for a larger reconstruction effort in the war-ravaged province.

At the same time, the UN said that the donors' focus on the high profile Kosovo crisis should not come at the expense of less visible but equally important humanitarian work underpinning the implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, which put an end to three years of war in Bosnia.

The UN agencies said lack of funding could have adverse effects on the lives and well being of millions of people uprooted or otherwise affected by the series of conflicts in the Balkans this decade.

UN officials condemn massacre of Serb farmers in Kosovo, pledge to bring perpetrators to justice.
JULY 26 -- The head of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo condemned as a "despicable crime" the killing of 14 Serb farmers in a field near the town of Lipijan capital and said, on behalf of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, that he expected an urgent and relentless investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

In statements issued over the weekend, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, the Secretary-General's Special Representative in Kosovo, expressed horror at the massacre of 14 Serb civilians Friday night who were peacefully harvesting hay in a field outside the village of Malo Gracko.

Dr. Kouchner, who heads the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), said UNMIK and KFOR, the international security force, would spare no effort in investigating and prosecuting those responsible.

Noting that in recent days the UN has been making significant steps towards stability and democratic self-government in Kosovo, Dr. Kouchner appealed to the leaders and people of Kosovo to join together with the international community to establish the rule of law in the province.

"All Kosovars who are concerned about the future of this land and its people should reject such cowardly and wanton acts of violence," Dr. Kouchner said.

In a related development, Louise Arbour, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, has instructed the Tribunal's investigators to begin a probe in the killings. They will be working in cooperation with the investigation launched by the KFOR security force and UN civilian police forces.

In a statement issued of the Hague on Monday, the Prosecutor recalled that her jurisdiction included offenses committed in Kosovo before and after the formal end of the NATO bombing campaign.

Meanwhile, Sadako Ogata, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said she was "shocked and saddened" by the massacre. According to UNHCR, over the past week Serb and Roma communities continued to be victims of violent acts throughout the province.

The UN agency said that as a result, Serbs and Roma have been on the move in search of safety both within Kosovo, and to Serbia, Montenegro and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

"Mother of all regulations" spells out UN's executive, legislative authority in Kosovo.
JULY 26 -- The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Kosovo issued his first regulation on Sunday outlining the legislative and executive authority of the United Nations mission in the province.

Introducing the new regulation at a press conference in Pristina, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, who heads the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), said the "Mother of Regulations" provides a legislative basis for the exercise of the full governmental powers foreseen by the Security Council.

"Under the mandate established by the international community, UNMIK is the legal authority in Kosovo," said Dr. Kouchner. "We intend to exercise that authority fully."

Under the regulation, the Special Representative can appoint any person to work in the UN-supervised civil administration in Kosovo, including those in the judiciary.

The new regulation specifies that all people holding public office or having public duties in Kosovo will be bound by international recognized human rights standards.

Also falling under UNMIK authority is the administration of State property in Kosovo -- including money and bank accounts -- of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Serbia or its organs. In addition, all laws that governed the territory prior to 24 March 1999 will continue to apply, insofar as they do not conflict with the fulfilment of the UNMIK mandate.

Highlighting the latest actions by the Mission, Dr. Kouchner said he had appointed 11 new judges over the weekend, bringing to 30 the number of judges and prosecutors appointed by UNMIK. So far, judges and prosecutors have conducted nearly 250 hearings of detainees.

Dr. Kouchner said as many as 200 more UN civilian police were expected to arrive in Kosovo this week, fully qualified to assume executive law enforcement responsibilities. UN civil administrators deployed to the five provincial districts were working with local authorities to restore water, electricity and health facilities.

UN refugee agency reports return of 4,500 Kosovars from neighbouring countries.
JULY 26 -- The United Nations refugee agency said on Monday that just 4,527 Kosovars returned home from neighbouring countries over the past three days, while returns from abroad gathered pace.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that no repatriation flights took place on Sunday, but on Friday and Saturday, around 1,700 refugees returned from other European countries, with their travel organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

According to the UN refugee agency, the first UNHCR/IOM-assisted repatriation flights from Turkey took place on Friday. The flights from Corlu to Skopje carried 340 passengers.

In meeting with head of UN mission in Kosovo, German Chancellor pledges additional police for UN operation.
JULY 23 -- The head of the United Nations mission in Kosovo Bernard Kouchner met in Prizren today with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who pledged an additional 100 police to some 200 his country has already committed to the UN operation.

During the meeting with Dr. Kouchner, who as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General leads the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Chancellor Schroeder reiterated his country's commitment to provide personnel for service with the UN International Police.

In accordance with a plan outlined by Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 12 July, the UN civilian police force is being now rapidly deployed in numbers that a high-ranking UN official has described as "unprecedented" in terms of UN deployment under these circumstances in any previous mission.

In their discussions, Dr. Kouchner and the German Chancellor focused on progress in setting up of UNMIK, establishing its authority and in assessing requirements for the civil administration. They also discussed rehabilitation and reconstruction in the province.

Chancellor Schroeder is the first Western head of government to visit Kosovo since the end of NATO's bombing campaign.

Top UN humanitarian official says UN on track in setting up its operations in Kosovo.
JULY 23 -- Stressing that the United Nations was facing an unprecedented task of "immense" proportions in Kosovo, a senior UN official said on Friday that the Organization was doing all it could to move forward quickly with the deployment of its operations in the province.
Sergio Vieira de Mello, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs who until recently led the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), was speaking at a news conference in Geneva where he briefed the Economic and Social Council on the latest developments in Kosovo.

Highlighting some of the challenges the UN Mission was encountering in Kosovo, he said the UN civilian police was not a classic UN monitoring force, but one that would wield executive power. Some countries, he noted, were unwilling to deploy police forces that performed executive tasks and bore arms.

"It is a combination of factors and it is unfair to say the UN has been slow," Mr. Vieira de Mello said, commenting on reports that the Organization has not been deploying international police fast enough.

Unlike the military, the United Nations did not have standby regiments of civil police, civil administrators or lawyers who could be deployed in short order, he said, adding that policemen would be arriving at the end of the week at the rate of 100 every five days.

Briefing the Economic and Social Council earlier in the day, Mr. Vieira de Mello said despite the challenges in Kosovo he was optimistic about the prospects for peace and democracy in the province.

The Council also heard from Dennis McNamara, Deputy Special Representative for Humanitarian Affairs with UNMIK, who described the rapid return of more than 700,000 refugees as an unequivocal vote of confidence in the future of Kosovo. He said more effort was needed to deliver materials to repair some 70,000 damaged or destroyed houses, but the most important need was to stem the cycle of violence and revenge in Kosovo.

Head of UN Mission in Kosovo urges parties to take part in Transitional Council.
JULY 22 -- The head of the United Nations mission in Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner, on Thursday urged the party of Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova to take part in the next meeting of the Kosovo Transitional Council.

Mr. Rugova's party, the Democratic League of Kosovo (DLK), was absent from last week's inaugural meeting of the Council, which is the highest political consultative body in the province under the UN, which holds executive authority in the territory.

In a meeting today with the LDK presidency, Dr. Kouchner, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, emphasized the importance of the Council, which gives political parties and ethnic groups input into the decision making process of the UN. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, 26 July.

As a follow-up to the Council's first meeting, Dr. Kouchner, together with Albanian and Serb leaders, visited yesterday buildings in Pristina where Serbs' apartments had been occupied by Albanians. Urging tolerance, Dr. Kouchner said that all in Kosovo must demonstrate the willingness to live together for democracy to grow in the province.

Meanwhile, the UN World Food Program (WFP) has reported that Pristina airport is currently receiving an average of 10 to 12 humanitarian flights daily, and that this figure is due to increase to 20 flights every day.

United Nations outlines plans to revive independent media in Kosovo.
JULY 22 -- The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has begun laying plans to revive an independent media in the province.

In a statement, Bernard Kouchner, the Secretary-General's Special Representative in Kosovo, said on Wednesday that protection of basic human rights, and economic and civic reconstruction in Kosovo will not be possible without a modern, democratic media.

UNMIK is acutely aware of the growing concern among media professionals and Kosovo's people about the future of Radio-Television Pristina (RTP), said Dr. Kouchner. "We wish to assure the people of Kosovo that broadcasting at RTP will resume in the very near future under international supervision," he said.

The UN Mission will appoint a Regulatory Commission to oversee such matters as the issuance licenses and the allocation of frequencies. It will also establish an Independent Media Board to consult with media professionals and civil society on all media-related issues.

The Special Representative said the institution-building pillar of UNMIK, led by the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), is laying the foundation for RTP to become a genuine public service broadcaster that serves all the people of Kosovo

.UN budgetary committee authorizes $200 million for financing of UN mission in Kosovo.
JULY 22 -- A budgetary committee of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday authorized Secretary-General Kofi Annan to enter into commitments of up to $200 million for the financing of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), with $125 million of that total to be apportioned among Member States, as an ad hoc arrangement.

In a resolution adopted without a vote, the Assembly's Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) urged all Member States to make every effort to ensure payment of assessed contributions to the Mission in full and on time.

The Committee emphasized that all future peacekeeping missions shall be given equal and non-discriminatory treatment in respect of financial and administrative arrangements. It also stressed that all peacekeeping missions shall be provided with adequate resources for the effective and efficient discharge of their respective mandates.

By other terms of the text, the Committee emphasized that no peacekeeping mission shall be financed by borrowing money from funds from other active peacekeeping missions. The Secretary-General was requested to submit to the Assembly, as a matter of priority, a comprehensive report on the financing of UNMIK, including full budget estimates and information on the utilization of resources at the earliest opportunity.

Deployment of UN civilian police at unprecedented rate, says top UN official.
JULY 21 -- United Nations civilian police are being deployed to Kosovo at an unprecedented rate for a mission of this type, with the whole 3,110-officer unit to be on the ground by November or December, according to John Ruggie, Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser to the Secretary-General.

Briefing correspondents at UN Headquarters on Wednesday, Mr. Ruggie said a system was now in place to rapidly deploy and train the civilian officers being sent to the province to help maintain civil law and order. There were already 156 UN officers in Kosovo, with an additional 100 scheduled to arrive every five days. Within a month, the rate of deployment would double.

The lightly armed UN officers were fully cooperating with the international security force (KFOR), which stood at 34,000 heavily armed troops, but each side was carrying out very different tasks assigned to them by the Security Council, Mr. Ruggie said. The KFOR was handling security and public safety, while the job of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) was to get up and running and to coordinate civilian operations, including humanitarian relief, institution-building and economic reconstruction.

Asked when the UN would take over responsibility for security and public safety from KFOR, Mr. Ruggie said it was never intended that the UN civilian police -- even when fully deployed -- would be responsible for establishing a secure environment. Instead, the Security Council had clearly assigned that job to KFOR. The lightly armed police could make only a marginal contribution to the efforts of the 34,000 heavily armed troops working to ensure security and public safety.

The situation on the ground must be secured before the UN civlian police could assume responsibility for law enforcement, Mr. Ruggie continued. The Security Council, in adopting resolution 1244 (1999) establishing UNMIK, had clearly assigned KFOR the tasks of establishing a secure environment and ensuring public safety. The facts and realities on the ground would dictate when the civilan police would fully assume responsibility for police functioning and law enforcement.

The UN and its partner organizations in Kosovo now had 700 personnel on the ground, Mr. Ruggie said. Nearly 200 more were en route, with an additional 400 personnel expected by late August. UN officials had presided over the first meeting of the Kosovo Transitional Council on 16 July. Efforts to construct the judiciary were also under way; and Dr. Kouchner, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo, had recently sworn in seven judges and three prosecutors, raising to 19 the number of judicial personnel in the province.

Nearly 100 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were working with the United Nations in Kosovo, Mr. Ruggie continued. As for UN agencies, UNHCR was assisting more than 700,000 returning refugees; the World Food Programme (WFP) was feeding 650,000 internally displaced; the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was carrying out intensive programmes to meet the needs of children. Projects were under way to repair schools, so the school year could begin on time in September. Teams of investigators from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia were gathering evidence from some 200 sites of alleged war crimes.

Meanwhile, at a press conference in Geneva, Carl Bildt, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Balkans, said UNMIK was fully operational with additional personnel arriving in the region daily. The UN was now addressing the immediate task of stabilizing and normalizing the province, restoring economic life and facilitating the return of refugees.

There was simply no way the UN could succeed in Kosovo if it failed in the region, Mr. Bildt said. Since Kosovo was a small place in a region of instability, it was an open question whether the situation was now on a trajectory towards stability or whether it was just a pause before a new storm broke out over the region in a couple of years. It was, therefore, imperative to try to take the political actions now which made the former course more likely, he said. Transcript of press conference

Core functions of UNMIK in place -- Bildt.
JULY 21 -- All core functions of the UN operation in Kosovo were now in place, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Balkans, Carl Bildt, said at a press conference in Geneva on Wednesday.

He stressed that all four pillars of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) -- civil administration, humanitarian assistance, institution-building, economic reconstruction -- were operational. All of the five regional administrators were in place, with additional personnel arriving in the region daily. The UN was now addressing the "immediate" needs of stabilizing and normalizing the province, restoring economic life and facilitating the return of refugees.

There was simply no way the UN could succeed in Kosovo if it failed in the region, he said. Since Kosovo was a small place in a region of great instability, it was an open question whether the situation was now on a trajectory towards stability or whether it was just a pause before a new storm broke out in the Balkans in a couple of years. It was, therefore, imperative to try to take the political actions now which made the former course more likely than the latter, he said.

Secretary-General calls on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to help democracy in Kosovo.
JULY 20 --Secretary-General Kofi Annan Tuesday called on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to work closely with the United Nations to help secure democracy and prosperity in Kosovo. Addressing the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, the Secretary-General said: Our aim is clear, to help create a secure, multi-ethnic, prosperous and democratically governed society for all Kosovars, regardless of ethnicity.

Also today, the Secretary-General met with OSCE Secretary-General Jan Kubis, to review the democratization and institution-building role the OSCE will play in the United Nations Missions in Kosovo (UNMIK). The institution-building task in one of the four pillars of civilian rehabilitation and reform the United Nations is overseeing in Kosovo. The other pillars are civil administration, to be undertaken by the United Nations itself; humanitarian assistance, led by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; and economic and reconstruction, managed by the European Union.

In other developments, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner, met in Pristina Tuesday with the Supreme Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Wesley Clark. Wednesday, Mr. Kouchner is scheduled to meet with the President of the World Bank, James Wolfenson, to discuss efforts needed to assist with reconstruction of the region.

United Nations Controller calls on General Assembly to provide funds for Kosovo.
JULY 20 -- The United Nations Controller, Jean-Pierre Halbwachs, called on the General Assembly Tuesday to quickly provide funding for the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). As the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met in New York to consider the Secretary-General's request for $200 million to cover preliminary costs of UNMIK, Mr. Halbwachs said the United Nations Mission was a very complex operation and would require a significant level of resources. While it was not possible to submit a full operational budget for the Mission before late September or early October, he said we cannot wait that long before contributions start coming in to meet UNMIK's expenses.

In his 2 July report on financing of UNMIK, the Secretary-General had noted that the timely deployment and effectiveness of the United Nations operation would depend on the availability of sufficient and sizeable case resources. The requested funds are to meet the preliminary operating costs of UNMIK from inception until a full budget is presented to the Assembly in the fall. The amount is inclusive of $50 million already authorized by the Assembly.

The representative of Finland, addressing the Fifth Committee today on behalf of the European Union and associated countries, said the European Union was determined to play its full part in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Kosovo and to contribute to its long-term economic development. The Union would bear its fair share of the overall burden of reconstruction in Kosovo. Since the physical reconstruction and rebuilding of Kosovo fell outside the scope of the UNMIK budget and financing for reconstruction, he said that funding would be raised through international donor conferences.

Members of the Fifth Committee continued consideration of the request for funding of UNMIK. They are expected to formally make its decisions on the allocation of those funds Wednesday.

700,000 Kosovar refugees successfully repatriated, says UNHCR.
JULY 20 -- With nearly 700,000 Kosovar refugees already repatriated, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Tuesday reported that fewer than 100,000 refugees in the region still waited to go home. Yesterday, just 2,500 persons returned from asylum countries in the region, prompting the UNHCR to say the return from neighbouring countries was winding down.

During the past weekend, from 16 to 18 July, more than 9,000 refugees returned to Kosovo, many coming from countries outside the area. More than 20,000 refugees have returned from abroad to date, with 14,000 returning from Turkey alone. In addition to refugees returning via The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, a growing number of Kosovars are coming through Albania, mainly on the ferry from Italy to the port of Durres. All efforts are being made by UNHCR staff, working with partners from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Albania, to help those refugees return to their homes safely.

Secretary-General says events in Kosovo underscore indispensability of United Nations.
JULY 19 -- Events in Kosovo had critically underscored the indispensability of the United Nations, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters in Vienna, after meeting with Austrian Chancellor Viktor Klima, Mr. Annan, said that although the Security Council had been ignored in the beginning and military activities were undertaken without seeking its approval in the end, the Council was needed to find a solution.

"One needed the Council to establish the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and to deploy KFOR forces," said the Secretary-General.

In response to a question about NATO and UN cooperation after events in Kosovo, Mr. Annan said the two organizations were living side by side and cooperating very well. "I think we went through a bumpy period there, when the NATO alliance undertook military action without specific Security Council approval," said Mr. Annan. However, in the end, they did come to the UN in search for a solution, and that move underscored the indispensability of the Security Council and the UN, he added.

When it came to peace and security, the Security Council had the primary role and must have a say in any decision to use force, and NATO's own Charter made the same point, the Secretary-General stressed.

Ethnic tensions continue to be problem in Kosovo, says UN refugee agency.
JULY 19 -- Ethnic tensions continue to be a problem in Kosovo with members of different minority groups being attacked on a daily basis, sometimes fatally, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported on Monday.

In the provincial capital Pristina, the Serb population is systematically harassed, with one Serb on average killed every night and elderly Serbs regularly thrown out of their homes, according to UNHCR. In Mitrovica, the divide between Serbs and Albanians is widening and two large groups of Roma, also known a gypsies, numbering 200 and 400, have taken refuge in a school house. Some 280 Serb families still in Prizren are afraid to leave their homes, even for basic errands, and the town's monastery is sheltering more than 180 Serbs in precarious conditions.

In a positive development on Sunday, 75 Roma who had sought protection from UNHCR and KFOR, the international military force, decided to return to their homes in Landovica outside Prizren. Last week, Roma homes in the village were burned and others looted and vandalized.

According to UNHCR staff, many residents, especially in western Kosovo, increasingly blame the poor security situation in the province on gangs from Albania.

Meanwhile, Bernard Kouchner, the head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), swore in seven new judges and three prosecutors while in Prizren, which he visited as part of a familiarization tour that also took him to Pec and Mitrovica.

Judges appointed by UNMIK have been travelling around Kosovo in a mobile court, according to a UN spokesman. So far, they have heard 90 cases involving 198 persons in detention -- 95 of whom have been released. The Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is overseeing institution-building under the UNMIK mandate, has interviewed 253 potential judicial candidates.

Albanian and Serb community leaders take part in first meeting of Kosovo Transitional Council.
JULY 16 -- The United Nations brought Serb and Albanian political leaders together in Pristina on Friday in the first meeting of newly-formed Kosovo Transitional Council, marking a critical first step towards development of self-government in the province.

The Transitional Council is the highest political consultative body under the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), which holds executive authority. The Council gives the main political parties and ethnic groups an opportunity to have direct input into UNMIK's decision-making process. It is also a forum for achieving consensus on a broad range of issues related to civil administration, institution building, reconstruction and essential services.

In his opening remarks to the Council, the Secretary-General's new Special Representative for Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner, who heads UNMIK, outlined his agenda. Mr. Kouchner said he wants to make sure immediate humanitarian needs are met, guarantee essential public functions, especially law and order, lay foundations for economic recovery and development, and progressively build institutions of self-government.

During the first meeting, the Transitional Council agreed to form sub-groups to tackle the issue of prisoners and detainees, conduct joint visits to flashpoints such as Orohavac, Mitrovica and Gnjilane and make common television and radio appeals for restraint. The Council will meet again in nine days.

Mr. Kouchner and his predecessor, Sergio Vieira de Mello, chaired the meeting which was attended by six members of the Albanian community, two Serbs, one Moslem and one Turk along with UN officials and KFOR commander General Michael Jackson. However, Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova and his political party, the Democratic League of Kosovo known as the LDK did not attend. Mr. Kouchner said he hoped the LDK would reconsider its position.

Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which is overseeing humanitarian operations in Kosovo, again drew attention to the critical situation for minorities. In many areas, Serbs are living under KFOR guard. In Prizren, the Orthodox seminary, which shelters 167 people with more arriving daily, has been under threat, despite a 24 hour protection by German KFOR troops.

New head of UN mission in Kosovo arrives in Pristina.
JULY 15 -- Bernard Kouchner, the Secretary-General's new Special Representative who will also head UNMIK, the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, arrived in the provincial capital Pristina on Thursday.

I have an agenda", Kouchner told reporters at UNMIK's Pristina headquarters later in the day. "First to make sure that immediate humanitarian needs are met. Second to ensure essential public functions, specifically law and order. And third to lay the foundation for economic recovery and development. It's simple, but ambitious. The job can be done. As the highest international civilian official in Kosovo, Mr. Kouchner will oversee the UN-led international operation designed to heal the wounds of conflict and ultimately create a democratic form of autonomy.

The United Nations itself will set up the civil administration, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will be in charge of humanitarian assistance, the European Union will be responsible for reconstruction and the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe will head up democratization and institution-building.

Mr. Kouchner, a minister in the French Government well-known for his humanitarian activities, was appointed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 2 July to lead UNMIK's operations.

Meanwhile, the man who set up UNMIK's advance team, acting Special Representative Sergio Vieira de Mello, met with Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova who returned to Kosovo earlier Thursday. A crowd of 3,000 to 4,000 Kosovars gathered around the UN mission headquarters chanting "Rugova, Rugova."

The two men discussed steps by the United Nations to put the civil administration in place and discussed Friday's planned first meeting of the Kosovo Transitional Council.

In other developments in Kosovo, the recruitment of applicants will start Friday for the police training academy being set up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Forms for the future Kosovo Police Service will be distributed throughout the territory and applications will be screened in Pristina. Training is planned to begin in August. After graduating from the academy, the new recruits will receive on the job training by United Nations international police officers.

Security Council appeals to all parties in Kosovo to cooperate with UNMIK and KFOR.
JULY 15 -- The members of the Security Council Thursday appealed to all parties in Kosovo to cooperate with UNMIK and KFOR.

At a briefing by the U.N. Secretariat on the latest developments in Kosovo, they considered the Secretary General's report on the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the report of the international security presence in Kosovo (KFOR). The members of the Council welcomed the report of the Secretary-General on UNMIK as well as the progress achieved in the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1224 (1999).

They also expressed their appreciation for the efforts being undertaken by UNMIK, including the advance work accomplished by Under Secretary-General Vieira de Mello and his team, as well as for the activities of KFOR in promoting security on the ground.

Secretary-General says for Kosovo to succeed, Balkans region must be brought back to health.
JULY 15 -- For Kosovo to really succeed the Balkans regions as a whole must be brought back to health, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Thursday. In an address at Comenius University, the oldest college in Slovakia, where he is on an official visit, Mr. Annan said reconstruction in Kosovo would require recovery in the region as a whole.

The Secretary-General said a key challenge in Kosovo would be engaging the various political groupings in rehabilitation and reconciliation, which would improve as a sense of security takes root. "This sense of security must take root among Serbs and other ethnic groups no less than the Kosovar Albanians, for we aspire to a multi-ethnic Kosovo. Mr. Annan said Kosovo would not be rebuilt in a month, or a year and the Balkans would not be restored by one organization or one group of Governments. The ability of the United Nations, or other organizations to do the job would depend entirely on the will of Member States to pledge the resources, he added.

Mr. Annan, who arrived in Bratislava on Thursday is on the first visit by a Secretary-General to Slovakia since it became independent in 1993. The Secretary-General's first official meeting was with Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan, who is also his Special Envoy for the Balkans.

UN Kosovo Mission appeals for end to attacks on minorities.
JULY 14 -- Sergio Vieira de Mello, the acting Head of the UN Mission in Kosovo, on Wednesday expressed alarm at the continued high level of violence and intimidation directed at minorities throughout the province.

Killings, kidnappings, forced expulsions, house burnings and looting are a daily occurrence, said Mr. Vieria de Mello. "These are criminal acts. They cannot be excused by the suffering that has been inflicted in the past. Kosovo's future must be built on justice, not vengeance."

Mr. Vieira de Mello said KFOR soldiers and international police officers could not impose peace and tolerance without the cooperation of the local population. Statements by Kosovo's political leaders against the violence had not had an impact and they must take urgent and effective action to establish calm, he stressed.

Later on Wednesday, Mr. Vieira de Mello briefed Kosovo Serb leaders, Bishop Artemije and Momcilo Trajkovic, on actions by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to help protect Serbs. At the UN's request, KFOR troops searched for sites where the Kosovo Liberation Army were allegedly detaining prisoners. Bodies were found at one site and three Serbs and four Roma were freed from another site.

Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that Serb houses were being torched every day in the Prizren area. The town's Orthodox Church, which is caring for 167 displaced Serbs and Roma, also known as gypsies, has received threats and KFOR has stepped up patrols in the area.

In the provincial capital Pristina, KFOR evacuated 28 Serb refugees from a collective accommodation facility after two ethnic Serbs -- one from Bosnia and one from Croatia -- were reportedly kidnapped. Approximately 500 Roma are now seeking shelter near the cemetery in Brekovac with new arrivals from the Coloni neighbourhood east of Djakovica, said UNHCR.

UNHCR urges aid agencies to begin construction of homes and damaged infrastructure in Kosovo.
JULY 14 -- With the vast majority of the Kosovo refugees already home, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is urging other agencies to begin immediate reconstruction of homes, apartment buildings and damaged infrastructure.

Since resuming operations in Kosovo on 13 June, UNHCR has put together a distribution infrastructure and is now focusing on its shelter programme before winter sets in.

According to initial surveys, 40,000 to 50,000 homes across Kosovo are uninhabitable. UNHCR is helping Kosovars start emergency repairs by supplying basic shelter kits of plastic sheeting, wood strips, nails and tools. Later, the focus will be on making homes winter-proof.

In other developments, the Geneva-based United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and its Habitat Balkans Task Force is sending experts to the region to conduct an environmental assessment of the worst damaged industrial sites, primarily in Serbia. Later missions will assess environmental damage to the Danube river as well as the longer term impact of weapons used in the conflict on human health.

Secretary-General outlines comprehensive strategy for UN mission in Kosovo to restore shattered province.
JULY 13 -- Saying the international community faced an "unprecedented challenge" in Kosovo, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has outlined a comprehensive strategy for the United Nations mission which will help to restore the shattered province.

In a report released at UN Headquarters on Tuesday, the Secretary-General describes his concept for implementing the mandate of the UNInterim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) as "novel". Fourinternational organizations and agencies will work together in one operation, under one leadership to create the normalcy under which all Kosovars can enjoy the benefits of democracy and self-governance, he says.

Under Mr. Annan's plan, the United Nations will be in charge of civil administration, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will head up humanitarian relief, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will lead institution building and the European Union will oversee reconstruction. As head of UNMIK, Bernard Kouchner, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, will be the highest-ranking international civilian official in Kosovo.

The Secretary-General's strategy for UNMIK envisions five integrated phases. First, the Mission will set up administrative structures, deploy international civilian police, provide emergency assistance for refugees, restore public services and train local police and judiciary. It will also develop a phased economic recovery plan and aim to establish a self-sustaining economy.

The second phase will focus on administration of social services and utilities and consolidation of the rule of law, says the report. Administration of such sectors as health and education could be transferred to local and possibly regional authorities. Preparations for elections will also begin.

During a third phase, UNMIK will prepare for the elections to what may be termed the Kosovo Transitional Authority and in the fourth phase help elected Kosovo representatives organize and establish provisional institutions for democratic and autonomous self-government.

A concluding fifth phase will depend on a final settlement. Under the Security Council resolution, which set up the international operations in Kosovo, UNMIK will oversee the transfer of authority to institutions established under a political settlement.

Describing the current situation on the ground, the Secretary-General notes that tensions remain high in some areas in Kosovo and expresses particular concern about the continued harassment of minority groups. He strongly encourages all ethnic communities and parties in Kosovo to show restraint and tolerance and cooperate fully with the international community.

On the humanitarian front, Mr. Annan says priority must be given to providing shelter and rebuilding damaged or destroyed homes before winter. Significant financial resources and personnel, including experts in various fields, will be required immediately, including money to pay the salaries of local public servants.

"If we are not able to meet this requirement, we will face a collapse of the public sector," the Secretary-General says, adding that this could have tremendous implications for social order and jeopardize the success of the mission.

Head of Yugoslav war crimes tribunal says charges against Milosevic could be expanded.
JULY 13 -- Louise Arbour, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia says current indictments against Slobodan Milosevic for crimes against humanity in Kosovo could be expanded.

Justice Arbour, who is on a two-day visit to alleged war crimes sites in Kosovo, was speaking at a news conference in Pristina. "There's every reason to believe that we will be in a position to expand on the charges that we have brought to date," she said.

In late May, the Tribunal indicted President Slobodan Milosevic and four senior Yugoslav officials with crimes against humanity, including murder and mass deportation of ethnic Albanians.

The Prosecutor said she expected the work of the forensic teams in Kosovo to continue until the fall. "It is absolutely critical that we try to preserve as much of the evidence that we cannot access immediately, and at the same time that we not get distracted from an investigative agenda that is focused and very well targeted, she said.

Arbour also pointed that the work of her office was clearing the ground for the Prosecutor of the future International Criminal Court.

Plight of minorities in Kosovo a prime concern of UN mission.
JULY 12 -- The head of the United Nations mission in Kosovo on Monday told several thousand Romas or gypsies living in desperate conditions outside Pristina that enormous efforts were being made to ensure respect for everyone's human rights and urged them not to give up and leave the province.

Sergio Vieira de Mello, the Secretary-General's acting Special Representative, visited the Roma, who have been displaced from their homes and are living in a school in Kosovo Polje on the outskirts of Pristina. A UN spokesman who visited the location, described it as "truly an appalling site". Plans are underway to move the Romas to a new tent village being erected by KFOR, the international military force, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

During the meeting, Roma representatives stressed that they could not imagine resuming life in Kosovo because of the fear of continued victimization. While acknowledging that the Roma had been targeted, Mr. Vieira de Mello emphasized that every effort was being made to encourage the Albanians, who had just suffered through great terror, to restrain themselves and not to resort to violence.

Mr. Vieira de Mello underscored that it was up to the Albanian leadership to demonstrate their commitment to a Kosovo where human rights and the rule of law for all was protected or they risked losing the international community's commitment and support. He said that the presence of KFOR and the United Nations was a testimony of an enormous investment made by the international community in the effort to ensure respect for human rights in Kosovo.

In other developments, a UN human rights expert told reporters in Pristina that the International community could not allow acts of vengeance to continue and stressed the importance of bringing perpetrators of crimes to justice.

Jiri Dientsbier, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, said that more needed to be done to establish freedom of movement and clarify the issue of property rights. Mr. Dientsbier, who has just finished a five-day visit to Kosovo, said he would intervene with the authoritiesin Belgrade on behalf of Kosovo Albanians in Serbian prisons.

Meanwhile, in what my prove to be a model for efforts to reconstitute the workforce in Kosovo's public institution, 58 Albanians and 54 Serbs resumed work in Pristina's municipal building. They are the first of 400 workers who will be returning to work over the next 90 days under an agreement which provides for the return to work of members of various ethnic groups.

UNICEF survey finds half of Kosovo's primary schools destroyed or severely damaged.
JULY 12 -- A preliminary survey of Kosovo's primary schools by the UN children's Fund (UNICEF) has found widespread destruction with more than 43 percent of 394 schools completely destroyed or severely damaged.

So far, UNICEF has surveyed schools in 16 of Kosovo's 29 municipalities and found 95 percent need some form of repairs. After looting and destruction of furniture, schools have requested 28,000 desks, 58,000 chairs and 2,000 blackboards.

There are around 1,000 primary schools in Kosovo, serving children between 7 and 14 years of age. UNICEF, which will survey the remaining schools this month, has committed itself to providing every primary school age child in Kosovo the opportunity to attend classes at the beginning of the academic year in September.

UNHCR says Belgrade treating Serbs from Kosovo as second class citizens.
JULY 9 -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Friday that some 100,000 Serbs who have fled from Kosovo to Serbia proper are facing grim conditions as Belgrade denies them pensions, education and schooling.

Deprived of any official status they have become second class citizens, said a UNHCR spokesman. According to local press reports in Serbia, the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Serbia sent an instruction to all primary and secondary school directors in the territory of Serbia to reject enrolment of pupils from Kosovo. Other bureaucratic pressures are reportedly being applied on the internally displaced to return to Kosovo, spokesman Kris Janowski said.

Last week, the Serbian Health Ministry said if health workers from Kosovo did not report to their old jobs they would loose them as well as back pay. Internally displaced Kosovars in Serbia cannot claim monthly fuel rations outside Kosovo nor can they receive pensions unless they first de-register with the police in their old place of residence -- an impossible task since the withdrawal of police forces from Kosovo.

Meanwhile, minority Serbs and Roma or Gypsies remaining in Kosovo are also facing an increasingly critical situation, said Mr. Janowski. In the town of Prizren, some 20 Serb houses have been burned in the last 48 hours and 130 Serbs are still in the Orthodox seminary at Bogoslavija, under the protection of German troops with KFOR, the international military force.

The situation is very tense in Djakovica where 360 Roma are gathered in the mined graveyard near the centre of town, according to the UN refugee agency. Houses have been torched and some Roma taken away by the Kosovo Liberation Army for interrogation. The Roma group is asking to be evacuated to Montenegro.

The Serb community in Orahovac is also asking to be taken out of the area, Mr. Janowski said. Most Serbs have moved from surrounding villages to the upper part of the town where they are living in a ghetto-like area under Dutch KFOR protection.

Newly-appointed chief of UN mission in Kosovo heads for Europe to begin assignment.
JULY 9 -- The newly-appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner, completed a round of briefings at United Nations Headquarters on Friday in preparation for assuming his post as the head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

Mr. Kouchner is expected to arrive in Pristina by the middle of next week after attending a high-level meeting in Brussels on Tuesday on reconstruction in Kosovo.

Meanwhile, the acting Special Representative in Kosovo, Sergio Vieira de Mello, met with the UN Police Commissioner and a representative of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to work out details on the recruitment of local police for training. OSCE, which will oversee institution building as part of the UN mission in Kosovo, will be responsible for setting up of a Police Academy.

Mr. Vieira de Mello also spoke with Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova and encouraged him to return to Kosovo to attend a scheduled meeting on Tuesday of the Kosovo Transitional Council, the highest level consultative body representing a broad spectrum of opinion in the province.

After intensive negotiations by UNMIK and KFOR, a group of 80 Albanians and 60 Serbs will resume work on Monday at Pristina's municipal building. The return to work is a result of an agreement that may prove to be a model for efforts to reconstitute Kosovo's public institutions.

The agreement allows for 400 workers from various ethnic groups to work alongside each other. Its ultimate goal is full integration of all former employees in the municipal building, including those employed as of 24 March and those previously employed in 1990.

UN survey of Kosovo villages finds widespread destruction to housing.
JULY 8 -- A United Nations survey of the destruction inside Kosovo has found staggering levels of damage to housing, widespread food shortages and contamination of water resources, and a dire lack of health facilities.

According to preliminary results released on Thursday, 64 per cent of homes in the 141 villages inspected are severely damaged or completely destroyed. Another 20 percent sustained moderate damage. About 40 percent of water sources are contaminated, many by household garbage and human remains.

The survey, which was led by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), also revealed that the availability of food has been dramatically reduced over the past three months as shops were looted or destroyed and farm production ground to a halt. Up to 88 percent of villages lacked functioning health facilities.

The High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, said that what was needed in some of the gutted towns was immediate reconstruction not just emergency humanitarian assistance.

Meanwhile, UNICEF, the UN Children's Fund, has found that between 40 to 50 percent of schools have been damaged. Two other UN agencies, the Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Food Programme, reported a severe wheat deficit, an 80 per cent loss in corn production and big losses of livestock.

Head of UN mission in Kosovo meets with Yugoslav opposition leaders to discuss Serb exodus.
JULY 8 -- The acting head of the UN mission in Kosovo, Sergio Vieira de Mello, met with a group of Yugoslav opposition leaders on Thursday to explain his efforts to stop the Serb exodus and seek the release of kidnapped Serbs.

The group which calls itself "The Alliance for Change", includes nine opposition leaders from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, among them Zoran Djindjic from the Democratic Party and Vuk Obradovic.

During the meeting with Mr. Vieira de Mello, the opposition leaders said they were the first to speak up against President Slobodan Milosevic and that the Serbian people did not know about the atrocities in Kosovo. They said they wanted to have good relations with ethnic Albanians.

Mr. Vieira de Mello pointed out the dire situation of 3,000 Serbs under siege in the Kosovo town of Orahovac where more than 100 men had been reportedly killed in alleged massacres during the war. Mr. Vieira de Mello said that unless suspected criminals among these people were dealt with under the rule of law it would be difficult to ease the plight of the other Serbs.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), about 80 percent of Orahavac's pre-war ethnic Albanian population of 25,000 have returned, with the 3,000 remaining Serbs gathered in the same neighbourhood in the city centre.

UNHCR also said that despite a generally improved security climate in Kosovo, minority groups were living in increasingly perilous conditions and ethnic tensions were high in several areas.

The UN refugee agency and KFOR, the international military force, are making every effort to enable minority Serbs and Roma or gypsies to stay in their homes. However, in the wake of the growing number of incidents where minority Kosovars have found themselves in life- threatening situations, UNHCR is faced with the difficult question of when and whether to help evacuate them.

Minority Serbs and Romas in Kosovo request 24-hour protection from ethnic violence -- UNHCR.
JULY 7 -- Besieged minority communities in Kosovo are requesting round-the- clock protection from ethnic violence or evacuation from the province, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported on Wednesday.

According to the UN agency, small groups of Serb and Roma civilians want KFOR, the international military force, to provide 24-hour protection. Otherwise they want to be evacuated to Montenegro and Serbia proper. In one village, 54 Serbs said returning Kosovars had threatened to kill them and without a KFOR presence they would leave. In another village, six Serbs and 11 Roma told UNHCR they wanted to go to Montenegro and asked for a KFOR escort.

UNHCR has received similar requests for protection from Serb minorities in Dajkovica and Orahovac. On Tuesday, agency staff visited the Strpce area which has become a sanctuary for Kosovo Serbs. Around 11,000 people are believed to have sought sanctuary there and UNHCR described a "climate of fear and uncertainty about the future." In Darcane, KFOR troops rescued several Serb children when their house was set on fire by unknown people after their parents left on an errand.

Meanwhile, Sergio Vieira de Mello, the acting head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), visited the western town of Pec on Wednesday as part of his continuing effort to explain the Mission's purpose to local community leaders and seek their support.

Mr. Vieira de Mello, who is the Secretary-General's acting Special Representative, met with the head of the main Pec monastery, which is a refuge for Serbs fleeing violence. He also spoke with a top Albanian leader. "We know we have to rebuild the administration of Kosovo and with your cooperation I know we will succeed," Mr. Vieira de Mello said while in the devastated city.

During the war, the entire city centre of Pec was gutted by fire, but signs of economic life are emerging, said a UN spokesman. People have begun repairing and rebuilding what they can and household supplies and food are being sold on the street.

In other developments, a team from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and its Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) is designing strategies so local authorities and communities can participate in the massive reconstruction effort in Kosovo. The UNEP/Habitat Balkans Task Force team will create mechanisms for land title registration, resolving tenancy and property disputes and strengthening municipal administration and leadership..

Acting head of UN Kosovo mission says KFOR can hold suspects for longer than 48 hours.
JULY 6 -- The acting head of the UN mission in Kosovo has spelled out the right of KFOR -- the international military forces in the province -- to apprehend and detain longer than 48 hours, individuals suspected of criminal offenses.

According to a statement issued on Monday by the Secretary-General's acting Special Representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello, KFOR can detain individuals until pre-trial hearings and a legal determination on whether and how long a prisoner should remain in custody.

Mr. Vieira de Mello, who is acting head of the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), said in his statement that KFOR had the mandate to ensure public safety and order, and civil law and order until UNMIK could take full responsibility for those tasks. KFOR had the right to apprehend and hold people suspected of such offenses as murder, rape, kidnapping, arson or war crimes.

As part of the UN's process of re-establishing an independent, impartial and multi-ethnic judicial system in Kosovo, a team of judges and prosecutors, appointed by Mr. Vieira de Mello last week, have begun pre-trial hearings in the towns of Pec, Prizren and Gniljane.

Meanwhile, in Geneva on Tuesday, Secretary-General Kofi Annan met with his newly-appointed Special Representative for Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner, to discuss the envoy's responsibilities. Mr. Kouchner later told reporters that he would go to the province early next week to take over what he described as a "very heavy and a very difficult task" from Mr. Vieira de Mello.

In other developments, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sadaka Ogata visited a school in Kosovo Polje outside the capital Pristina, where some 5,000 members of the minority Roma population are seeking refuge. The Roma people have been accused of collaborating with Serbs and have been targets of violence.

During her two-day visit, Ms. Ogata met with KFOR Commander General Michael Jackson. She also spoke with a German KFOR general in Prizren, who stressed the need for the early return of teachers, doctors and other professionals as well as the deployment of international police contingents.

According to UNHCR, more than 600,000 of the estimated 800,000 who fled Kosovo have now returned.

Secretary-General appoints Bernard Kouchner of France to head UN mission in Kosovo.
JULY 2 -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Friday chose Bernard Kouchner of France to oversee the massive international effort to turn war-devastated Kosovo into a functioning, democratic society.

As the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Mr. Kouchner will head the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and be the highest-ranking civilian authority in the province.

Mr. Kouchner, a Minister in the French Government who is a medical doctor by education, is widely known for his humanitarian activities, in part as the founder of the non-profit relief organization "Medecins sans Frontieres". A winner of the "Dag Hammarskjold" prize for human rights, Mr. Kouchner is also the author of numerous books and screenplays.

Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters after meeting with Mr. Kouchner, the Secretary- General said that Mr. Kouchner came with "leadership, with management, with energy and is going not only to be a good leader but a wonderful advocate for what we are trying to do in the region."

Two other appointments on Friday completed UNMIK's top management team. The Secretary- General named James P. Covey of the United States to the newly created post of Principle Deputy Special Representative, and Daan Everts of the Netherlands as Deputy Special Representative for Institution Building.

Mr. Everts joins three other Deputy Special Representatives who will each head one of the Mission's four components. Dennis McNamara of New Zealand will oversee humanitarian operations, Dominique Vian of France will be in charge of the Interim Civil Administration and Jolly Dixon of the United Kingdom will head Reconstruction.

UN envoy warns of deteriorating security situation and spiral of violence in Kosovo.
JULY 2 -- The acting head of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo warned on Friday that despite the efforts of KFOR, the international military force, the security situation was deteriorating and the spiral of violence widening, affecting increasing numbers of people, particularly Serbs.

Sergio Vieira de Mello, the Secretary-General's acting Special Representative who has been setting up the UN operations in the province, brought together Albanian and Serb community leaders to focus on the pressing issue of security for all people.

In a joint statement after the meeting, the community leaders called for restraint and respect for human life. The two sides also agreed to form a crisis group to respond rapidly to security emergencies and to set up a hotline linking all parties.

The UN mission in Kosovo is broadcasting the joint statement over Pristina's radio and television stations which have been brought back on the air to publicize the message. The local network had been shut down for days because of a standoff between Serb and Albanian staff.

Meanwhile, as the number of returning refugees topped 530,000, the UN Mine Action Program has received thousands of requests for mine experts to inspect homes suspected of being mined or booby trapped. So far, 425 mine fields have been reported to the Programme's Pristina office. The UN hopes to clear key areas before winter when the ground freezes and de-mining becomes more difficult.

In other developments, a UN spokesman said on Friday that the number of civilian police pledged for the UN Mission in Kosovo now stood at 2,486. UN estimates that some 3,000 police officers are needed to establish law and order in the province.

UN refugee agency "dismayed" by dearth of government funding to ensure safe return of Kosovars.