UN and partners agree to focus on Kosovo's
economy, security and Belgrade ties
22 September 2004 – Seeking to bring stability to Kosovo,
officials from Europe, the United Nations and NATO meeting at
the UN have agreed on the need to focus on the troubled province's
economy, security, relations with Belgrade and Serb participation
in the reform process, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.
In a statement issued on Monday's talks, Mr.
Annan said there was "broad agreement" among participants
on what should be done to help Kosovo chart its way forward.
The Secretary-General, his Special Representative
Søren Jessen-Petersen and Norwegian Ambassador Kai Eide
- who conducted a UN probe of the political implications of
the violence in March - spoke with officials from the European
Union (EU), NATO, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) and key countries.
In his statement, Mr. Annan stressed the importance of the "standards
process," a scheme supervised by the UN requiring Kosovo
to meet certain goals - such as holding free and fair elections,
and establishing an impartial legal system - before a decision
can be made on its final status.
The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK) has moved to transfer some responsibilities to the presidency,
the government and the Kosovo Assembly, which collectively form
the provisional institutions of self-government.
Mr. Annan said he would work with UNMIK to
identify further areas of responsibility that can be transferred,
but the provisional institutions needed to be more accountable
and more consistent.
At least 19 people were killed and hundreds
of homes and cultural or religious sites were damaged or destroyed
in mid-March during violent attacks targeted at Kosovo's minority
communities, especially the Serbs.
Kosovo has been under UNMIK administration
since June 1999 after members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
drove Yugoslav troops out amid fighting between the province's
Albanian and Serbian communities.
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Sport teaches the lessons of peace - Nane Annan
17 September 2004 – Sports can
be an important boot camp for teaching children the lessons
of peace, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's wife,
Nane, told a forum today on "Peace through Sports,"
in which student-athletes from three war-torn areas where the
world body has peace missions took part by videoconference.
"Sport allows young boys and girls to
play and use their energies to the fullest, fostering team spirit
and competition on friendly terms," Ms. Annan said at the
event at UN Headquarters in New York organized by the Department
of Public Information ahead of the International Day of Peace,
which will be observed on Tuesday.
"Sport teaches children about working
together to reach a common goal, and solving conflicts peacefully
through agreed rules. This is true for all children, no matter
which country they are from, but especially for children growing
up in the shadow of war and destruction, poverty and destitution,"
she declared, saying "a special hello" to the young
people participating from Afghanistan, Kosovo and Sierra Leone.
"I have read the most heart-warming stories
about how football returned to Afghanistan, how sports have
reunited young players in countries torn apart by civil war.
I have visited cramped refugee camps and know what the possibility
of playing sport, whether football, basketball or volleyball,
would mean for young people who may have pent-up traumas and
emotions, and what coaching would mean for children deprived
of a guiding hand," she added.
The athletes from Afghanistan, Kosovo
and Sierra Leone engaged in a televised discussion with student-athletes
from the United States gathered in the auditorium. Italian author
and journalist Anna Cataldi, a UN Messenger of Peace, and Norwegian
speed skater Johan Olav Koss, a UNICEF
Good Will Ambassador, also addressed the gathering.
UN war crimes tribunal delays Miloševic
trial by nearly a month
15 September 2004 – The United
Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia today
adjourned the already long-running genocide trial of former
Yugoslav President Slobodan Miloševic again, this time
for almost a month, to allow his recently appointed defence
lawyers more time to prepare their case.
Three judges at the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), sitting in The Hague,
ordered the trial be suspended until 12 October after an application
by lawyers Steven Kay and Gillian Higgins.
Mr. Kay and Ms. Higgins were appointed by
the ICTY on 3 September to act as counsel for Mr. Miloševic,
even though the accused wanted to defend himself, because the
judges said the workload required in doing that could exacerbate
his heart problems and lead to further long delays.
Since the two lawyers from Britain were appointed
as Mr. Miloševic’s counsel, some defence witnesses
have refused to testify, ICTY spokesman Jim Landale told the
UN News Centre.
Mr. Landale said Mr. Kay and Ms. Higgins applied
for more time so they can try to persuade some of these witnesses
to appear, hold further talks with Mr. Miloševic’s
associates and conduct their own investigations into the accused’s
case.
The judges denied the defence lawyers’
request for more medical examinations of Mr. Miloševic
and also rejected the request to allow the accused the first
right to question witnesses in the courtroom.
Mr. Miloševic – who has been
on trial since February 2002 – is facing charges of genocide,
crimes against humanity and other war crimes for his role in
the conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Kosovo
during the 1990s.
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Kosovo: new UN-backed rail terminal opened
4 September 2004 – A new rail cargo
terminal of the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo
(UNMIK) was inaugurated today in what officials termed a sign
of progress in the province.
UNMIK chief Søren Jessen-Petersen and
President Ibrahim Rugova were on hand at the ceremony in Fushe
Kosove/Kosovo Polje.
"UNMIK Railways is working for Kosovo's
future - the new Cargo Terminal is a strong sign of this,"
said the UN envoy. He voiced hope that the facility would serve
to move UNMIK Railways - currently dependent on donor contributions
- to "a market economy and regional economic integration."
Mr. Jessen-Petersen noted that UNMIK Railways
- with 20 per cent of its workforce coming from different minorities,
passengers from all communities, and operations throughout the
province - is a strong example of how a multi-ethnic Kosovo
can be a success.
He recalled that the so-called "Freedom
of Movement Train," which was initiated in 2001, plays
an important role in ensuring this multi-ethnicity by linking
Kosovo together.
UNMIK Railways currently covers over
300 kilometres and expects to launch inter-city services in
close cooperation with neighbouring railways in Serbia and Montenegro
and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
British lawyers formally appointed to defend
Miloševic at UN war crimes tribunal
3 September 2004 – The United Nations
war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia today formally
appointed British lawyers Steven Kay and Gillian Higgins as
counsel for former Yugoslav President Slobodan Miloševic,
who is facing trial for genocide and other war crimes.
John Hocking, Deputy Registrar of the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), assigned
Mr. Kay as lead counsel and Ms. Higgins as co-counsel, a day
after an order to that effect was issued by the judges conducting
the trial of Mr. Miloševic.
The ICTY decided to impose the counsel yesterday
to ease the workload of the defendant, who is suffering from
heart problems, and reduce the chance of further delays in the
already long-running trial. Mr. Miloševic had been representing
himself since the trial started in February 2002 and at least
66 court days have been lost so far.
The ICTY ruled today that Mr. Kay and Ms.
Higgins have a duty to present Mr. Miloševic's case, prepare
and examine any witnesses they consider appropriate, make submissions,
request subpoenas and discuss the case with the defendant.
The judges further ruled that Mr. Miloševic
may still, on occasion with permission, examine witnesses himself.
He may also apply to appoint his own counsel.
Mr. Miloševic is facing charges
of genocide, crimes against humanity and other war crimes for
his role in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Kosovo during
the 1990s. His trial is due to resume on Tuesday.
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UN war crimes tribunal imposes defence lawyers
on Miloševic to reduce delays
2 September 2004 – The United Nations
war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia today imposed
defence counsel on Slobodan Miloševic, the former Yugoslav
president facing genocide charges, to ease his workload and
reduce the chance of further delays to his already long-running
trial.
The judges at the International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), sitting in The Hague, said
British lawyers Steven Kay and Gillian Higgins, who have been
acting as observers at the Tribunal to ensure Mr. Miloševic
receives a fair trial, should be appointed to the post by the
Registrar.
But the judges said that if Mr. Miloševic
made "a reasonable request" to instruct his own counsel,
they would consider it. Funding is also being made available
if the new lawyers need extra staff.
The new counsel are scheduled to take up Mr.
Miloševic's case from next Tuesday.
Presiding Judge Patrick Robinson of Jamaica
said the judges decided to impose counsel because Mr. Miloševic
had rejected previous suggestions to use counsel and opted to
represent himself.
The trial of Mr. Miloševic has been delayed
many times because of his continuing heart problems, and Tribunal-appointed
doctors have said the effort of representing himself in court
is harming his health.
Mr. Miloševic - who has been on
trial since February 2002 - is facing charges of genocide, crimes
against humanity and other war crimes for his role in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Croatia and Kosovo during the 1990s.
Miloševic denies deliberately delaying
genocide trial at UN tribunal
1 September 2004 –
The former Yugoslav President Slobodan Miloševic today
denied deliberately altering his medicine intake to delay proceedings
during his trial on charges of genocide and other war crimes
at the United Nations-run International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia.
A day after opening his defence case, Mr.
Miloševic told the
ICTY he was taking medication prescribed by his own doctor
because the medicine prescribed by tribunal-appointed doctors
was making him drowsy, according to a summary of the day's proceedings
given by ICTY press officials to the UN News Service.
The judges in Mr. Miloševic's trial,
being held in The Hague, are considering whether to force him
to accept defence counsel, even though he wants to continue
representing himself, because they are concerned that the workload
may exacerbate his heart problems.
The prosecution team told the Tribunal that
Mr. Miloševic's ill-health, which has already led to several
long delays in the trial, is so poor that he should be given
defence counsel. They also said he had manipulated his medicine
intake.
Lawyers appointed by the ICTY to ensure Mr.
Miloševic gets a fair trial, and known as amici curiae
or "friends of the court," told the judges that if
they do impose counsel, then they should choose someone already
familiar with the case.
According to the summary given by tribunal
officials to the UN News Centre, Mr. Miloševic also said
the doctors assigned to monitor his health should not come from
NATO member countries because of its opposition to him during
the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
Mr. Miloševic - who has been on
trial since February 2002 - is facing is facing charges of genocide,
crimes against humanity and other war crimes for his role in
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Kosovo during the 1990s.
