Kosovo's
status process can be concluded soon, top UN envoy says
30 September 2007 – Following direct talks between Belgrade
and Pristina, the Secretary-General's top envoy to Kosovo expressed
optimism that the status process of the Serbian province - which
the world body has run since western forces drove out Yugoslav
troops in 1999 amid ethnic fighting - can be concluded soon.
Direct negotiations between both sides, the first to be led
by the Troika comprising the European Union, Russia and the
United States, were held on Friday in New York.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's
Special Representative Joachim Rucker yesterday said he welcomed
the "New York Declaration" of the two parties reaffirming
their commitment to engage seriously until the end of the process
on 10 December.
"In this context, it
is very important that the parties also reaffirmed their commitment
to avoid provocations and refrain from any activities or statements
that might jeopardize the security situation," Mr. Rucker
said.
"It is too early to
say what the final outcome of negotiations will be. However,
it is significant that the Contact Group reaffirmed its Guiding
Principles: that there be no partition of Kosovo, no union with
another state, no return to the pre-1999 status, and that any
settlement needs to be acceptable to the people of Kosovo."
On the eve of this first
round of direct talks under the Troika-led negotiations, Contact
Group Ministers said resolving of Kosovo's status quickly is
crucial to the region's stability and security of the region
and to Europe as a whole.
They reiterated their endorsement of the Mr. Ban's assessment
that the status quo is cannot be sustained and is damaging for
the Serbian province's political, social and economic development.
"It is also very significant
that the Ministers stated that any settlement needs to be acceptable
to the people of Kosovo," said Mr. Rucker.
They also voiced their appreciation
for the work of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK) and the Kosovo Force (KFOR) for their contributions
towards a multi-ethnic, peaceful and democratic society.
"I wish to reassure
all people of Kosovo that these efforts will continue,"
the Special Representative said.
Top
of page
Independence
the only realistic option for Kosovo, Albania tells UN Assembly
27 September 2007 – The only option for Kosovo that will
bring durable peace and stability to the region is full independence
for the Serbian province, Albania’s Prime Minister told
national leaders gathered at the General Assembly today.
Sali Berisha told the Assembly’s
annual high-level debate that independence for Kosovo would
reflect the “expressed will of her citizens” and
not set an international precedent for other regions seeking
self-government and enhanced autonomy.
“The claim that the
independence of Kosova may lead to the creation of Greater Albania
cannot be farther from the truth,” Mr. Berisha added,
using the Albanian name for the province.
“In reality, Kosova’s
independence will only end the fluidity of Albanians in the
Balkans, along with the idea of the creation of a single Albanian
State in the territories where they are a dominant majority.
The simple truth is that Kosova Albanians have decided in their
project of the future to join Brussels, not Tirana.”
Earlier this year the Secretary-General’s
Special Envoy on the issue, Martti Ahtisaari, proposed a phased
plan of independence for Kosovo, where ethnic Albanians outnumber
Serbs and other minorities by about nine to one.
In July, a troika comprising
the European Union, Russia and the United States agreed to lead
further negotiations on Kosovo’s future status, while
the wider Contact Group for Kosovo is meeting today at UN Headquarters
in New York to discuss the issue.
Tomorrow direct talks between
representatives of Belgrade and Pristina are scheduled to take
place in New York.
In his address Mr. Berisha
accused Serbia, which opposes independence and has proposed
that the province be given greater autonomy instead, of a lack
of realism.
“Rejection of the Ahtisaari
package is unhelpful and proves that what matters first for
Belgrade is not the freedoms and rights of Serbs in Kosova,
but rather the idea of the Greater Serbia,” he said.
Using the right of reply,
Serbia’s representative criticized Mr. Berisha for “openly
calling for the violation” of the territorial integrity
of a UN Member State, particularly on the eve of such crucial
direct talks.
The representative said havoc
would ensue around the world if other countries called for the
independence of regions in neighbouring nations that have the
same ethnic majority as their own.
In a further response,
Albania’s representative said his Prime Minister had “no
further agenda” beyond support for what he called the
“fair, balanced and sustainable” approach proposed
by Mr. Ahtisaari. He added that he was hopeful that the talks
starting in New York tomorrow would produce a solution.
Top
of page
Rejecting
independence for Kosovo, Serbia’s president offers compromise
at UN
27 September 2007 – Restating Serbia’s long-standing
rejection of independence for Kosovo, the country’s President
today proposed a compromise for the province that the United
Nations has administered since 1999 based on the “autonomous
development” of the Albanian-majority community.
“In defence of the State
sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia, our negotiating
team has offered a decentralization model based on European
solutions that would protect the interests of Kosovo Albanians,
as well as the threatened interests of the Serbian and other
non-Albanian ethnic communities in the province,” Boris
Tadic told the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate.
The arrangement would involve
Serbia giving “Kosovo Albanians special rights and competences
for an autonomous development of their community within the
Republic of Serbia.”
The Serbian President said
that according to UN statistics, of the more than 200,000 Serbs
who left Kosovo in 1999, only 7,100 had returned.
Pointing out that the Contact
Group on Kosovo is holding a meeting today, he said “a
legitimate decision on the future status of Kosovo can be brought
only by the Security Council of the United Nations.”
He advocated a diplomatic
solution as opposed to one reached through violence. “Serbia
does not accept that the threat of violence of the party we
are negotiating with is an argument for re-drawing the borders
of legitimate democracies and for violating the norms of international
law,” he said.
Referring to reports that
Kosovo’s provisional institutions could declare independence
on 11 December, he said any one-sided recognition of independence
would forever alter the international legal order. “Many
separatist movements the world over would use the newly established
precedent,” he said. “Many regions in the world
would be destabilized.”
On the question of war criminals
still at large, he said “Serbia has done all within its
powers to track down, arrest and transfer to The Hague those
accused of war crimes, demonstrating in that way its commitment
to bringing cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia to a successful end.” The ICTY
was set up to prosecute those responsible for war crimes during
the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
Also addressing the Assembly
today, the President of Croatia, Stjepan Mesic, described the
post-war accomplishments of his country, which had completed
its struggle “through cooperation with the UN” and
had “established good relations with all our neighbours,
including those who waged war against us.”
Croatia also actively participates
in UN peacekeeping, deploying its personnel in 15 UN operations.
This, he said, “puts Croatia at the very top of those
countries whose soldiers are preserving peace under the blue
flag.”
Also addressing the Assembly
today, the Prime Minister of Slovenia, Janez Janša, said
this year more than 10 per cent of the country’s armed
forces participated in United Nations peacekeeping missions.
“The majority of them helped to strengthen peace and stability
in south-eastern Europe, and also in Afghanistan, Lebanon and
Iraq,” he said.
Mr. Janša also said the
investment made by the UN in promoting stability in the Balkans
should be preserved. “In the last decade and a half, the
international community has dedicated considerable human and
financial resources to the Balkans region,” he said. “It
is therefore important that the dividends of peace are not wasted
at the end of the stabilization process.”
The Prime Minister called
for “solutions that are sustainable for all involved”
to secure the dividends which, he added, “should be further
invested in the common European project.”
Top
of page
UN
expert urges Serbia to do more to support, protect human rights
defenders
25 September 2007 – Alarmed at the stigmatization and
hostility faced by those working to advance human rights in
Serbia, an independent United Nations expert has called on that
country’s authorities to give political recognition and
legitimacy to human rights defenders and their work.
“This stigmatization
of defenders, which portrays them as ‘enemies’ of
the country, is not countered by supportive statements of State
authorities that would give them legitimacy,” Hina Jilani,
the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on the
situation of human rights defenders, said in a statement released
in Belgrade, following a visit to the country.
She urged State authorities
to firmly condemn attacks and campaigns against the “vibrant
and active” human rights community in Serbia and acknowledge
the importance of their work.
The Special Representative
said a major concern was the hostile attitude against human
rights workers, who are constantly under attack, mainly in the
media. This animosity appears to be linked to their work on
transitional justice and minority rights – issues that
she said “some sectors of the political establishment
are not willing to address.”
She noted that Serbia is a
country in transition, confronted with the challenges coming
from its recent past, as well as those linked to the future,
including uncertainties regarding the status of Kosovo. “This
environment slows down the advancement of the country on many
fronts, including and in particular on human rights.”
Ms. Jilani made a similar
appeal to the Government of the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, in a statement released in Skopje following her visit
to the country.
While several new laws pertaining
to the work of human rights defenders had been adopted since
her last visit to the country in 2003, she was not satisfied
with their implementation, noting that mechanisms that defenders
can use to report cases of non-compliance and protect victims
“are still lacking, are insufficient or do not function
properly.”
“This has created an
environment in which Government responsiveness is limited or
absent,” she stated.
Another concern is that human
rights defenders do not have access to detention centres and
police stations, which seriously impedes their monitoring and
protection role.
The reports of Ms. Jilani’s
visits will be presented and discussed at the UN Human Rights
Council in Geneva next March.
Top
of page
Secretary-General
anticipates intense period of multilateral diplomacy ahead
18 September 2007 – As leaders from across the world prepare
to gather for the United Nations General Assembly’s annual
debate next week, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today predicted
an unprecedented level of diplomatic activity aimed at forging
common strategies in response to shared concerns.
“This will be a most
intense period of multilateral diplomacy ever in the United
Nations’ history, I believe,” Mr. Ban told reporters
in New York. “As we move well into the 21st century, the
United Nations is, once again, the global forum where issues
are discussed and solutions are hammered out.”
In addition to the annual
Assembly general debate, he spotlighted a number of key events
that will take place at UN Headquarters in the weeks to come,
including planned international meetings on climate change,
Darfur, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and the “Quartet process,”
as the international diplomatic grouping trying to resolve the
Middle East conflict is known.
On Darfur, Mr. Ban said he
will chair a high-level meeting with African Union (AU) Chairperson
Alpha Oumar Konaré.
“I hope that we will
be able to map our strategy and road map for the forthcoming
political negotiations scheduled in Libya on October 27th,”
the Secretary-General said, looking ahead to planned Darfur
peace talks.
“This will mark just
one more step forward and we will need to redouble our efforts
so as not to lose the positive momentum which we have been able
to create.”
Mr. Ban announced that 154
speakers – including some 80 heads of State or government
– will participate in a high-level dialogue on climate
change slated for 24 September.
“This will be an informal
event where the leaders of the world come together, with a renewed
sense of commitment, to tackle a problem that faces each one
of us – and above all the most vulnerable populations
on our planet, those endangered by rising sea levels and those
whose supply of food and water will be greatly affected by the
changing climate,” he noted.
Citing the reports by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which have
shown the science and impacts of the phenomenon as well as options
for response, Mr. Ban stressed that the world’s people
are anticipating that their governments will take action.
Climate change, also the theme
of this year’s Assembly debate, is a “challenge
to our leadership, skills and vision – and we have to
address that challenge boldly,” he said.
The Secretary-General, who
will also hold bilateral meetings with over 100 heads of State
or government or ministers, underscored his commitment to working
in tandem with UN member countries to tackle key international
problems.
“I am under no illusion
that, whether it’s the Middle East or Kosovo or Afghanistan
or climate change, these problems will be solved overnight,”
he explained. “The solutions all involve a long road and
hard work.”
He also said cooperation with
both Member States and the UN Secretariat is crucial to pushing
the UN reform agenda forward. “Precisely because our work
is so important, we must deliver to the best of our ability,”
he noted, calling for “faster, more effective action;
a work ethic that puts a premium on pragmatic results, not bureaucratic
process; and above all, scrupulous attention to the highest
standards of transparency and professional ethics.”
In turn, the Secretary-General
also underlined the importance of Member States’ initiative
to address issues. “I truly believe that the world leaders
that will gather here in a few days bring with them a renewed
interest in multilateral resolution to challenges facing the
world,” he said.
Responding to reporters’
questions on Iran, Mr. Ban said that any issues pertaining to
the country’s nuclear programme should be resolved through
peaceful dialogue.
He said that he encourages
“Iran to be fully cooperative and transparent in dealing
with the IAEA [UN International Atomic Energy Agency],”
and also to implement the joint work plan agreed to last month
on how to resolve outstanding issues between the Agency and
Tehran.
“I sincerely hope that
this agreement between Iran and the IAEA will contribute to
the final and overall settlement of the nuclear issue of Iran
by fully complying with the relevant Security Council resolutions,”
he added.
On the conflict-torn Darfur
region of Sudan, the Secretary-General observed that the peace
process “has been and will be very fragile. The whole
international community must nurture this process.”
He stated that during their
meeting earlier this month, he emphasized to Sudanese President
Omar al-Bashir that he must commit to halting the violence,
to protecting humanitarian workers and allowing them unimpeded
access, and to protecting and respecting human rights.
More than 200,000 Darfurians
have been killed and at least 2.2 million others forced to flee
their homes since 2003 because of the fighting between rebels,
Government forces and allied Janjaweed militia groups.
At the high-level meeting
on Sudan scheduled for this Friday, Mr. Ban said that he hopes
to “engage in mapping out a strategy and road map for
this forthcoming political negotiation, how to expedite deployment
of a hybrid operation, how to discuss about the ways to make
this political negotiation a successful one and talk about developmental
issues.”
In July, the Security Council
authorized the establishment of the first hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping
force (to be known as UNAMID) to take over from AMIS and try
to quell the violence in Darfur, an arid and impoverished region
on Sudan’s western flank.
The Secretary-General said
that the time he has spent in office since taking the post in
January has been “very hectic, it has been very meaningful
and I have learned a great deal in terms of my consultations
with the Member States and in terms of my relationship with
many leaders around the world.”
Citing his work on climate
change, the Darfur situation and the Middle East peace process,
he said that “it may be too early for me to tell you all
that I have achieved, but I am still working hard to achieve
all the major goals which I have in my agenda.”
Top
of page
Kosovo:
top UN envoy voices solidarity with anti-crime demonstrators
4 September 2007 – The top United Nations envoy to Kosovo
today voiced solidarity with demonstrators in the capital, Pristina,
who marched against crime in response to last week’s murder
of a police officer in the Serbian province administered by
the world body since 1999.
“The murder of Kosovo
Police Officer Triumf Riza is a heinous crime and a terrible
tragedy,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special
Representative Joachim Rücker. “Indeed, his death
has united Kosovo’s people against crime like no other
event that I have witnessed here.”
He characterized Mr. Riza,
28, as a “fearless officer, whose service was exemplary,”
and staff from the UN Mission in Kosovo, known as UNMIK, participated
in today’s rally.
The Kosovo police force
has already apprehended suspects in his murder, and Mr. Rücker
expressed confidence that the guilty will be brought to justice.
He appealed for the community’s support and for anyone
with information regarding the case to come forward.
Top
of page
