Kosovo: UN transfers more economic powers to
local government
22 December 2004 – The United Nations
today outlined a further transfer of economic power to local officials
in Kosovo, as it speeds up preparations for final status talks
on the ethnically divided province that it has run since 1999,
when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) drove Yugoslav
troops out amid Albanian-Serb fighting.
"We will change the composition over time
in such a way that we 'Kosovarize' the economic institutions,"
Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special representative Søren
Jessen-Petersen told a news conference after meeting with Prime
Minister Ramush Haradina. He defined Kosovarization as "having
Kosovars in the majority and the internationals in the minority."
He said the chairmanship of the Economic and
Fiscal Council would now be held by the Prime Minister, instead
of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). The
composition of other bodies, such as the board of directors of
the Banking and Payments Authority of Kosovo, would also be changed
in the future.
The management of socially-owned forest land
will be transferred to the government, he added, noting that socially-owned
forest covers a quarter of Kosovo and is of substantial economic
importance.
Last week Mr. Jessen-Petersen announced agreement
with Mr. Haradina's government on speeding up moves towards a
multiethnic society, noting that all involved had a very tight
timetable to meet by mid-2005, when they need to show clear progress
to move on to final status talks. Today both stressed that progress
on the so-called Standards remains Kosovo's highest priority.
The Standards - eight goals in such areas as
building democratic institutions, enforcing minority rights, creating
a functioning economy and establishing an impartial legal system
- are seen as a crucial step on the road to determining the final
status of Kosovo, where Albanians outnumber other communities,
mainly Serbs, by about 9 to 1. Before NATO's intervention the
province was ruled from Belgrade, Serbia's capital.
In March, the province was shaken by the
worst violence in the five years of UN administration when an
onslaught by Albanian extremists to drive out Serb, Roma and Askhali
communities led to 19 people being killed, nearly 1,000 injured
and hundreds of homes and centuries-old Serbian cultural sites
razed or burned.
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UN announces accord to move forward in
Kosovo on building multiethnic society
17 December 2004 – The top United
Nations envoy for Kosovo today announced agreement with the new
local government on speeding moves towards a multiethnic society
in the province, which the UN has run since 1999 when the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) drove Yugoslav troops out
amid Albanian-Serb fighting.
The plan is seen as a crucial step along the
road to determining the final status of Kosovo, where Albanians
outnumber other communities, mainly Serbs, by about 9 to 1. Before
NATO’s intervention the province was ruled from Belgrade,
Serbia’s capital.
The issue of minorities has been a major stumbling
block. Serb participation in recent elections was very poor and
in his most recent report on the province Secretary-General Kofi
Annan cited as a cause for concern the low return of minorities
who had fled fighting and harassment.
“I welcome the very quick start we have
seen from the Government, bearing in mind they have just taken
office only two weeks ago,” Mr. Annan’s Special Representative,
Søren Jessen-Petersen, said in Pristina, Kosovo’s
capital.
“Today’s agreement shows that we
are moving quickly in the right direction,” he added, noting
that all involved have a very tight timetable to meet by mid-2005,
when they need to show clear progress in order to move on to final
status talks.
Mr. Jessen-Petersen and Prime Minister Ramush
Haradinaj, named following elections in October, agreed on one
of Mr. Annan’s key recommendations, “the prioritization
of Standards.” In lay terms this means deciding which to
tackle first among eight goals in such areas as building democratic
institutions, enforcing minority rights, creating a functioning
economy and establishing an impartial legal system.
The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK) did not specifically spell out the order but said the
priorities selected are those “most urgent for, and central
to, the development of a sustainable, multi-ethnic Kosovo where
all people can live, work, travel and prosper in safety and security.”
Their implementation is key to unlocking further
progress on all the Standards, which are essential “for
bringing Kosovo closer to Euro-Atlantic structures, expectations
and aspirations,” it added.
Mr. Haradinaj committed his government to implementing
them. “I hope that the leaders of all the communities of
Kosovo will join me in this effort, for which we would also like
to have the full support of UNMIK,” he said.
He heads what is officially called the Provisional
Institutions of Self Government (PISG), to which UNMIK has been
incrementally handing over such powers as energy, local self-government,
and returns and communities.
Mr. Jessen-Petersen today also welcomed additional
funding of €23.9 million (euro) from the European Commission,
which will support PISG in implementing the Standards.
He noted specifically that nearly €13 million
are earmarked for economic development, one of Mr. Annan’s
key recommendations. “The economy in Kosovo is in a dire
situation, and the EU can play an increasing role in partnership
with the PISG in creating prospects for the unemployed,”
he said.
Another €5 million will be added
to programmes for the return of internally displaced persons,
and the envoy said he was confident the PISG would make good use
of the new funding to improve the conditions for sustainable returns.
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Annan's recipe for Kosovo: strengthen security
and economy, include minorities
16 December 2004 – A comprehensive
strategy addressing both security and economic problems besetting
United Nations-administered Kosovo, as well as the inclusion of
Serbs and other minorities with the majority Albanians in provisional
arrangements, are among Secretary-General Kofi Annan's recommendations
released today for moving the province towards final status.
"While security underlies all other activities
in Kosovo, revitalization of the economy remains an overriding
concern," Mr. Annan says in the document
sent to the Security Council on the province that has been under
UN administration since 1999 when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) drove Yugoslav troops out amid Albanian-Serb fighting.
He stresses the need for "sustained action"
to deal with both the consequences and causes of deadly violence
in March, the worst in the five years of UN administration, when
an onslaught by Albanian extremists to drive out Serb, Roma and
Askhali communities led to 19 people being killed, nearly 1,000
injured and hundreds of homes and centuries-old Serbian cultural
sites razed or burned.
This element forms one of several main components
of the integrated strategy, including an improvement of internal
dialogue at all levels, more comprehensive talks with Serbia,
of which Kosovo is a province, and revamping the eight so-called
standards that set specific goals in such areas as building democratic
institutions, enforcing minority rights, creating a functioning
economy and establishing an impartial legal system.
A comprehensive review of progress in achieving
the standards may be held in mid-2005, on the basis of which the
Security Council will determine whether to begin the process leading
to a determination of Kosovo's future status.
All communities must actively participate in
the so called Provisional Institutions, the Albanian-dominated
interim body to which some local powers have been transferred,
Mr. Annan says in the document, which is based on a report from
Norwegian Ambassador Kai Eide, who conducted a detailed review
of the implications of March's violence.
"In order to further this process, there
is a need to build additional capacities within the Provisional
Institutions," the Secretary-General adds, noting that UN
Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo is working in this area.
Mr. Annan stresses that midterm and long-term
economic strategy must be complemented by effective short-term
measures, calling on the European Union (EU) to urgently design
and implement a development strategy.
"Economic development should improve
not only general social and economic conditions, but also the
social context for security and stability," he says.
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World Court says it has no jurisdiction
in Serbia and Montenegro case against NATO members
15 December 2004 – The International
Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled today that it has no jurisdiction
in lawsuits filed by Serbia and Montenegro, then the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia, against 10 NATO members for their bombing of Kosovo
in 1999 during the province's inter-ethnic conflict.
The dispute included complaints that the countries
violated their international obligations banning the use of force
against another state, violation of the sovereignty of another
state, "the physical destruction of a national group,"
the use of prohibited weapons, as well as their obligation in
wartime to protect the civilian population, the environment and
human rights.
After the case was filed in April 1999, the
ICJ - the United Nations' top legal body - removed Spain and the
United States "for manifest lack of jurisdiction" in
June of that year. The remaining countries were Belgium, Canada,
France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom.
The question of whether the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia was a State party to the Court as a successor in
the United Nations to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
(SFRY), was key, the ruling said. The court concluded that FRY
joined the world body in November 2000 and Serbia and Montenegro,
as successor to FRY, not SFRY, also became a member at that time
- only after the lawsuits were filed.
"The court unanimously finds that it has
no jurisdiction to entertain the claims filed by Serbia and Montenegro
on 29 April 1999."
The court recalled that irrespective of
whether it has jurisdiction over a dispute, the parties "remain
in all cases responsible for acts attributable to them that violate
the rights of other States."
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UN envoy warns new Kosovo assembly that safeguarding
minority rights is vital
3 December 2004 – Declaring the next
12 months crucial in determining the future of Kosovo as it moves
towards talks on its final status, the United Nations administrator
of the ethnically divided province warned the newly elected parliament
today that he would use sanctions against any officials who stood
in the way of improving minority rights.
“The Provisional Institutions must reach
out to the larger public, listen to their concerns, and act upon
them,” Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Representative
Søren Jessen-Petersen said, referring to the self-governing
authority to which the UN has been transferring a growing number
of responsibilities.
Kosovo has been under UN administration since 1999 when the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) drove mainly Serbian Yugoslav
troops out amid fighting between the province’s majority
Albanians and minority Serbs.
“Indeed, standards require that the legislative
process should accommodate the concerns and opinions of all of
Kosovo’s communities,” Mr. Jessen-Petersen said of
the eight necessary goals established for deciding final status,
such as building democratic institutions, enforcing minority rights,
creating a functioning economy and establishing an impartial legal
system.
He told the legislature, elected in October
in a poll with very little Serb participation, that he was fully
prepared to use all tools and measures at his disposal to actively
enforce the accountability of the self-governing authority.
“These tools include strong monitoring
and oversight but also eventual sanctions,” he said. “I
am prepared to challenge officials who fail to carry out their
duties responsibly, or who block attempts to make improvements
in key areas such as minority rights, freedom of movement, returns
of displaced persons, equal provision of services, responsible
media, and security.”
Mr. Jessen-Petersen appreciated the important
progress made by the outgoing government in the recovery from
the “terrible violence” of March, the worst in five
years of UN administration, when an onslaught by Albanian extremists
to drive out Serb, Roma and Askhali communities led to 19 people
being killed, nearly 1,000 injured and hundreds of homes and centuries-old
Serbian cultural sites razed or burned.
Noting that Serb participation in the elections
was regrettably low, he said there was still room for the active
participation of all Kosovo’s communities in the assembly
presidency and committees.
And he stressed that implementation of
standards must be a priority throughout the next months, in order
to ensure that sufficient progress is made prior to a comprehensive
assessment of conditions planned for mid-2005. The assembly will
play a key role in passing legislation vital to the fulfilment
of the standards, he said.
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