No agreement
reached on Kosovo’s future status in Security Council
16 January 2008 – The
Security Council today discussed the United Nations peacekeeping
mission in Kosovo – a Serbian province where ethnic Albanians
outnumber Serbs and other minorities by nine to one – with
no agreement being reached over its future status.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative Joachim
Rücker told reporters after today’s meeting that he
briefed the 15-member body about the most recent report to the
Council on the mission, known as UNMIK.
He stressed during the meeting
that recent elections “were held in a good atmosphere and
were deemed to be fair and free by the international observers.”
The Council, Mr. Rücker
said, also discussed the standards for Kosovo and the need for
increasing the number of returnees to the province, which has
been run by the UN since Western forces drove out Yugoslav forces
amid inter-ethnic fighting in 1999.
Regarding the standards, there
are “limits to what we can achieve because UNMIK, in our
assessment, has achieved what is achievable under the circumstances
and for further progress with regard to the standards we need
status and this is our assessment from the ground,” he said
to the press.
Belgrade and Pristina have been
unable to reach agreement on Kosovo’s final status: the
province’s Albanian leadership supports independence but
Serbia is opposed.
In his address to the Council
in an open portion of the meeting, President Boris Tadic of Serbia
said that despite “enormous efforts” on his side’s
part to reach a compromise, four months of negotiations led by
the troika – comprising the European Union, Russia and the
United States – “failed to yield results.”
He spoke out against “unilateral
moves,” stressing that “we must make every effort
to solve the misunderstandings and conflicts in our part of Europe
peacefully and by agreement only,” and stressed that Serbia
will not turn to “violence and war.”
Mr. Tadic also underscored that
the UN Charter “guarantees the principle of respect for
the sovereignty and territorial integrity of internationally recognized
States, which Serbia is.”
Speaking to the press after
the meeting’s conclusion, Hashim Thachi, Prime Minister
of Kosovo (Serbia), highlighted the province’s prospects
of promoting peace and stability to the entire region.
“Kosovo has established
democratic and multiethnic institutions and is ready for a final
decision,” he said. “Kosovo will become the country
of equal opportunities for all its citizens.”
Mr. Thachi also expressed his
intentions of fostering a good relationship with Serbia in the
near future.
In 2008, UN
to embark on new course to tackle challenges – Ban Ki-moon
10 January 2008 – This
year, the United Nations will put itself on a new track to tackle
the obstacles it faces – ranging from development to health
to terrorism – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said.
“The United Nations has proven, at various stages of its
history, that it is capable of remaking itself to rise to new
challenges,” he told the world body’s five regional
groups.
“2008 should be a watershed
year for putting the UN on a new track,” he added. “I
will do my utmost to ensure that this happens – by delivering
results, strengthening the Organization through full accountability,
and advancing the global common good by securing global public
goods.”
Since the midpoint to 2015 deadline
for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight targets to
slash a host of social ills – has passed, “we face
a development emergency,” with millions trapped in poverty
and going hungry, Mr. Ban said.
He said that he intends to convene
a high-level meeting on the MDGs this September in an effort to
bridge the implementation gap.
However, change must take place
within the UN itself, the Secretary-General said, noting that
“we need a more coherent, focused, and reinvigorated approach.”
The Organization will face new
challenges in peacekeeping this year, with its rising complexity,
risk level and scale, he pointed out.
The recent deployment of the
joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission in the war-ravaged
Darfur region of Sudan (UNAMID), set to be the world body’s
largest with a full force of 26,000, is an immediate priority
for the UN, Mr. Ban said.
“The conduct of operations,
and the technical means to support them, need to be brought to
par with the vast demands place don them in the 21st century,”
he observed.
In the realm of politics, 2008
will not be easy for the world body, the Secretary-General said,
with the fragile Middle East peace processes, the emergence of
Iraq from conflict Kosovo’s future status being among the
challenges the UN will face.
Bolstering the Department of
Political Affairs (DPA) by increasing its field orientation and
making it more pro-active, he said, is crucial to strengthening
the Organization’s capacity for preventive diplomacy and
put in place a more integrated UN approach to responding to conflict
and supporting sustainable peace processes.
“We must deliver
results for a more just world,” Mr. Ban noted.
Secretary-General
appoints new deputy envoy for Kosovo
8 January 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed
Larry Rossin of the United States as his new deputy envoy for
Kosovo, the Serbian province run by the United Nations since Western
forces drove out Yugoslav forces amid inter-ethnic fighting in
1999.
Mr. Rossin, 55, assumed his new position as Principal Deputy Special
Representative for the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK)
today, a spokesperson for the world body announced.
From 2004 to 2006, he served
as Assistant Secretary-General and the Secretary-General’s
Deputy Special Representative with both the UN Stabilization Mission
in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and with UNMIK.
Before joining the UN, Mr. Rossin
was a career officer with the US Foreign Service. Among other
assignments, he served as Ambassador to Croatia, as Senior Director
for Strategic Planning and Southwest Asia on the National Security
Council, and as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European
and Eurasian Affairs.
Uncertainty
on Kosovo’s future status could lead to instability, warns
Ban Ki-moon
3 January 2008 – The loss of momentum in making progress
towards resolving Kosovo’s future status could result in
instability in the Serbian province and the greater region, even
potentially endangering United Nations staff, Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon warned in a new report made public today.
“The parties are urged to reaffirm and act upon their declared
commitments to refrain from any actions or statements that could
endanger peace, incite violence or jeopardize security in Kosovo
and the region,” Mr. Ban wrote in his latest report on the
UN peacekeeping mission in the province, known as UNMIK.
Last month, the troika –
comprising the European Union, Russia and the United States –
told the Security Council in a report that despite four months
of intense and high-level negotiations, Belgrade and Pristina
have been unable to reach agreement on Kosovo’s final status.
The province’s Albanian leadership supports independence
but Serbia is opposed.
“Neither party was willing
to cede its position on the fundamental question of sovereignty,”
said the troika, which was established after a stalemate emerged
over a proposal by Mr. Ban’s Special Envoy, Martti Ahtisaari,
for a phased process of independence for Kosovo.
In his report, Mr. Ban said
that expectations in the province, where ethnic Albanians outnumber
Serbs and other minorities by nine to one, are still high that
a solution will be reached quickly.
“As such the status quo
is not likely to be sustainable,” he noted. “Should
the impasse continue, events on the ground could take on a momentum
of their own, putting at serious risk the achievements and legacy
of the United Nations in Kosovo.”
The Secretary-General called
attention to the readiness of the EU to play a larger role in
Kosovo to bolster the province’s stability.
“The European’s
Union’s growing institutional commitment to Kosovo is important,
as is its continuing provision of a European perspective to Kosovo,”
he said.
Although encouraged by the “free
and fair manner” in which November 2007 elections were held
in the province, the Secretary-General expressed concern over
the low participation of Kosovo Serbs at the polls.
“The elections highlighted,
once again, that many members of the Kosovo Serb community, particularly
those living in northern Kosovo, do not feel represented by Kosovo’s
Provisional Institutions,” he pointed out.
Mr. Ban appealed to both
the Kosovo Serb community’s political representatives and
Belgrade authorities to encourage Serbs in the province to take
an active and constructive role in Kosovo’s institutions.
At the same time, he encouraged Kosovo’s leaders to continue
outreach efforts to Kosovo Serb and other m
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Security
Council discusses Kosovo’s future status
19 December 2007 – The Security Council today held a private
debate over the future status of Kosovo, a Serbian province where
ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs and other minorities by nine
to one.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
attended the debate, as did Vojislav Kostunica, Serbia’s
Prime Minister, and Fatmir Sejdiu, the President of Kosovo, which
has been run by the UN since Western forces drove out Yugoslav
forces amid inter-ethnic fighting in 1999.
Earlier this month, a report
submitted to the Council by the troika – comprising the
European Union, Russia and the United States – noted that
despite four months of intense and high-level negotiations, Belgrade
and Pristina have been unable to reach agreement on Kosovo’s
final status. The province’s Albanian leadership supports
independence but Serbia is opposed.
“Neither party was willing
to cede its position on the fundamental question of sovereignty,”
the report said.
The troika was established after
a stalemate emerged over a proposal by Mr. Ban’s Special
Envoy, Martti Ahtisaari, for a phased process of independence
for Kosovo.
Mr. Ahtisaari declared talks
on the future status of the province deadlocked in mid-March,
a little more than a month after unveiling his proposals, which
aimed to address the demands of a multi-ethnic society.
His plan called for a constitution
enshrining principles to protect the rights of all communities,
including culture, language, education and symbols, as well as
granting specific representation for non-Albanians in key public
institutions and requiring that certain laws may only be enacted
if a majority of the Kosovo non-Albanian legislative members agree.
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Two
Kosovo figures on trial temporarily released by UN war crimes
tribunal
14 December 2007 – A former prime minister of Kosovo and
a senior commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during
the conflict in the province, each facing trial at the United
Nations war crimes tribunal set up to deal with the worst crimes
of the Balkan wars of the 1990s, have been granted temporary release
from jail during the court’s annual winter recess.
Judges at the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), sitting in
The Hague, ordered today that Ramush Haradinaj and Lahi Brahimaj
be provisionally released from 21 December, under the condition
they return to the Tribunal’s custody by 4 January next
year.
Mr. Haradinaj was a well-known
figure with the KLA during the conflict with Serb forces in 1998-99
and later served as the leader of a minority political party and
briefly as the province’s prime minister. Mr. Brahimaj was
a senior KLA commander who reported directly to Mr. Haradinaj.
The indictment accuses Mr. Haradinaj
of participating in a joint criminal enterprise with two others,
Idriz Balaj and Mr. Brahimaj, between March and September 1998
aimed at consolidating KLA control in the Dukagjin area by attacking,
persecuting and forcibly removing Serb civilians and violently
suppressing “any real or perceived form of collaboration
with the Serbs by Albanian or Roma civilians.”
While they may not have physically
committed every crime for which they are charged, the indictment
states, they are still considered criminally responsible for planning,
instigating, ordering or aiding and abetting their commission.
The charges against Mr. Haradinaj
include murder, rape, torture, abduction, cruel treatment, harassment
and the deportation or forcible transfer of civilians. Mr. Brahimaj
is accused of providing direct support to Mr. Haradinaj’s
alleged criminal activities and of running a KLA detention facility
in central Kosovo in which civilians were mistreated.
The trial of the three
men began in March and closing arguments are expected to be delivered
late next month. Mr. Balaj did not apply to the ICTY for provisional
release.
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Kosovo
status talks failed to produce agreement, says report to Security
Council
13 December 2007 – Belgrade and Pristina have been unable
to reach agreement on the final status of Kosovo, the Serbian
province administered by the United Nations since 1999, despite
four months of intense and high-level negotiations, according
to a report just submitted to the Security Council.
“Neither party was willing
to cede its position on the fundamental question of sovereignty,”
concluded the report of the troika, comprising the European Union,
Russia and the United States, that was set up to lead the recent
negotiations.
The troika was itself created
by the so-called Contact Group of countries – the US, United
Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Russia – which conveyed
this report to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who then transmitted
it to the Council this week.
The troika was established after
a stalemate emerged over a proposal by Mr. Ban’s Special
Envoy, Martti Ahtisaari, for a phased process of independence
for the province, where ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs and others
by nine to one. Kosovo’s Albanian leadership supports independence
but Serbia is opposed.
Mr. Ahtisaari declared talks
on the future status of the province deadlocked in mid-March,
a little more than a month after unveiling his proposals, which
aimed to address the demands of a multi-ethnic society.
The plan called for a constitution
enshrining principles to protect the rights of all communities,
including culture, language, education and symbols, as well as
granting specific representation for non-Albanians in key public
institutions and requiring that certain laws may only be enacted
if a majority of the Kosovo non-Albanian legislative members agree.
It also called for wide-ranging
decentralization, focusing in particular on the specific needs
and concerns of the Serb community, which would have a high degree
of control over its own affairs such as secondary health care,
higher education and financial matters, including accepting transparent
funding from Serbia. Six new or significantly expanded Kosovo
Serb majority municipalities would be set up.
The troika’s report expressed
regret over the failure to reach a negotiated settlement, saying
it was in the best interests of both sides to do so. But it added
that the negotiations process had still been useful.
“Under our auspices, the
parties engaged in the most sustained and intense high-level direct
dialogue since hostilities ended in Kosovo in 1999. Through this
process, the parties discovered areas where their interests aligned.
The parties also agreed on the need to promote and protect multi-ethnic
societies and address difficult issues holding back reconciliation,
particularly the fate of missing persons and the return of displaced
persons.
“Perhaps most important,
Belgrade and Pristina reaffirmed the centrality of their European
perspective to their future relations, with both sides restating
their desire to seek a future under the common roof of the European
Union.”
The troika also noted that it
had extracted important commitments from the two sides, including
a pledge that they would not use violence and refrain from any
actions that might jeopardize the security situation in Kosovo
and elsewhere.
“We note that Kosovo and
Serbia will continue to be tied together due to the special nature
of their relationship, especially in its historical, human, geographical,
economical and cultural dimensions.”
The report also concluded
that the settlement of Kosovo’s status was critical to the
stability and security of both the Western Balkans region and
Europe as a whole.
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Three
Serbs temporarily released from jail by UN war crimes tribunal
10 December 2007 – Three men facing trial at the United
Nations war crimes tribunal set up to deal with the worst crimes
of the Balkan wars of the 1990s have been granted temporary release
from jail and allowed to return to Serbia while the court is on
its annual winter recess.
The trial chamber of the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY),
which sits in The Hague, ordered
on Friday that the men be released under certain terms and conditions,
including that they return to The Hague early next month.
Radivoje Miletic has been granted
provisional release from 15 December until 7 January, Milan Gvero
from 16 December until 8 January, and Milan Milutinovic from 17
December until 2 January.
Mr. Miletic and Mr. Gvero, who
served as high-ranking military officials in the Bosnian Serb
Army (VRS), face charges of murder, persecutions, forcible transfer
and deportation, all related to the notorious massacre of Muslims
in the Srebrenica and Žepa enclaves in mid-1995.
The joint trial of the two men
began in July 2006, with the prosecution case-in-chief expected
to finish by next February, and the defence case scheduled to
start by early June.
Mr. Milutinovic, a former
President of Serbia and member of the Supreme Defence Council
of the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, has been indicted
on charges related to fighting in Kosovo in 1999. He faces counts
of murder, deportation, forcible transfer and persecutions on
political, racial or religious grounds. His trial, which also
began in July 2006, is expected to finish early next year.
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Ban
Ki-moon receives Contact Group report on Kosovo
7 December 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has received
the report of the ‘Contact Group’ of countries working
to address the status of Kosovo, the Serbian province which has
been run by the United Nations since 1999.
A spokesperson for Mr. Ban said
the Secretary-General would transmit the report to the Security
Council on Sunday.
The Contact Group, comprised
of France, Germany, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom and the
United States, had promised to report by 10 December on the progress
of negotiations between Pristina and Belgrade.
The Group’s report is
expected to cover talks led by the so-called Troika of the European
Union, Russia and the US, which began after a stalemate emerged
over a proposal by Mr. Ban’s Special Envoy, Martti Ahtisaari,
for a phased process of independence for the province, where ethnic
Albanians outnumber Serbs and others by nine to one.
Kosovo’s Albanian leadership
supports independence but Serbia is opposed.
Mr. Ahtisaari declared talks
on the future status of the province deadlocked on 12 March –
a little more than a month after unveiling his proposals, which
aimed to addressed the demands of a multi-ethnic society.
The plan called for a constitution
enshrining principles to protect the rights of all communities,
including culture, language, education and symbols, as well granting
specific representation for non-Albanians in key public institutions
and requiring that certain laws may only be enacted if a majority
of the Kosovo non-Albanian legislative members agree.
It also called for wide-ranging
decentralization, focusing in particular on the specific needs
and concerns of the Serb community, which would have a high degree
of control over its own affairs such as secondary health care,
higher education and financial matters, including accepting transparent
funding from Serbia. Six new or significantly expanded Kosovo
Serb majority municipalities would be set up.
Earlier this week, the
Security Council President for December, Ambassador Marcello Spatafora
of Italy, said the 15-member body would meet this month on Kosovo.
Asked about upcoming steps, he replied that “when the time
comes we will assess and decide how to go forward on process and
on substance.”
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Senior
UN envoy certifies election results in Kosovo
5 December 2007 – The top United Nations envoy to Kosovo
today certified election results for the Assembly of the Serbian
province where ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs and other minorities
by about nine to one.
“I am pleased that the
process is moving forward in a peaceful atmosphere which shows
the maturity of the Kosovo people and the political parties,”
the Secretary-General’s Special Representative Joachim Rücker
said.
The elections were held on 17
November, when voters also participated in municipal ballots and
– for the first time – directly elected a mayor for
each of Kosovo’s 30 municipalities.
Mr. Rücker also announced
that 8 December will be the date for mayoral run-off elections.
Earlier this year Belgrade and
Pristina held direct negotiations on the future status of Kosovo.
This followed a report from the UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari
in which he proposed a phased process of independence for Kosovo.
The UN Interim Administration
in Kosovo (UNMIK), which Mr. Rücker heads, has administered
the province since 1999, when Western forces drove out Yugoslav
troops amid inter-ethnic fighting.
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