UN tribunal reverses contempt
of court conviction of former Kosovo minister
23 July 2009 – The United
Nations war crimes tribunal set up in the wake of the Balkan conflicts
of the 1990s today overturned the conviction of Kosovo’s
ex-minister of culture, youth and sports for contempt of court
for trying to intimidate a trial witness, but upheld the conviction
on the same charge of one of his political advisers.
The appeals chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) ruled that it was reversing the conviction
of Astrit Haraqija, who was sentenced last December to five months’
imprisonment, but affirming the conviction and sentence for Bajrush
Morina, who was given three months in jail.
Mr. Haraqija and Mr. Morina
had both appealed their contempt of court convictions for intimidating
a protected witness in the trial of the former Kosovo Albanian
military leader Ramush Haradinaj and others. Prosecutors had also
appealed, asking for the sentences to be increased.
The ICTY appeals chamber found
that the trial chamber had given too much weight to untested evidence,
largely based on “double or even triple hearsay,”
when it concluded that Mr. Haraqija had influence over Mr. Morina
and had instructed him to commit the crime of contempt. But it
rejected Mr. Morina’s grounds of appeal.
The two men had been on provisional
release since earlier this year, having already served the duration
of the sentences imposed by the trial chamber.
In 2008, the ICTY, which is
based in The Hague, acquitted Mr. Haradinaj and his co-accused
Idriz Balaj of charges they were responsible for war crimes and
crimes against humanity in Kosovo 10 years earlier. Another co-accused,
Lahi Brahimaj, was sentenced to six years’ jail for the
cruel treatment and torture of two persons.
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Kosovars displaced
by war face reintegration obstacles, says UN rights expert
Walter Kälin, the Secretary-General’s
Representative for the Human Rights of IDPs
7 July 2009 – More than one decade after the Balkan wars
concluded, Kosovars uprooted by fighting then continue to face
serious challenges in returning home and local integration, a
United Nations human rights expert said today.
“All persons who were internally displaced from or within
Kosovo have the right to return but are also entitled to integrate
wherever they currently are,” said Walter Kälin, the
Secretary-General’s Representative on the human rights of
internally displaced persons (IDPs), after wrapping up a week-long
trip which took him to Belgrade, Pristina and other cities.
His mission to the region, he
stressed, was in line with Security Council resolution 1244, which
reaffirms Serbia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity
and also gave the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) administrative
authority. Further, he underscored that any reference to Kosovo
– whether to its territory, institutions or population –
is to be understood to be in accordance with the UN’s position
of strict neutrality on its status.
While welcoming authorities’
expressed commitment to help IDPs, regardless of their ethnicity,
return, Mr. Kälin saw entrenched patterns of discrimination,
lack of access to employment, few schools for minorities and difficulties
in repossessing property, among other obstacles to return.
Nearly 800 IDP families have
registered to return to or within Kosovo this year, marking “an
important test case,” he said, with the programme’s
outcome showing whether authorities are willing to accept and
facilitate returns.
Since his last visit to the
then Serbia and Montenegro in 2005, he said that he has seen marked
improvements in the local integration of the displaced.
For example, in a “positive”
and “clear step forward,” the Serbian Commissioner
for Refugees and others have helped IDPs leave “dreadful”
collective centres and move into their own homes, the Representative
said.
But he cautioned that bureaucratic
barriers could impede the access of IDPs – the vast majority
of whom are of Serb ethnicity – to public services.
“If you want to give internally
displaced persons a realistic chance to return one day, you have
to first allow them to re-establish a normal life,” he emphasized.
Mr. Kälin in also voiced
his concern over the situation of IDPs of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian
ethnicity, who have “been living on the margins of society
even before they were displaced.”
Many of their children do not
attend schools and they also cannot access housing, social and
health state benefits because they lack recognized addresses,
he said, calling on authorities to treat them as any other IDPs.
He said he was alarmed that
hundreds of Roma IDPs are still living in Cesmin Lug Camp, where
they had been placed by the UN one decade ago, and the adjacent
Osterode barracks in Mitrovica.
“These people live in
the immediate vicinity of toxic waste that poisons their blood
with lead,” especially the children, the expert said.
“This is a humanitarian
emergency and a very serious human rights issue. The lives and
health of these sick children must not be abused for political
purposes.”
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Kosovo operation
now different, but still vital to ensuring stability – UN
envoy
17 June 2009 – While
the United Nations mission has reconfigured itself in response
to the prevailing situation on the ground after Kosovo’s
declaration of independence from Serbia last year, it still has
an important role to play in ensuring stability in the area, its
chief said today.
"UNMIK's role today is different, but no less relevant or
vital," Lamberto Zannier, the Secretary-General's Special
Representative, told the Security Council as he presented Ban
Ki-moon's latest report on the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo.
While the world body has remained
neutral on the question of the status of Kosovo, UNMIK has been
undergoing a process of restructuring to adapt to the prevailing
situation.
The reconfiguration plan includes
an enhanced operational role for the European Union in the area
of rule of law under a UN “umbrella” headed by the
Secretary-General’s Special Representative and in line with
the 1999 Security Council resolution (1244) that established the
mission.
“The newly reconfigured
UNMIK will continue to perform its functions under Security Council
resolution 1244 with the overall aim of ensuring peace and stability
in Kosovo,” said Mr. Zannier, who heads the mission, which
took over in 1999 after NATO forces drove out Yugoslav troops
amid deadly fighting with the majority ethnic Albanian population.
The Special Representative said
that with the reconfiguration now complete, UNMIK has progressively
shifted its focus towards an increasingly diplomatic and political
role targeted on facilitating dialogue and external relations,
and fostering minority rights.
“UNMIK’s reconfiguration
is both timely and necessary,” he said. “Moreover,
it has served to enhance UNMIK’s effectiveness in view of
the prevailing circumstances on the ground, which have increasingly
limited the scope for performing administrative functions.”
The reconfiguration is also
providing an opportunity to enhance cooperation between the various
UN actors operating in Kosovo, improving the overall coherence
and effectiveness of the world body’s actions and promoting
greater interaction, he added.
In his recent report, Mr. Ban
welcomed the assumption of full operational capability by the
EU mission (EULEX) and said that he is encouraged by the level
of cooperation between it and UNMIK on the ground.
“Our goal, with the support
of EULEX, OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe]
and the international military presence, remains to ensure stability,
foster reconciliation and allow for the return of IDPs [internally
displaced persons],” said Mr. Zannier.
He added that the UN remains
“uniquely situated” to play a useful role, including
by acting as an intermediary between parties that are not ready
to deal with each other directly. “Our status neutrality
allows us to use our efforts to nurture the reconciliation of
Kosovo’s communities and foster regional cooperation.”
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Secretary-General
appeals for continued support for UN’s Kosovo mission
15 June 2009 – Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon has appealed for cooperation and constructive engagement
from all concerned for a reconfigured United Nations mission in
Kosovo, which he says is continuing to play an important role
amid the changing reality on the ground following Kosovo’s
declaration of independence from Serbia last year.
While the world body has remained neutral on the question of the
status of Kosovo, the UN Interim Administration Mission there
(UNMIK) – which took over in 1999 after NATO forces drove
out Yugoslav troops amid deadly fighting with the majority ethnic
Albanian population –has been undergoing a process of restructuring
to adapt to the prevailing situation.
The reconfiguration plan includes
an enhanced operational role for the European Union in the area
of rule of law under a UN “umbrella” headed by the
Secretary-General’s Special Representative and in line with
the 1999 Security Council resolution (1244) that established the
mission.
A reconfigured UNMIK would continue
to carry out many functions, including those related to a dialogue
with Serbia on provisions in six areas: police, courts, customs,
transport and infrastructure, boundaries and Serbian patrimony.
“UNMIK, as reconfigured,
can continue to play an effective and useful role in mediating
between communities, in promoting practical arrangements that
can benefit both Pristina and Belgrade, and in carrying out the
functions set out in my reports of 12 June and 24 November 2008,”
Mr. Ban wrote in a report to the Security Council, referring to
the details of the restructuring that he put forth last year.
“However, in order to
do so effectively, UNMIK requires the cooperation and constructive
engagement of all concerned,” he added. “The continuing
support of the Security Council and of the broader international
community for a reconfigured UNMIK is of crucial importance.”
He commended in particular the
Mission’s efforts to mediate between communities amid recent
tensions in northern Mitrovica, and welcomed the positive outcomes
reached through the coordinated efforts of UNMIK, the EU rule
of law mission (EULEX) and the NATO-led international force (KFOR).
The Secretary-General welcomed
the assumption of full operational capability by EULEX, noting
that its operational role in the rule of law sector, under the
overall authority and within the status-neutral framework of the
UN, is key to the maintenance of stability on the ground.
“As EULEX develops its
road map for the strengthening of the rule of law throughout Kosovo,
the concerns of all communities should continue to be taken fully
into account, in close consultation with UNMIK,” he said.
Mr. Ban also noted that Kosovo
authorities continued to act on the basis of the ‘Constitution
of the Republic of Kosovo’ and made a series of public statements
requesting UNMIK to conclude its mission, “asserting that
Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) is no longer relevant
and that they had no legal obligation to abide by it.”
In addition, although the Kosovo
authorities maintained minimal contact with his Special Representative,
Lamberto Zannier, during the reporting period from 10 March to
31 May, there continued to be “practical cooperation”
between UNMIK representatives and Kosovo officials.
“My Special Representative
and international stakeholders encouraged Pristina to take a more
constructive stance towards engagement with UNMIK,” Mr.
Ban stated.
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Former Kosovo
minister held on contempt granted provisional release by UN tribunal
9 April 2009 – The United
Nations war crimes tribunal set up in the wake of the Balkan conflicts
of the 1990s has ordered the provisional release of Kosovo’s
ex-minister for culture, youth and sport, who was convicted of
contempt of court for trying to intimidate a witness in a war
crimes trial. Astrit Haraqija has completed his five-month sentence
imposed by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY), which found him guilty of trying to persuade
a Prosecution witness not to testify in the trial of former Kosovo
Albanian military leader Ramush Haradinaj. Both the Prosecution
and the Defence have appealed the Tribunal’s judgement to
release Mr. Haraqija, whose freedom is now dependent on the outcome
of the Appeals judgement. Bajrush Morina, part-time editor of
the Kosovo newspaper Bota Sot and former political advisor to
the Deputy Minister for Culture, Youth and Sport, was also accused
of the same crime and received a three month sentence, having
been granted provisional release in February. “The Tribunal
holds the safety of its witnesses and confidentiality of its protected
materials in high regard,” it said in a press release issued
in The Hague. To date, dozens of people have been charged with
witness intimidations, refusing to answer questions in court,
leaking confidential court documents and breaching protective
measures.
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Leaders
must put needs of Kosovo’s communities first, says top UN
envoy
Lamberto Zannier, Head of UN
Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
23 March 2009 – Although strides have been made to consolidate
stability in Kosovo, leaders in Pristina and Belgrade must give
priority to needs of Kosovo’s communities ahead of their
own political interests, a senior United Nations official told
the Security Council today.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative Lamberto
Zannier said that since his briefing last July, the situation
in Kosovo, which was administered by the UN after Western troops
drove out Yugoslav forces amid inter-ethnic fighting over eight
years ago, has remained relatively peaceful.
In February 2008, Kosovo declared
its independence, in a move rejected by Serbia, and the UN has
remained neutral on the issue.
While both Pristina and Belgrade
have endeavoured to maintain peace in the area equally, “both
have stopped short of where we need to be in order to feel confident
that Kosovo is well and truly launched onto the path of lasting
peace and prosperity,” Mr. Zannier said at today’s
open debate.
He also briefed the Council
on the reconfiguration of the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK).
Last December, the European
Union’s Rule of Law Mission, or EULEX, successfully assumed
full responsibility in that sector – which includes police
and justice functions – under the overall authority of the
UN.
As a result, the number of UNMIK
police has decreased from 1,288 to 49, and there are no more UNMIK
judges in Kosovo’s courts, although the Mission remains
on the ground to consult with various groups on issues, including
cultural and religious ones, affecting the area’s communities.
The envoy highlighted some of
the challenges Kosovo faces, such as the sharp drop in the pace
of the voluntary returns of internally displaced persons (IDPs)
and the large number of missing persons from the conflict.
Further, the issue of electric
power supply “continues to plague the everyday lives of
all of Kosovo’s residents,” and the problem is due
primarily to non-payment by many consumers, including the wholesale
lack of compensation by the Kosovo Serb community, he said.
The Kosovo Energy Corporation
has allowed for malfunctions in the power supply to remain unfixed
for periods of one week or more in a bid to receive late payment.
“Although this policy
is affecting all ethnic groups to different degrees, the issue
has been politicized, leading to demonstrations by angry residents
of Kosovo Serb-inhabited villages, who have recently clashed with
the Kosovo Police when protestors tried to block traffic on main
thoroughfares,” Mr. Zannier told the meeting, which heard
from over one dozen speakers.
In his latest report to the
Council on UNMIK, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wrote that although
there is a perception among many Kosovo Albanians that the Mission
has run its course, it has stepped up the pace of its adaptation
to the changing situation on the ground.
Under “significant pressure”
from opposition parties, authorities in Kosovo have repeatedly
said in recent months that resolution 1244, which set up UNMIK,
is “no longer relevant and that the institutions of Kosovo
have no legal obligation to abide by it,” the publication
said.
The report noted that, in line
with Belgrade’s official policy, many Kosovo Serbs are rejecting
the legitimacy of Kosovo’s authorities, although many are
applying for identify cards, driver’s licenses and other
Kosovo documentation.
Notwithstanding these developments,
Mr. Ban said that the reconfiguration of UNMIK, for which he called
in response to the “profoundly changed reality” on
the ground, has picked up pace.
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Kosovo: pace
of UN mission’s reconfiguration picking up – Ban
19 March 2009 – Despite
a perception among many Kosovo Albanians that the United Nations
peacekeeping mission in Kosovo has run its course, Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon wrote in a new report that it has stepped up the pace
of its adaptation to the changing situation on the ground.
Under “significant pressure” from opposition parties,
authorities in Kosovo have repeatedly said in recent months that
resolution 1244, which set up the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK), is “no longer relevant and that the institutions
of Kosovo have no legal obligation to abide by it,” the
publication said.
UNMIK took over the administration
of Kosovo in 1999 after North Atlantic Treaty organization (NATO)
forces drove out Yugoslav troops amid deadly fighting with the
majority ethnic Albanian population there.
The UN has remained neutral
on the question of the status of Kosovo since its declaration
of independence last February, a move rejected by Serbia.
The report to the Security Council
on UNMIK noted that, in line with Belgrade’s official policy,
many Kosovo Serbs are rejecting the authority of Kosovo’s
authorities, although many are applying for identify cards, driver’s
licenses and other Kosovo documentation.
Notwithstanding these developments,
Mr. Ban said that the reconfiguration of UNMIK, for which he called
in response to the “profoundly changed reality” on
the ground, has picked up pace.
After almost 10 years of policing
Kosovo, UNMIK has been phasing out its police component to allow
the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, known as EULEX,
to assume its operational functions in the rule of law sector
under the UN’s overall authority.
The Secretary-General said this
joint effort with the UN has taken place without significant security
incidents and with the support of Pristina, Belgrade and international
partners. “It constitutes a major milestone in the international
involvement in Kosovo, and a positive example of cooperation between
the United Nations and the European Union,” he wrote.
Also last November, UNMIK’s
head told the Council that the mission is re-orienting its field
presence to concentrate in areas occupied by ethnic non-Albanians
following Kosovo’s declaration of independence.
“The recent actions of
the institutions of Kosovo have made it no longer possible or
practicable for UNMIK to function as an administrator,”
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative Lamberto
Zannier.
“We need to be able
to concentrate on the areas where we can still make a difference
for good, rather than attempt to continue functions which are
neither relevant nor needed,” he said, noting that UNMIK
would monitor the well-being of the non-Albanian communities and
retain a support and mediation role.
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