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UNMIK-OSCE-EU- Press Briefing, 06 December 2001 UNMIK Spokeswoman Susan Manuel
Details on the Inauguration of the Assembly We've invited Sunil Narula here to give you final details on getting accredited to cover the inauguration of the Assembly on 10 December. As I have explained, the SRSG will open the session, which begins at 10 a.m. After a short speech he will take nominations for the seven members of the Presidency of the Assembly and the President of the Assembly. Once those seven names have been endorsed by a majority of the members of the Assembly, the President of the Assembly will take over chairing the meeting, and he or she will set the rest of the agenda. Provisional Rules of Procedure Mr. Haekkerup has signed an administrative instruments on establishing provisional rules of procedure, which will guide the first Assembly session and following sessions, until the Assembly comes up with its own rules. He has also signed a directive on setting up the administrative support structures of the Assembly. We wish the best of luck to all parties in the coming days for a successful launch of this historic Assembly. Pristina Municipal Assembly Today (10:30h.) Pristina Municipal Assembly resumes its activity
in the presence of two Serbian members (one of the two women, previous
members) and a new appointed Serb member who will be sworn in before the
session starts. It is the 9th meeting of the municipal
assembly. Mail Incident UNMIK Police are investigating an incident yesterday in the UN Mail and Pouch unit when a toxic substance was released from an envelope injuring five UNMIK staff members. A mail room employee noticed an envelope received from the New York mail pouch had been torn. In examining the envelope, some substance fell out. The mail room clerk immediately broke out in a rash. Another employee got sick to her stomach and three others had irritated eyes. UN Security and UNMIK police responded to the scene and cleared the building. The Mail and Pouch unit remains closed today as the investigation continues. The affected staff were sent to Pristina Hospital for examination and treatment. All are OK now. The suspect parcel was addressed to an UNMIK staff member, with no return address. The parcel has been sealed and will be sent to a professional lab for testing. Due to the nature of the symptoms, the substance is not believed to be anthrax or any other biologically hazardous materials. UNMIK Police Regional Serious Crimes Squad is doing the investigation.
Victim Advocacy Conference The OSCE sponsored conference on victim advocacy helped provide the
first steps have been taken to fill a gap in Kosovo's criminal justice
system. The issue of victim advocacy attempts to address the needs of
victims, ensuring that they do not become re-traumatised through
the UNMiK's Pillar I and Department of Judicial Affairs have expressed their support in the building of a functioning and effective Victim Advocacy and Assistance Unit whose response will be based on the need of victims in Kosovo. The OSCE will be compiling a victim advocacy resource manual. This guide will be used as a basis for training advocates who specialise in victim support. The OSCE will also continue to build the capacity of local institutions
and organisations to help develop the network of victim advocates. This
creates a responsibility on us, but also for local institutions and
organisations to address the needs and rights of victims of crimes
and This was the first step. However, much work still needs to done to develop and coordinate services, resources, and a governmental response to fulfil the needs of victims. Assembly Member Training The training of Assembly members by OSCE and NDI continues today. This is the second part of the training where individual party caucuses and will cover developing a legislative caucus, creating a legislative agenda, responding to the concern's of constituents and understanding legislative ethics.
Introduction of the Euro Press Conference on the preparations that are taking place to combat money laundering during the Euro changeover. Money laundering is the process through which criminals attempt to conceal the true origin and ownership of the proceeds of their criminal activities with the ultimate aim of providing a legitimate and legal cover for their sources of income and finance. It is the means by which those organisations and individuals engaged in serious crime appear to live respectably with no apparent connections to the criminal world. The BPK will present how measures to combat money laundering are being stepped up in preparation for Kosovo's January 1 changeover to the Euro. The event will take place tomorrow morning at11.30 - 12.15 New Pledge Law The TDTI is organising a series of seminars on the new Pledge Law and the recently established Pledge Filing Office. The aim is to explain to the business community how they can use this new system. The pledge law and filing office have been designed for the purpose of enhancing the development of a market-based economy in Kosovo by accommodating credit transactions. The seminars will take place in Gjakove on Monday 10th December from 11.00-13.00 in the Municipality Office and on Tuesday 11th December in Prishtina from 11.00-13.00 at BPK. If these are well attended then the seminar will be taken to Mitrovica and Gjilan in the New Year. Waste-collection equipment Tomorrow, Friday December 7th , all media are invited to a ceremony at which EU funded waste-collection equipment will be handed over to the municipalities. This is part of the European Agency for Reconstruction's waste management programme in Kosovo. 2,700 waste disposal bins, and 38 waste compaction trucks to the value of nearly EUR4million are being donated. The ceremony will take place at the International Truck Centre at the industrial zone next to the Norwegian MAXI PX at 1000 hours. A bus will leave the Museum of Kosovo at 0930 for all media who're interested. They should get in touch with the European Agency for Reconstruction. Please see the media alert outside for more information and contact details.
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