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UNMIK at Two Years SRSG Hans Haekkerup Hans Haekkerup: UNMIK arrived two years ago today to face a chaotic situation-800,000 refugees returning spontaneously; VJ forces withdrawing. KFOR troops arriving. Kosovo was also on the brink of civil war. Parallel structures quickly formed. The public sector was down, without stable electricity or water. Public security was minimal, with more than 50 murders a week, mainly of Serbs. Since then, Kosovo has undergone dramatic changes. UNMIK restored the
civil administration. Humanitarian assistance was rendered. The KLA
demilitarised. The Joint Interim Administrative Structures brought the
Kosovo leaders into policy making The economy is not yet strong, although taxes are coming in and by 2002 we should have a balanced budget. Small businesses are vibrant. However, unemployment remains unacceptably high, and we need more stability to attract investments here. The security situation has stabilized although the rate of violent crimes remains unacceptably high. The creation of Pillar I, the expansion of the Kosovo Police Service - now more than 3,500 cadets - in the next year moving to 6,000 - and the increasing skills and resources for UNMIK Police should further improve security in the coming weeks. New legislation gives us the means to be tougher on violent crime. Already we have cracked some high profile cases, with several suspects in custody. But the hatred which fuels interethnic violence does not seem much diminished. A major success was the local election of last October, which marked
the transition from emergency phase into the rebuilding of society.
Gradually powers are being transferred from UNMIK and from Pristina, to
locally elected or appointed municipal assemblies. Hundreds of detainees in Serbian prisons were released. Some 250 are remaining, and we are working on their transfer here. Work on the missing from all communities should speed up soon with the DNA testing of remains. This may bring tragic news to many families, but it should also allow them some closure to go on with their lives. Terrible crimes are being unveiled in Serbia, but the new administration seems determined to disclose the truth. Justice must also be delivered and the criminals punished. These crimes in part explain perhaps why a climate of intolerance persists in Kosovo. But it is time to move on. Kosovo must be a safe and secure home to all its communities. The displaced persons should be encouraged to return, and the non-Albanian communities must be allowed to thrive, with security and freedom of movement. All parties have signed on to the principles of return, and I will hold them to this. We must continue to seek reconciliation between communities. The international community will insist upon it. I do not want to wait until elections to begin the process of returning IDP's. But I also believe that participation in the self-governing institutions will bring the communities closer together. Although return of VJ to Ground Safety Zone went smoothly, the situation in FYROM is a major reason for great concern. I appeal to all sides to restrain themselves and refrain from violence as a solution. Kosovo has been implicated in setting these fires. There are links, it is true. But we have been cutting them: KFOR has reinforced the borders, while we have passed legislation to curtail the movement of extremists. Your leaders have distanced themselves publicly from the conflict in FYROM. It is important that this conflict not be allowed to destabilize Kosovo and to undo the hard work that the people of Kosovo have put into rebuilding their society. The Way ahead: The Constitutional Framework sets the course for the way ahead. Elections in November should show that all parts of Kosovo are ready for democracy. The next important phase will be the setting up of institutions of self-government that must include all communities. There is no reason for any community to fear a loss of protection. In fact, participation will guarantee that their interests should be heeded. We must now concentrate on internal stabilization in the interests of the young people who should be liberated from the vicious circle of ethnic hatred and violence. The way to Europe is not through ethnic separation but only, and I say ONLY, through mutual tolerance. If all Kosovo rejects violence and takes part in elections and then self-governing institutions, I believe an equilibrium and stability will be reached here and in the region. The world will agree that Kosovo then is ready to move ahead. The process for discussing Kosovo's final status will become closer. We have achieved a lot, two years after the war. But I have to tell you there is much work to be done yet. Gary Matthews: The separate police and justice structure, Pillar 1, was promulgated in May. It stems from initiatives taken by SRSG Haekkerup upon his arrival in Kosovo. It reflects the SRSG's emphasis on strengthening the rule of law and bringing crime under control. Of course, the work of Pillar 1 builds on the huge efforts by over the past two years. It will carry this forward, enabling us to concentrate and coordinate our efforts more effectively, bringing the necessary additional human and other resources to bear. The establishment of Pillar 1 is also very much within the context of the overall progress achieved in Kosovo over the past two years and, in particular, the SRSG's promulgation of the Constitutional Framework for Provisional Self-Government, the upcoming elections in November, and the coming into office of the elected government in
January. The KPS has developed very effectively. KPS policing operations are increasingly responsible for maintaining law and order in Kosovo day in and day out. Without a doubt the professionalism themselves is defiantly increasing in terms of their professional abilities. We will build on what has already been accomplished, increasing the strength from around 4,000 today to 6,000 by the end of next year; the professionalism of KPS officers will continue to be enhanced. The judicial system will continue to be improved - Prosecutors, judges, lay workers. For those criminals who are caught, prosecuted and convicted, there will be adequate detention and prison facilities. The people of Kosovo do not want such criminals among them, making life harder for everyone. They want them incarcerated after due process has been served. The Police and Justice pillar will also give continued emphasis to regulations and legislation to deal with criminals and troublemakers, just as in recent weeks we have promulgated regulations on illegal possession, illegal border/boundary crossing, and soon, against those committing or trying to commit acts of terrorism. All of this will build on accomplishments of the past two years. As was noted by the SRSG, there are a lot of problem and a lot of things yet to be done but a huge amount has been accomplished in the last two year. Now we will endure the continuing improvement of the life of the people of Kosovo and their children. They want and will get safer and more prosperous future along with their own self-government. Tom Koenigs: Civil Administration is responsible for the normal life of the people. Two years ago this was not a normal life at all. Now it looks quite normal. 30 Municipal Assemblies are working everyday. 21 administrative departments are working. All together 55,000 civil servants work in Kosovo. Primary and secondary health care is working well and still is to be improved. A public education system is reformed and acquiring step by step international European standards. The social welfare system is in place, it is still to be improved especially as it relates to pension schemes. It has already been said that the system of criminal courts, minor offenses courts, district courts and the Supreme Court are working and are working very well. The roads are being repaired. This was a major thing in the very beginning that practically no road was really usable. We have more cars in Kosovo than we have ever had. In the beginning there was none with a number plate and now they have all number plates, and if not, the police is controlling them and fining them. We have a modern airport. The airport transported last year 500,000 passengers. This year it will be 20% more. The telecom services are modern and working. In other words, in a remarkably short time, in two years, by any standard, the foundations of a modern European-based civil society has been put in place. For that, I want to thank all the Kosovars involved and all the civil servants. We have now entered a critical period in the development because we have to develop a viable system of democratic governance in Kosovo and to focus on the transition. This transition is well underway in the municipalities and it is already prepared in the JIAS departments. With the support of donors, we have to focus on major challenges in the next year. There is extensive training on the municipal and region-wide level. There we continuously need donor support. The concept of civic responsibility must be enhanced if democracy is to succeed here. That means we have to focus on delivering services to ALL communities. We must ensure that all communities actively participate and have a viable voice in the government structures. And we must ensure these democratic structures, jointly created by the people of Kosovo and UNMIK, become deeply rooted in this society and remain sustainable even one day if we are away. So, in the last two years we have accomplished a great deal. But there is still a great deal more to do and, especially over the next six months, we will only succeed if we constructively work together as we have begun. Daan Everts : I would like to highlight three areas where we have some major performances and some major challenges. First is the area of the rule of law, probably the most difficult one for UNMIK in the past two years to come to grips with, but there has been progress although a long way still to go. As far as we are concerned, in OSCE a few institutions have taken off, like the Ombudsperson, the judicial institutes that trains judges and prosecutors, the law school and, of course, we have what I considere one of our best success stories, the Kosovo Police School, the academy. We have reached the 4,000 target, we are going to continue up to the 6,000. The main challenge is to upgrade, besides expand, to upgrade the KPS and prepare it for high level responsibilities. The 20% women target has been achieved in the KPS, as has the 15% minority which makes it a really integrated institution. In the media area I would like to record that we have achieved, I think, and you are representing this in fact, a very vibrant form of media. I am particularly pleased that an old dream is coming true - that is the establishment of an independent public broadcaster. It is pretty alien to the Balkans and I think we have been very persistent pursuing this and I think that it is exactly reaching the level that we had hoped for. We have just completed the regulation, and the SRSG has signed it. RTK will be run by a board of directors that is completely recruited from the civil society. There is no politician there; there is no state official in there. So it is de-politicized. It is impartial. It is professional. Another area is in the elections. The local elections, I still stand by my old qualifications, that these were the best first post-conflict elections in the Balkans, if not in the world and we are now challenged with repeating that or doing even better with the Kosovo-wide elections. I have good news for you, spectacular news I think, that yesterday the Central Election Commission has agreed to the 30%, rather 1/3, norm for women candidates on the parties lists. Given the fact that people will vote for parties rather than individuals, this means that this norm will stick. That means that the future assembly will have 1/3 women. That is a spectacular percentage for a post-war first structure. It is also an achievement that many western democracies have taken decades to reach. We hope that the elections will be truly inclusive, meaning that all communities participate. The final word is another big challenge that is relatively new for the
OSCE and as the capacity building pillar is building an independent,
non-political public service in order to Finally, we have always cherished two themes as far as capacity building is concerned that is Kosovarization and professionalism. These are the two areas, the two lead themes of all our activities and I think we have moved very commendably forward in that regard but progress will still continue. Andy Bearpark - If we look back over the last two years, I would say that we have had two major achievements. One of which is very visible, and one of which is very invisible. The visible one is that Kosovo is effectively reconstructed. As Tom Koenigs has pointed out, the roads have been rebuilt, they have been repaired, the airport works, the telephone system works, the power station, despite some of your concerns, really does work. All of these things have been done and they have been done by a true partnership of the Kosovar people and the aid donors, the largest, which of course is the European Union. The invisible achievement has been laying the building of the future for economic growth. It has been invisible because it is the boring stuff, it is the stuff that people don't want to know about. It is putting in place tax inspectors, it is putting in place computer systems that work out how you make the budget work. An awful lot of that work has been done. We have a functioning Central Fiscal Authority. We have a BPK regulating the banks and we have the basis for commercial legislation. So if we look toward the future, the challenge that we are engaged in every day of the week, with of course the support of all my colleagues, is the challenge of moving on from that reconstruction to sustainable economic development. Sustainable economic development is the buzz phrase that I have to put in all the speeches, but I define it with three other words and that jobs, jobs, jobs. That is the business we are in. We are in the business to create jobs and enable people to earn money themselves and to enable the economy of Kosovo to grow and be truly self-sustaining. There are three things we are doing in particular to that end. The first one is we are trying to attract private sector capital from overseas. The SRSG eluded to the problems, and I would not minimize those problems for one minute, they are very, very difficult for us, but there is a bright side as well. In the last two weeks, I have had four groups of businessmen, three from western Europe and one from elsewhere, sitting in my office saying "We want to invest in Kosovo. We know there are awful problem, but how can we do it." That is progress. The second one which Daan Everts mentioned is structures. Fair, transparent structures that people know how to deal with. That is the second thing we do. But everything we do is linked into the third priority, which is that regardless what happens, regardless of the outcome of the elections, the future of Kosovo lies in Europe. Everything we do is designed with that in mind. Every regulation that we look at, every policy that we think about is designed with the thought in mind that the future of the Kosovar people is in Europe. I tried to excite you the other day with the Value Added Tax, that famous European tax, and I failed miserably. But I am going to excite you one day with the arrival of the Euro at the beginning of next year because that is the visible step that Kosovo is moving toward Europe. So, there are incredible obstacles for us to overcome, there are many, many challenges but progress has been made and there is every progress of making more. Eric Morris: Thinking back to 1999 one recalls the images of hundreds of thousands of people who had been forced to leave their homes. I think one person who wrote about it is the best way was Ismail Kadore who said "Every evening on little screens the world over processes the cavalry of a people. Though the picture has been edited and it has run incomplete this unending human chain carried with it one of the most solemn tragedies of the century. These people have left everything behind them. Their houses, their near and dear killed in front of them. Mercifully in a matter of months these people were able to come home." It was a time of joy and a time of celebration and I think on the 2nd anniversary we should also think of joy and celebration, but also tinged with the awareness that many people still remain missing and we should always remember the victims when we have a commemoration like this. I think today is the day to recommit to the principles of Security Council Resolution 1244 and particularly for the right for the refugees and displaced persons to return. The wording from Security Council Resolution 1244 indicated that the Security Council was determined to provide for the safe and free return of all refugees and displaced persons to their homes. The Security Council did not say some, they said all. We need to recommit ourselves to that. UNHCR will stand by that right, as will we heard from the SRSG, UNMIK. In that regard, I will make two points. The protection of the minority communities in Kosovo and the longer term prospects to exercise their right to return is very much linked to their acceptance and participation in the emerging provisional self governing institutions of Kosovo. This is a message that must be repeated consistently if we are to make progress. I would also say that there needs to be greater awareness of the linkage between the rule of law and security for the minorities. I fear that unless we are able to establish the rule of law and security for all communities, in the longer run there will not be rule of law and security for any community. Questions: Q: Please tell us about your meeting with Mr. Kostunica. Also, if
the Serbs don't have the freedom of movement in Kosovo, is that really
moving forward? Q: Do you think your greatest failure was to not create a multi-ethnic
Kosovo? Q: Does the issue of the final status create problems for UNMIK moving
ahead? Q: Are you trying to facilitate the dialogue for the future of Kosovo
by meeting with both Belgrade and the Kosovo Albanian leaders? Q: Do you see yourself as the mediator between Belgrade and the Kosovo
Albanians? Q: What will happen if a multi-ethnic society is not created in Kosovo
within the next 3-4 years? Q: If you could start the mission over, what would you change? Q: When will we have functioning labor law and social
welfare? Q: Kosovo society has shown the desire NOT to live in a multi-ethnic
society. Is the Mitrovica model a short term solution? What if
the people decide to stay in enclaves? make it possible to reach a higher degree of political maturity. You will have to make the necessary compromises that will help in creating a political culture. This will be part of taking the process forward. At the same time we would like to increase our law enforcement capabilities in Kosovo but again we can have more KPS, which will certainly be a good step, we can have more specialized police officers, we can refine the judicial system, the legislation and so on, but in the end, it is again about the people here. You can have the finest police officers, but they have to rely on the Kosovars giving evidence, giving information when they hear about crimes or have suspicions about crimes or terrorist movements. So it is a process and in the end we will try to push things, to try to create the possibilities to make the right decision but in the end it is you who has to make the decisions for yourselves, whether you will turn your back to violence or whether you will step forward and stop it. I think this is decisive of what will happen to Kosovo in the future because it is very important how Kosovo is seen by the international community, which will have an important say about the future of Kosovo. Q: There is a high level of hatred in Kosovo. Would canonization
provide a temporary solution for Kosovo? Q: When do you expect to see returns? Q: You say you want to increase law and justice. If so you will
have to arrest more people, but the jails and prisons are full. Will
you build more? have a very small gap between the prosecutions and convictions and that we expect under the new legislation and the hotel space, as it were, to accommodate the people that will be coming out of that process. It is a challenge, I certainly acknowledge that but we expect that we will be able to handle it through various means. Q: Have you already found the places where you want to return Serbs or
are you planning more enclaves? Q: Mr. Daan Everts, you have known Albanians for a long time. How
long do you thin it will take for Albanians and Serbs to live together and
what is your plan after the elections? Q: In each of the past two years we have heard of different plans for
Mitrovica. Will there be a third plan in the third
year?
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