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Text of the SRSG's Address to the People of Kosovo Good evening, I address you tonight because tomorrow we are taking a major decision on the road ahead for Kosovo. A decision to create Provisional Self-Government. For the whole population of Kosovo. When the United Nation in 1999 took over the administration of Kosovo, one of the main aims was to create meaningful self-government, pending a final political settlement. What does this mean? This means that you, the people, now - for the first time in history - be able to decide upon the day-to-day affairs in Kosovo. This will be your Self-Government in Pristina. Significant powers and responsibilities will be handed over to leaders elected by you. You will elect an Assembly with 120 members. The task of the Assembly will be to adopt laws on a wide range of matters within the responsibility of the Self-Government. The Assembly will have a seven member Presidency with representation of the principal political parties and communities. The Assembly will elect the President of Kosovo. The President shall represent Kosovo and guarantee the democratic functioning of the Self-Government. To implement the laws of the Assembly , a Government will be formed. The president will nominate a prime minister who has to present his government to the assembly. The Constitutional Framework ensures the rights of the communities and their representation in the institutions it will establish. 100 seats in the Assembly will be distributed to the parties according to the votes they get in the election. A further 10 seats in the Assembly will be reserved for the Serb community, and 10 seats for other communities. …….One member of the Presidency will be a Kosovo-Serb and one member will represent the other non-kosovo Albanian communities. As to Government…, at least one Minister shall represent the Serb community and one Minister other communities. Now…? What will be the role of the international community in the future? UNMIK will still be here. In most fields we will be taking a back seat. I will continue to ensure that the acts of the provisional Self-Government will be in accordance with UN SCR 1244. UNMIK will still be responsible for justice and law enforcement as well as the Kosovo Protection Corps. KFOR will continue to ensure a secure environment. Next month, every household will receive a booklet that will explain all this in detail. A lot of effort has been invested in creation of the Constitutional Framework. A Joint Working Group with representatives for political parties, communities, civil society, and the international community has in seven intensive weeks created a comprehensive draft text, leaving only a few - but politically sensitive - questions open. We then tried to resolve these questions with the political leaders, but this was not possible. There were five outstanding questions with the representatives of the Kosovo-Albanians and five with the Kosovo-Serbs. Despite intensive efforts to bridge the remaining gap, the courage to compromise was missing. In the end the international community had to strike the balance. I believe the result is a very fair compromise. The Kosovo-Albanians insisted to deal with matters that lie outside Security Council Resolution 1244 and tried to go into questions that are part of a final political settlement, including the idea of holding a referendum. The international community rejected this. However, there is reference in the document that the will of the people will be taken into account among all other relevant factors in the process, which, in accordance with SCR 1244 will determine Kosovo's final status at an appropriate future stage. On their part the Kosovo Serbs wanted to be able to veto the decisions that they feared would infringe their vital interests. Such a veto could lead to the complete stalemate in the work of the Assembly. Anyway this approach is not necessary. To safe guard the rights of the Serb and other communities and to meet their concerns, a special mechanism in the Assembly has been created to reconcile differences and to resolve disputes. Furthermore, as an extra safeguard - the Special Representative of the Secretary General has the power and responsibility to ensure, that the rights and vital interests of all communities are fully respected. The commitment to facilitate the safe return of refugees and displaced persons is clearly stated in the Constitutional Framework. They will also be able to vote in the elections if registered according to the rules. The Constitutional Framework is good for Kosovo. It is also good for the overall stability of the region. It provides equal rights for all individuals and all communities. It has the full support of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. And when I briefed the UN Security Council last week broad support was expressed for moving forward. The wounds of the past are difficult to heal. The Constitutional Framework and the institutions it establishes are necessary stepping-stones on the way ahead, but Kosovo will only find its natural place in Europe when violence stops and genuine reconciliation is achieved. There is no place for parallel structures in Kosovo. Only by integrating and participating in the political institutions we now create can the future for all communities be secured. Therefore, participation in the coming elections is in the interest of all communities, enabling them to further their interests. If communities do not participate, they will marginalize themselves. They will find themselves outside the process and have no say in their future. The Constitutional Framework is without doubt the most important legislative act since UNMIK was established almost two years ago. We will now speed up the preparations for Kosovo-wide elections. The elections will be held half a year from now, on the 17th of November this year. Therefore, I will urge all of you to register, if you have not already done so, and to vote in this election. This will be the most important vote you have ever cast in your life. This is your Self-Government and your future.
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