15 October
Addressing the press
in Pristina, Acting SRSG Tom Koenigs said the Nobel Peace Prize awarded
to the UN and Secretary-General Kofi Annan had helped renew UNMIK's
commitment to holding peaceful and democratic elections on 17 November.
He urged Kosovo residents to embrace the values of equality among races,
religions, ethnic groups and genders, values promoting tolerance, diversity
and respect for human rights.
Bojan Nicic, a Kosovo
Serb resident of Caglavica received the one millionth UNMIK ID Card
at a ceremony in Gracanica. Acting SRSG Tom Koenigs said although registering
did not mean people had to participate in the election, they had a "political
and democratic obligation" to vote.
Three political
entities that broke Kosovo's election rules were fined by the Election
Complaints and Appeals sub-Commission. The AAK and the PDK were fined
DM 250 each for not giving the police the 120 notice before holding
a campaign rally. The Turkish People's Party of Kosovo was fined DM
1,000 for fraudulently collecting signatures for its certification application.
UNMIK Pillar III
announced that thousands of non-OSCE monitors would be accredited to
observe the Assembly election. They comprise a team of international
monitors and two groups of domestic observers, drawn from Kosovo's civil
society, NGO sector and from the political entities.
16 October
The Interim Administrative
Council discussed a draft regulation on official flags, as well as Assembly
structure and the introduction of Euro.
The Central Election
Commission approved the list of candidates from 25 of the political
entities contesting the forthcoming election. A total of 1,282 candidates
were approved.
The Contact Group
on the Missing discussed the draft Protocol on Cross-Boundary Repatriation
of Identified Remains, which would be the basis for all future repatriations
on both sides of the administrative boundary.
17 October
Serbia's Deputy
Prime Minister Nebosa Covic visited Kosovo and met top UNMIK officials
as well as leaders of Kosovo's political entities. Among issues discussed
were the situation of minorities, security and freedom of movement,
prisoners, detainees and missing, property rights, social issues etc.
18 October
SRSG Hans Haekkerup
signed Regulation2001/27 on Essential Labour Law in Kosovo, laying down
the basic law governing relationship between an employee and an employer
and their respective rights and obligations.
The draft regulation
on financial reporting was sent to UN Headquarters in New York for final
approval. The new edict would establish a Kosovo financial reporting
board and a regime for financial reporting of business organizations.
It would also cover the certification of accountants and licensing of
auditors.
19 October
Kosovo's Bar/Judicial
Exam was held for the first time in nearly a decade. Training classes
for the exam were organized by OSCE, and the exam itself was run by
UNMIK's Department of Judicial Affairs.
The first enterprise
to have received a loan from the Interim Credit Union-furniture manufacturer
'Galanteria' in Podujevo-celebrated its 14th anniversary and presented
its products and equipment obtained through the loan.
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