20 May
SRSG Michael Steiner
met the new French Minister of Defence, Ms. Michelle Alliot-Marie, in
Pristina. The parties discussed issues of mutual concern.
The UNMIK Department
of Justice held an information sharing session on employment opportunities
for Serb judges and prosecutors in Kosovo. The event was attended by
Jean Cady, head of the UNMIK Police and Justice Pillar.
21 May
The Department of Environment of the Ministry of Environment
and Spatial Planning held the "Third Conference of Environmental
Health: the Case of Obiliq", in which the major environmental problems
caused by the Obiliq industrial complex were discussed. Participants
included Ethem Ceku, Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning, and
Fadil Ismaili, Acting Director of KEK.
SRSG Michael Steiner, during a visit to the homes of recently-returned
Kosovo Ashkali families, launched his Concept Paper on the Right to
Sustainable Returns. The paper lays out the basic principles that are
to guide returns of displaced persons and refugees to Kosovo in the
future, with the understanding that returns and integration are key
priorities for UNMIK. The two fundamental principles are that returns
must be based upon the rights and decisions of individuals. These rights
should apply equally to members of all communities. Secondly, returns
must be sustainable, meaning returnees must have equal access to public
services, employment, property, humanitarian assistance, freedom of
movement and other attributes of normal life. The document also states
that no displaced person should be forced home, or used as a political
pawn and that displaced persons should endeavor to return to their original
homes or at least the area they originated from.
22 May
Clint Williamson, Director of the Department of Justice, signed
release orders for 26 detainees from the Dubrava prison. The inmates
are from a group of Kosovo Albanians that had been held in Serbia and
then transferred back to Kosovo in March 2002. Other prisoners, whom
international judges determined had committed recognized crimes and
whose convictions were legally valid, are serving out their sentences
in Kosovo.
OSCE and UNHCR announced that further fundamental changes need
to be made in order to improve conditions for Kosovo's minorities and
to create an environment conducive for returns of all ethnic groups.
In their ninth joint assessment, the two organizations found that the
main concerns for minorities continue to be security and lack of freedom
of movement. Their report states that although the number of serious
violent incidents has gradually decreased, intimidation and harassment
continue to persist in many minority areas. Despite gradual improvements
in security, occasional recurrence of extremely violent attacks reinforce
the pervasiveness of fear amongst minorities, it says. However, work
of law enforcement and judicial authorities is "slowly but surely"
starting to have a positive impact on respect for the rule of law in
Kosovo.
23 May
By the powers vested
in the SRSG by Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) and the Constitutional
Framework, SRSG Michael Steiner declared null and void the "resolution
on the protection of the territorial integrity of Kosovo" adopted
by the Kosovo Assembly. In addressing the press in Pristina, he said
there had been "damage done in the standing of the Assembly in
the eyes of the international community as well as in the eyes of the
region".
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