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| United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo | UNMIK news No. 111 | |
| SRSG briefs UN Security Council on progress in Kosovo | ||
| In a comprehensive briefing to the United Nations Security Council last week, SRSG Hans Haekkerup emphasized progress in fulfilling the needs and interests of minorities, particularly Kosovo Serbs. He explained that UNMIK was working with international agencies and local figures to incorporate all communities in the political, economic and social life of Kosovo. UNMIK had to remain attentive to political developments in the region, and to ensure its efforts were "balanced and far-sighted" in order to avoid counter-productive developments, the SRSG said. He stressed that UNMIK had sole responsibility for administering the province and could not accept the presence of parallel administrative or security structures. The Constitutional Framework had been designed with particular attention to the needs and interests of the Kosovo Serbs and other non-Albanians, the SRSG went on. After the elections UNMIK would hand over many responsibilities but retain authority in key areas. "The November elections are a crucial step forward," Haekkerup said. "UNMIK is making every effort to give Kosovo Serbs the opportunity to be represented by leaders of their own choice." To the issue of whether two disputed Kosovo Albanian parties-the LKCK and LPK-could stand in the elections, Haekkerup said that the Central Elections Commission was responsible for their certification. He assured the Security Council that no people whose names appeared on the so-called "Bush black list" could run in the election. The question of de-certifying the parties had been raised by Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic (who addressed the Council earlier during the meeting) and by the Russian ambassador. The SRSG also described efforts to locate missing persons and return displaced people and detainees. He said UNMIK, UNHCR and KFOR were involved in facilitating the return of internally displaced people, and that while significant progress had been made, that process was still fragile. "We do have the first returnees. We must go step by step. We must do it in accordance with the security we can provide," Haekkerup stated. He described UNMIK's efforts to improve security in Kosovo and to ensure that the justice system was available for members of all communities. The SRSG said he looked forward to continuing co-operation with Belgrade authorities on Kosovo Serb participation in elections; the consolidation of UNMIK administration in northern Kosovo and full co-operation on detained and missing people. His recent dialogue with Mr Covic was important in laying the groundwork for future dialogue between FRY officials and the Kosovo Albanian representatives soon to be elected. Dialogue was the only way forward, Haekkerup stressed. UNMIK would continue its efforts to fully include the Kosovo Serbs, but the ultimate decision remained with the Kosovo Serbs and their leaders. The decision should not be about elections alone, he said, but also about "participating in the general development and creation of a future in Kosovo". Members of the Security Council expressed full support for UNMIK's efforts to implement resolution 1244 and called for intensified dialogue with the FRY. Through a press statement by Council President, Ambassador Jean-David Levitte of France, they also urged participation of all communities in the forthcoming elections. Welcoming Mr Covic's appointment as head of the FRY/Serbian joint co-ordination centre, Council members stated that the elections should enhance the democratic process and called for their "proper organization and adequate security". They also hailed Belgrade's support for the registration of ethnic-Serbian electors in Kosovo. Acknowledging the need to improve security and law enforcement, Council members welcomed the establishment of the new "Law and Order" pillar (Pillar I), the adoption of legislation to combat organized crime, illegal weapons possession and terrorism, as well as enhanced efforts by KFOR to strictly control borders and boundaries. |
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Voter registration ends with more than 1 million electors on list |
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To a large extent, this has become possible thanks to the participation in the process of some 170,000 Kosovo non-Albanian voters, most notably Kosovo Serbs who boycotted the election last year. About 104,000 registered at centres in Serbia and Montenegro. In Kosovo, more than 175,000 people went to voter services centres to correct their personal details or be allocated a polling centre. In addition, over 20,000 people have so far been deemed eligible to cast their vote by mail. Meanwhile 21 DOS parties in Serbia agreed to contest the Kosovo election as a citizen's initiative called "Return" (Povratak), thus giving the Kosovo Serb voters the opportunity to concentrate their votes on a specific political entity appealing to their own concerns. A citizen's initiative allows the various parties freedom to come and go from the coalition. By concentrating their vote on election day, Kosovo Serbs potentially increase their community's members in the elected Assembly. The next steps in the election preparations are the start of the campaign period on 3 October and the "confirmation period" from 8 to 17 October when Confirmation Centres will be opened to allow eligible voters to verify their personal details on the Provisional Voters List. |
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| Briefs . . . | ||
| Two draft regulations-on property tax and on insurance-have been endorsed by the Interim Administrative Council (IAC). Under the property tax draft, municipalities will participate in the pilot programme on property tax assessment and collection. They will have the flexibility to set their own rates according to the needs and wishes of the community, receive the tax revenue and determine how it is spent. The Central Fiscal Authority-which will administer the criteria and, together with the Department of Local Administration, closely monitor the pilot programme-will then prepare a draft regulation for the main property taxation. The draft on insurance defines the legal provisions governing the licensing and supervision of insurance companies and their intermediaries. This regulation will give equal chances for competitors in the industry and guarantee the professionalism of the companies for consumers. In addition, it will help give confidence to foreign investors in Kosovo. A Belgrade-based NGO, Centre for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID), has been granted observer status for the 2001 Kosovo electoral process by the Central Election Commission (CEC). The CEC waived the requirement that the NGO be registered with UNMIK. CeSID has submitted accreditation requests for almost 600 observers. Most of these are expected to monitor the out-of-Kosovo electoral process in Serbia and Montenegro. Some, though, will operate within the Serb-populated areas of Kosovo. OSCE Head of Mission, Ambassador Daan Everts, who is also the chairman of the CEC, welcomed the decision, describing it as "an important, pragmatic choice". He went on to say that "CeSID is held in high regard. They are very experienced election monitors and they showed great courage during the Milosevic era when many of their members were detained. They have the confidence of the international community and of the Kosovo Serb community," he added. To date, more than 2,000 application forms have been distributed to Kosovo NGOs wishing to monitor the electoral process. The deadline for receipt of completed observer forms from NGOs and political entities is 27 October 2001. The Pristina Municipal Assembly (52 in total of which 5 are women) has decided that there is no need to have a Gender Affairs Office in the municipal administrative structure. In spite of the efforts made by the Director of Culture, Youth, Sports and Gender to retain under her mandate the gender component, the Assembly members insisted that there were enough institutions in Pristina dealing with gender affairs. The two ongoing gender projects, which were approved earlier, will be carried out to term. An UNMIK Pristina Municipality competent officer commented that the decision was very unfortunate, especially in view of the traditionally difficult situation that women find themselves in Kosovo. The functions of the Municipal Election Commissions (MECs)-set up prior to last year's elections to assist the Central Election Commission in ensuring transparent and efficient electoral process at the municipal level-have been significantly expanded. These Commissions are providing information on the election's administration to voters, Municipal Assemblies and political entities. MECs are also charged with making technical arrangements at polling stations, including appointing and training polling station committees. "The integrity of the election process falls within their domain of work, since essentially they are responsible for quality control," said Hermann Thiel, MEC Co-ordinator for OSCE. The Kosovo Judicial and Prosecutorial Council-consisting of four internationals, three Kosovo Albanians and one Kosovo Serb-has considered two allegations of misconduct against judges and found that the misconduct did take place. In the first case, which alleged that a person working as a minor offences court judge was also employed with an NGO, the Council recommended a reprimand and a warning. The second case involved a Pristina District Court judge who was requiring parties to pay him money for legal services and translations. The Council found it to be serious misconduct and recommended that the SRSG dismissed him from office. That marked the first time under the UNMIK administration that disciplinary action had been initiated and proven against sitting judges. The Detention Review Commission-established by UNMIK to review cases of extra-judicial detention by executive order-has decided that the detention of three suspects in the Nis bus bombing in February 2001 is justified. The panel also extended the period of pre-trial custody of the suspects-Cele Gashi, Avdi Behluli and Jusuf Veliu-for another three months. In accordance with UNMIK Regulation 2001/18 of 25 August 2001, the decisions of the Commission cannot be appealed. Kosovo's first judicial/bar examination in about ten years will begin on 15 December 2001 and will last for approximately five days, the Department of Justice has announced. All interested candidates must submit applications to the Department no later than 5 October. Eligibility to participate extends to graduated lawyers who have: completed one year of work in legal affairs in courts, public prosecutors' or advocates' offices; completed two years of work in legal affairs in other bodies, enterprises or organizations, including international organizations; and/or passed the professional exams for work in administrative bodies or for minor offence judge. Some 60 candidates will be accepted to take the exam. They will be offered an eight-week training course at the Kosovo Judicial Institute. The 380 currently serving judges and prosecutors will not have to take the exam, but all incoming judiciary will be required to pass it. Kosovo's sports sector needed more funds,
so that it could be brought up to the European standards, Zenun
Pajaziti and Biyyala Rao, Co-Heads of the Department of Sports,
told the Kosovo Transitional Council (KTC) last week. If the Department's
budget had been DM 857,000 in 2000, this year it amounted to DM
1.7 million, and was expected to further increase to DM 3.5 million
in 2002, they said. However, additional funds were needed to build
an adequate sports infrastructure, to reform sports federations,
to enable Kosovo athletes to compete internationally and to encourage
interethnic competition. To improve infrastructure, the Department
had invested some DM 600,000 over the past two years to renovate
sports facilities, but had been unable to attract donor investment
for the massive renovation that was needed, the Co-Heads said. The
Department had registered 15 sports federations and held nearly
300 coaching camps for juniors in the past two years-all in co-operation
with municipalities. Some 15 per cent of the camps had been held
in minority areas. A programme to help sports clubs encourage women's
participation had been implemented. Disabled people were also being
given assistance. Strenuous efforts had been made to promote interethnic
competition, stressed Rao, adding that sport-a forerunner in building
a multi-ethnic society-must take the lead in positive changes. He
urged all concerned not to politicize sports. A welcome development
in that regard was an expected participation of the Shtërpcë/Strpce
basketball and football teams in Kosovo-wide competitions. However,
security issue was still high on the agenda, he added. UNMIK News is a publication of the Division of Public Information, UNMIK Pristina - Tel: (381.38) 504.604 Ext. 5610, email: ellwood@un.org |
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