13 December 2006
ADDRESS TO THE SECURITY COUNCIL BY SRSG JOACHIM RÜCKER
I would like to firstly thank you, Mr. President, and the other members of the Council for your invitation to be here today to brief the Council on where we stand in Kosovo. I would like to also welcome the Council’s invitation to Prime Minister Çeku to be present here today at this important discussion on Kosovo's future.
Status continues to dominate the agenda of everyone concerned with Kosovo. And of course, after more than seven years of international administration and local capacity building, after Kai Eide's finding that the status quo is not tenable, the timelines attached to the process are of particular importance. Anxiety has clearly risen, following the decision to delay the proposal on status until after the Serbian elections on 21 January. Keeping momentum in the status process thereafter will be a key factor in heading off a feeling of uncertainty on the way ahead, which is a potential source of instability.
At the same time, important work on standards continues as a top priority of both the Kosovo Government and of UNMIK. We sometimes have the impression from our international interlocutors that with all the focus on the status process, the implementation of standards has been forgotten or pushed aside. This is not at all the case. Standards remain at the core of our daily work, with particular concentration on the 13 priority areas set by the Contact Group earlier this year, most of which have been fulfilled by the institutions.
The Government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Ceku, has continued to demonstrate effective leadership on standards implementation, strengthening central and local government institutions, and transitioning governance building and reform to the longer-term platform of European integration through the European Partnership for Kosovo.
The Assembly has passed and I have promulgated key legislation prioritised by the Contact Group, including a law firmly establishing the equal official status of the Albanian and Serbian languages throughout Kosovo, and laws on religious freedom and cultural heritage containing provisions of particular importance to the Serbian Orthodox Church.
The Kosovo Government has also undertaken steps to ensure freedom of movement by agreeing to take over responsibility from UNMIK to operate the freedom of movement bus and train system.
One noteworthy area of progress has been the effort to create conditions for return of IDPs. The Kosovo Protection Corps will this week complete a six-month project in the village of Svinjare near Mitrovica to repair damage to homes and improve local infrastructure. This has been one of the largest and most high-profile projects undertaken by the KPC, and its successful completion demonstrates the KPC’s ability and willingness to serve all the people of Kosovo.
Despite the success of the project, the Kosovo Serb IDPs have still not returned to Svinjare and I appeal to Belgrade to encourage them to do so. Nonetheless, the criteria on which the PISG should be judged are their actions to create the conditions for returns.
Another example: in Babush, another village, the keys to 83 reconstructed houses will be ready to be handed over on 20 December. However, the NGO implementing the project has raised serious concerns with UNMIK that most of the beneficiaries may not actually return.
In short, good efforts will have limited impact if more is not done, particularly by Belgrade, to encourage returns when conditions have been created.
The continuing calls by Belgrade for Kosovo Serbs to boycott Kosovo institutions has undermined work done by both UNMIK and the PISG to reach out to minority communities and to end their often self-imposed isolation. The Serbian Government has still not withdrawn its directive to Kosovo Serbs to withdraw from the PISG payroll, despite numerous calls to do so by the international community. I appeal to the Representative of the Serbian Government to withdraw this directive.
One of the most frequently cited complaints of Belgrade and Kosovo Serbs is inadequate security to allow greater participation in political and social life in Kosovo. However, police statistics actually show a sharp drop in potentially ethnically motivated incidents and we monitor them very carefully. While there have been serious incidents that attract wide public attention, this overall improvement in the situation merits greater recognition.
The Kosovo Police Service has made a concerted effort to improve the overall security for minorities as witnessed by the opening of police sub-stations in minority areas and by active involvement by minority police officers in policing those areas. Also, the statistics of crimes in all reporting categories show that there is no disproportion regarding ethnicity with regard to crimes.
That said, we cannot be complacent with where we are and we continue to put a high priority on all incidents where police suspect ethnic or political motives.
UNMIK has also been working intensively to address another important concern: the supply of electricity. The difficulties which we encounter can be traced back to one core problem: KEK, the energy provider in Kosovo, has inherited an infrastructure in a state of disrepair and it does not have enough funds for repair and investment unless consumers pay for the electricity they use. We have had some success in improving the payment culture recently, but some consumers, including nearly all Kosovo Serbs, still do not pay and have significant debts. However, recent talks have been somewhat encouraging and we are now looking forward to a result where Kosovo Serbs are finally recognizing and paying KEK, allowing KEK to upgrade the system for the benefit of all, starting this winter. In this context, it is also very important that Kosovo can effectively import additional amounts of electricity if and when needed through the Serbian transmission system.
Overall, much has been achieved this year on standards. But this does not mean that everything has been fulfilled. Continuous efforts are needed, as indicated by the challenges as noted in the Technical Assessment of standards implementation.
Progress on many of the standards also depends on clarity on status. We all know that progress in such key areas like returns is limited by the lingering uncertainty over Kosovo's future.
While the status process has clearly been brought a long way forward this year, momentum needs to be kept up and a timely status settlement achieved. The constructive engagement and the unity of the Kosovo Negotiating Team, which includes opposition leaders, have substantially contributed to the progress made in the process so far. It is crucial that all stakeholders in Kosovo remain committed to the process and continue to support the work of Special Envoy Ahtisaari.
The Contact Group has unambiguously stated that once the status process has begun, it cannot be blocked. Resolving Kosovo's status would benefit the entire Balkan region, including Belgrade. On the other hand, further delay would entail significant political and economic costs for Kosovo, for our neighbours, for the region as a whole and for the international community.• Delay is more than just a loss of time.
• Delay will raise tensions and play into the hands of extremists on all sides.
• Delay will not make a solution easier – it will make it much more difficult.No one can have an interest in such an outcome.
Once the status decision is made, UNMIK will need to provide for an orderly and smooth handover to future local and international institutions established under the status settlement. Early and prudent planning is indispensable in order to achieve this, and transition planning has now become one of our key priorities.
We need to do as much as possible – without prejudice to the status process – before the formal transition period begins with the passage of a Resolution by this Council.
The transfer of responsibilities from UNMIK to the future local and international authorities is a highly complex task. Let me mention just some of the elements required:
• Kosovo will need a new constitutional arrangement to replace the Constitutional Framework, which relies on UNMIK.
• The adoption of a new constitution will naturally be followed by elections.
• The entire body of legislation promulgated by UNMIK will have to be reviewed and necessary amendments made so that, for example, references to the SRSG and UNMIK are replaced.
• The future authorities will have to take over all executive functions that UNMIK still has operational responsibility for.
• New institutions, which may include new ministries, will also have to be created to perform new responsibilities.
• A numerous variety of other tasks will need to be carried as a result of the end of UNMIK’s mandate, such as the handover of our archives to the future authorities and the production and issuance of new travel documents and identification cards to replace the current UNMIK documents.
These tasks, as well as the implementation of the status settlement, will place substantial strains on the local authorities. The international community must support them in this endeavour. It is also important that the future International Civilian Office, now being prepared by the European Union and the United States, will be fully operational when status comes.
And let me again repeat: delay will not make a solution easier – it will make it much more difficult.
The United Nations has accomplished much in Kosovo. We now owe it to Kosovo, and to you, to make sure that this final phase of UN administration is wrapped up in an orderly and in a responsible manner. I trust that you will help in this endeavour by keeping the momentum in the status process and by seeing it through.
Thank you very much Mr. President.