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7637th Security Council Meeting: Developments in Kosovo
Condemning Recent Violence, Speakers Call for Increased Dialogue between Parties.
Polarization of the political landscape in Kosovo in recent months had reached a level where progress was being impeded, but there was also an opportunity to shift the focus onto more fundamental post-conflict issues, the Security Council heard today during its first briefing of the year on the situation there.
Zahir Tanin, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), speaking by video link, cited the repeated use of violence by the opposition as the most obvious example of disruption. Nevertheless, with so much already invested in building stability, continued attention to core issues, as well as more focused deployment of resources, could help make the difference.
Building respect for the rule of law and ensuring adequate enforcement were crucial goals that were not always kept high on the agenda, he said. Sometimes, security and political concerns had taken the spotlight off Kosovo’s serious economic development challenges. Intensive effort was needed to create more economic growth and opportunity that would, in turn, ease political tension.
Meanwhile, laws and programmes designed to uphold the rights of minority groups and the protection of cultural heritage remained matters of concern, along with the realization of property rights, he said. Vast refugee and migrant flows through the Balkans were unlikely to abate, while there was a growing need to address such issues as radicalization and extremism, terrorist training and finance and the associated trafficking of human beings and weapons.
Taking the floor after the Special Representative’s presentation, Ivica Dačić, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Serbia, emphasized to the Council the outstanding issue of displaced persons, asking if the international community had given up on them. A lack of political will on the part of the Government in Kosovo and Metojiha would be a destabilizing factor for a long time, he said, adding that religious extremism, terrorist elements and radicalized extremists, including returnees from conflict areas, were cause for concern. Reaching a political solution was a national priority for Serbia, but first there had to be reconciliation, and to that end, Belgrade would remain actively engaged in the dialogue with Pristina facilitated by the European Union.
Vlora Çitaku of Kosovo said people there were still waiting for justice to be served. While Kosovo had met its obligations towards the establishment of the Special Court that would try the alleged crimes committed in 1999, many serious human rights violations in Serbia had not been investigated or punished, and indictments for war crimes had not been taken seriously. With regard to the Serbian community in Kosovo, she said they were fully represented and every step was being taken to support them. She also called the Dialogue taking place in Brussels a good first step in ensuring history did not repeat itself.
While delegations took turns expressing their concern at recent violent incidents, notably at the Kosovo Assembly where tear gas had been released, some welcomed the overall progress that had been made in the province. The representatives of France and the United Kingdom wondered aloud whether it should continue to be discussed so often in the Council, while the United States suggested it was time for UNMIK to be downsized. Spain’s delegate, on the other hand, recalling that his country did not recognize Kosovo’s declaration of independence, said it appeared the situation had remained unstable, with no progress seen at the latest round of talks between Belgrade and Pristina in Brussels. The representative of Japan, meanwhile, reminiscing of his own experience in Pristina in 1999, spoke of the will of the people of Kosovo to embrace democracy.
Also speaking today were representatives of the Russian Federation, Angola, Uruguay, China, Egypt, New Zealand, Senegal, Malaysia, Ukraine and Venezuela.
The meeting began at 3:32 p.m. and ended at 6:10 p.m.
