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STORY: UN / KOSOVO
TRT: 5:22
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 22 APRIL 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
22 APRIL 2024, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Caroline Ziadeh, Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and Head of UNMIK:
“The full implementation of the EU-facilitated agreements has become an ever more pressing priority, in order to help alleviate the continuing series of crises that have emerged in Kosovo. It is therefore of utmost importance for both sides to remain committed to constructive, good faith engagement and that they find practical compromises.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Caroline Ziadeh, Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and Head of UNMIK:
“I continue to stress the importance of accountability for that extremely serious incident through a thorough, fact-based investigation and assessment of its circumstances. This is both a judicial matter, and also a political necessity in order to avert any recurrence.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Caroline Ziadeh, Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and Head of UNMIK:
“Across the same period, numerous developments have caused hardship and fuelled mistrust between the communities, developments which could and should have been foreseen and avoided by good faith dialogue. The Kosovo Serb community representatives have shared their feelings that they are faced with human rights challenges. These, as well as the frequent use of inflammatory and derogatory rhetoric, in both directions, demand closer attention and scrutiny, as well as responsible remedial action by those in leadership positions.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Caroline Ziadeh, Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and Head of UNMIK:
“UNMIK will continue to make full use of its resources, in partnership with the UN Kosovo team and our many implementing partners, to help the communities to overcome existing mistrust, and to find opportunities for reaping the benefits of genuine cooperation. We will continue to support work across multiple fields that creates new space for communities to work jointly to positively influence processes that affect the future of all. This remains a central pillar of our mandated work.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Aleksandar Vučić, President, Serbia:
“During those discussions, special emphasis was placed on the accurate measure of abolishing cash transactions in Serbian dinars whereby Pristina regime dramatically and additionally made daily life of Serbs and other non-Albania is difficult given that they predominantly receive their income in dinars. This issue was discussed in the context of denying them access to even basic social services, such as health care education, etc. However set measure to abolish the use of dinar representing the combination of protracted, comprehensive and ethically motivated campaign of widespread and systematic attacks against non-Albanian civilians where Pristina institutions is still effective.”
12. Wide shot, Security Council
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Aleksandar Vučić, President, Serbia:
“It is undisputable that the UN SG Special Representative has the explicit obligation to report on the concrete measures she could have taken to stop and disable ethnically motivated prosecution of population in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution 1244. Or at least offer explanation why she failed to take such measures, if that is the case. Instead, like I said, what we have is a numerating of almost all individual cases in this report, with lack of clear context of persecution of civilians that is taking place in reality in the ground, which was discussed at a Security Council emergency session.”
14. Wide shot, Security Council
15. SOUNBITE (English) Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, Representative, Kosovo:
Let me make it clear on the outset, claims by Serbia on the alleged ethnic cleansing and persecution of Kosovo Serbs are false, baseless and politically motivated. These narratives have also been thoroughly discredited by the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights all the way to the European Parliament and many other international organizations. Kosovo’s legal and institutional structures not only protect, but actively advance the rights and security of the Kosovo Serbs community as well as all of the other communities promoting an inclusive society where all citizens are encouraged to thrive.”
16. Wide shot, Security Council
17. SOUNBITE (English) Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, Representative, Kosovo:
“What's very clear, is Serbia's consistent efforts to disrupt the integration process of Serbs in Kosovo, using both criminal and terrorist tactics to exert control and spread fear, thereby undermining the security and constitutional order of the Republic of Kosovo.”
18. Wide shot, Security Council
Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and Head of UNMIK, Caroline Ziadeh, reiterated, “The full implementation of the EU-facilitated agreements has become an ever more pressing priority, in order to help alleviate the continuing series of crises that have emerged in Kosovo.”
Ziadeh today (22 Apr) in New York briefed the Security Council on the latest developments in Kosovo.
She noted that over the past year, there have been numerous setbacks in efforts to build more confidence in peaceful relations among Kosovo’s ethnic communities through political dialogue. The Secretary-General in his report, and her briefings to the Council, have previously reported on a number of these setbacks, while wider international attention was drawn by the serious security incident which occurred in the village of Banjska/Banjskë last September.
The Special Representative stressed “the importance of accountability for that extremely serious incident through a thorough, fact-based investigation and assessment of its circumstances.”
“This is both a judicial matter, and also a political necessity in order to avert any recurrence,” she said.
Across the same period, Ziadeh said that “numerous developments have caused hardship and fuelled mistrust between the communities, developments which could and should have been foreseen and avoided by good faith dialogue.”
She continued, “The Kosovo Serb community representatives have shared their feelings that they are faced with human rights challenges. These, as well as the frequent use of inflammatory and derogatory rhetoric, in both directions, demand closer attention and scrutiny, as well as responsible remedial action by those in leadership positions.”
The head of the mission in Kosovo also said, “UNMIK will continue to make full use of its resources, in partnership with the UN Kosovo team and our many implementing partners, to help the communities to overcome existing mistrust, and to find opportunities for reaping the benefits of genuine cooperation.”
She concluded, “We will continue to support work across multiple fields that creates new space for communities to work jointly to positively influence processes that affect the future of all. This remains a central pillar of our mandated work.”
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić also spoke at the Council, he put special emphasis on “the accurate measure of abolishing cash transactions in Serbian dinars whereby Pristina regime dramatically and additionally made daily life of Serbs and other non-Albania is difficult given that they predominantly receive their income in dinars.”
“This issue was discussed in the context of denying them access to even basic social services, such as health care education, etc. However set measure to abolish the use of dinar representing the combination of protracted, comprehensive and ethically motivated campaign of widespread and systematic attacks against non-Albanian civilians where Pristina institutions is still effective,” he added.
President Vučić also said, “It is undisputable that the UN SG Special Representative has the explicit obligation to report on the concrete measures she could have taken to stop and disable ethnically motivated prosecution of population in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution 1244. Or at least offer explanation why she failed to take such measures, if that is the case.”
Instead, the Serbian President said, “what we have is a numerating of almost all individual cases in this report, with lack of clear context of persecution of civilians that is taking place in reality in the ground, which was discussed at a Security Council emergency session.”
Representing Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu told the Council, “Let me make it clear on the outset, claims by Serbia on the alleged ethnic cleansing and persecution of Kosovo Serbs are false, baseless and politically motivated. These narratives have also been thoroughly discredited by the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights all the way to the European Parliament and many other international organizations.”
She continued, “Kosovo’s legal and institutional structures not only protect, but actively advance the rights and security of the Kosovo Serbs community as well as all of the other communities promoting an inclusive society where all citizens are encouraged to thrive.”
Osmani-Sadriu also said, “What's very clear, is Serbia's consistent efforts to disrupt the integration process of Serbs in Kosovo, using both criminal and terrorist tactics to exert control and spread fear, thereby undermining the security and constitutional order of the Republic of Kosovo.”
