S/PV.6144
6144th meeting
Wednesday, 17 June 2009, 3 p.m.
New York
Security Council resolutions 1160 (1998), 1199 (1998), 1203 (1998), 1239 (1999) and 1244 (1999)
Report of the Secretary-General on the
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (S/2009/300)
Mr. Dabbashi (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (spoke in Arabic): I would like to welcome Mr. Vuk Jeremić, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Serbia, as well as Mr. Skender Hyseni. I would also like to welcome Mr. Lamberto Zannier, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, and to thank him and the others for their briefings.
Despite some isolated incidents and the differences in the positions of Albanian and Serbian Kosovars, we are pleased with the overall stability in the security situation in Kosovo. We pay tribute to the role of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). We also commend the coordination and cooperation between UNMIK and the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX).
The report (S/2009/300) of the Secretary-General includes a number of positive elements that can be built upon to normalize the situation between communities and achieve lasting stability of Kosovo, beginning with the rebuilding of homes in the northern part of Kosovo following an agreement between Albanian and Serb citizens. Some progress has also been made in the search for solutions to protect Serbian heritage in Kosovo, and 26 bodies have been identified and returned to their families.
We also note with satisfaction the efforts of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to help returnees and reconstruct homes, including its promise to rebuild 45 residential units by the end of the year as part of the UNDP-managed Sustainable Partnerships for Assistance to Returns in Kosovo. We would also like to commend UNMIK’s support for the reconstruction of cultural and religious heritage sites damaged in the wake of the violence in 2004.
Despite the peaceful and positive developments taking place in Kosovo, we continue to be concerned that areas in the North still operate independently from the rest of Kosovo. We are also concerned about the ongoing divisions between the northern and other police forces in Kosovo. In that regard, we believe it important to encourage all citizens to take part in local police and administration.
UNMIK’s establishment of the Office for Community Support and Facilitation is an important step that we should all support. It is also important for UNMIK to focus on minority affairs, including by supporting the return process, monitoring human rights and continuing to mediate among local communities.
We stress the need to increase the effectiveness of the Human Rights Advisory Panel as a credible instrument to address claims pertaining to violations of human rights in the framework of UNMIK.
We hope that all parties will continue to cooperate with EULEX in coordination with UNMIK, pursuant to presidential statement S/PRST/2008/44 of 26 November 2008. We also hope that dialogue will continue between Pristina and Belgrade to enforce the ad hoc arrangement on the six common points set out by the Secretary-General in his letter to the President of Serbia dated 12 June 2008.
In conclusion, we call upon all parties to make further efforts to keep the channels of constructive cooperation open with a view to promoting peaceful coexistence and harmony among all parties and communities and avoiding confrontation and violence. We would also like to emphasize the need for all refugees to return home and to protect all internally displaced persons and cultural and religious sites. The issue of missing persons should not be politicized. There must be common ground if peace and stability in Kosovo and the Balkans are to be maintained.
