S/PV.6202
6202nd meeting
Thursday, 15 October 2009, 3.40 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/2009/497)
Mr. Dabbashi (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (spoke in Arabic): I should like at the outset to welcome Mr. Jeremić, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Serbia, and Mr. Hyseni. I also thank Mr. Lamberto Zannier, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, for his briefing.
It goes without saying that the changes in the situation on the ground since Kosovo’s declaration of independence and the deployment of the European Union Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) have made it possible to appropriately reconfigure the Mission and its activities. In that context, I should like to congratulate the bureau of the Mission on having taken the concerns of communities into account. We believe that it is extremely important that those efforts continue, in particular with regard to the minorities. That will allow for the voluntary return of internally displaced persons, the monitoring and protection of human rights and continued mediation among local communities.
Despite the prevailing calm and recent positive developments in Kosovo, such as the return of certain Serbian police to carry out their duties, we remain concerned about the tense situation in the northern municipalities, since they are functioning in isolation, separately from other areas of Kosovo, and in some cases are linked to separate conflicts between Kosovo Serbs and Kosovo Albanians. In that connection, we would like to commend the role of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) as mediator and its efforts to reduce tension and begin reconstruction, with the assistance of EULEX and the Kosovo Force (KFOR). We condemn any attacks on the United Nations Mission and its property in Kosovo, and we wish to stress the need to ensure the safety, security and rights of United Nations personnel, wherever they might be.
We share the opinion expressed by the Secretary-General with regard to inviting the parties to adopt an approach based on common interests, to adopt a constructive policy concerning reconciliation between various ethnic groups, to exhibit restraint and to avoid any incendiary statements that could lead to an escalation of violence in the region. All parties must refrain from any act that could destabilize the region. We are aware that there are differing points of view concerning the status of Kosovo, and we await the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on that issue. However, we are hopeful that dialogue and constructive cooperation will continue so that all sects and communities can coexist in an atmosphere of cooperation far removed from acts of violence.
We have taken note of the recommendations made by the Secretary-General in his report (S/2009/497), and we join others in thanking the Mission for its efforts to strengthen dialogue and pragmatic cooperation among communities and between Pristina and Belgrade in order to establish stability in Kosovo and in the Balkan region in general.
