UN session Wednesday, report published

A UN Security Council session set to debate UNMIK's reconfiguration and the deployment EULEX will be held tomorrow in New York, it has been confirmed. UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the positive outcome of negotiations on the six points of UNMIK's reconfiguration, and Serbia's decision to accept it, states his report on Kosovo, made public on Tuesday. UN session Wednesday, report published Ban pointed out that the results were achieved in respecting "some of the six points, while the rest will require continued dialogue". The secretary-general wrote that the agreement, which relates to police, customs, judiciary, transport, infrastructure, and Serb heritage, will be applied "until relevant mechanisms that will follow have been established". Ban pointed out that the reconfiguration of the UN mission, UNMIK, will continue within the framework of UNSCR 1244, in a transparent manner, and in line with UN's position of strict neutrality on the issue of Kosovo's status. As for the EU mission, EULEX, the report says that it will "respect the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 in its entirety and act under the jurisdiction and through the UN framework of neutrality on status". The report has four annexes, the first of which contains a statement made by the Kosovo Albanian leadership in Pristina, dated Nov. 18, with which "Kosovo's institutions reject in its entirety the six-point plan, and support speedy EULEX deployments, along with the implementation of the Ahtisaari plan and respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the republic of Kosovo". Earlier on Tuesday, Tanjug news agency reported from New York that the spokesman for the Costa Rican presidency of the Security Council, Maurucio Arinano, confirmed that the meeting of this UN body has been scheduled for 15:00 EST (21:00 CET). B92's UN sources, meanwhile, are saying that negotiations are ongoing on the format in which the Security Council will accept Ban's report. Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, who today voiced his satisfaction with the document, will attend the UN SC session on Wednesday. Serbia expects the UN Security Council to support and adopt the UN secretary-general’s report containing the six-point plan on EULEX deployment, he told FoNet. Jeremic said that the report precisely defined the EU mission’s neutral status in Kosovo, adding that it would be “under the umbrella of the UN and in full compliance with Security Council Resolution 1244.” Before the Ban report officially reached Belgrade, the foreign minister was notified that the document contains all six points which Belgrade set as its conditions for EULEX's deployment, that Kosovo Albanian leadership is rejecting. The most important of those conditions are that the EU mission remains neutral toward the Kosovo status issue, and that its work is not based on the Ahtisaari plan for the province's supervised independence. The draft report of UN secretary-general was distributed to all the Security Council members, UN spokesman Brenden Varma confirmed to B92 late on Monday. He said earlier on that the session devoted to the UNMIK reconfiguration and EULEX deployment in Kosovo would be scheduled once Ban’s report was made public. “Security Council members now have an opportunity to read the report and decide what position to assume. The Security Council session will most probably be held before the end of the month, though obviously, the exact date depends on the Council members themselves,“ said the spokesman. “As concerns the report itself, it will have to be translated into the six official languages before being made public to a wider audience,“ he explained. Reuters reports that Ban has given instructions to UN personnel to prepare for the transfer of authorities to EULEX, which will assume a strengthened operative role in Kosovo. Police, customs and judges in Serb enclaves in Kosovo will be under the UN umbrella, while EULEX will be in charge in majority-Albanian areas. Also today, Jeremic met in Belgrade with Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado, when they both agreed that the compromise over the deployment of the EULEX mission was a major step forward. Amado said that the EU should endorse Serbia’s constructive position regarding this issue. On the other hand, Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci reiterated Pristina’s position that the six-point plan “has been and will remain unacceptable,” adding that it could not be applied in Kosovo. Meanwhile, Western diplomats in the UN whose countries support Kosovo independence have welcomed the report, Reuters says. At the same time, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that Washington was closely monitoring the issue of the EULEX deployment in Kosovo and the transfer of responsibilities from the UN mission. During a visit to the King Lazar primary school in Dobrotin, U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo Tina Kaidanow said that EULEX would be of benefit to all communities living in Kosovo. “The U.S. constantly, as is EULEX’s goal, strives for the welfare of all people in Kosovo, for the application of law and protection of citizens’ rights. And that’s what our goal will be in future,“ she said. Following the secretary-general’s report, the plan is for the Security Council to adopt Ban’s recommendations via a statement from the chair, which would be tantamount to giving the green light to the EULEX deployment. The UN Security Council (FoNet, archive)

UN session Wednesday, report published

Ban pointed out that the results were achieved in respecting "some of the six points, while the rest will require continued dialogue".

The secretary-general wrote that the agreement, which relates to police, customs, judiciary, transport, infrastructure, and Serb heritage, will be applied "until relevant mechanisms that will follow have been established".

Ban pointed out that the reconfiguration of the UN mission, UNMIK, will continue within the framework of UNSCR 1244, in a transparent manner, and in line with UN's position of strict neutrality on the issue of Kosovo's status.

As for the EU mission, EULEX, the report says that it will "respect the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 in its entirety and act under the jurisdiction and through the UN framework of neutrality on status".

The report has four annexes, the first of which contains a statement made by the Kosovo Albanian leadership in Priština, dated Nov. 18, with which "Kosovo's institutions reject in its entirety the six-point plan, and support speedy EULEX deployments, along with the implementation of the Ahtisaari plan and respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the republic of Kosovo".

Earlier on Tuesday, Tanjug news agency reported from New York that the spokesman for the Costa Rican presidency of the Security Council, Maurucio Arinano, confirmed that the meeting of this UN body has been scheduled for 15:00 EST (21:00 CET).

B92's UN sources, meanwhile, are saying that negotiations are ongoing on the format in which the Security Council will accept Ban's report.

Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić, who today voiced his satisfaction with the document, will attend the UN SC session on Wednesday.

Serbia expects the UN Security Council to support and adopt the UN secretary-general’s report containing the six-point plan on EULEX deployment, he told FoNet.

Jeremić said that the report precisely defined the EU mission’s neutral status in Kosovo, adding that it would be “under the umbrella of the UN and in full compliance with Security Council Resolution 1244.”

Before the Ban report officially reached Belgrade, the foreign minister was notified that the document contains all six points which Belgrade set as its conditions for EULEX's deployment, that Kosovo Albanian leadership is rejecting.

The most important of those conditions are that the EU mission remains neutral toward the Kosovo status issue, and that its work is not based on the Ahtisaari plan for the province's supervised independence.

The draft report of UN secretary-general was distributed to all the Security Council members, UN spokesman Brenden Varma confirmed to B92 late on Monday.

He said earlier on that the session devoted to the UNMIK reconfiguration and EULEX deployment in Kosovo would be scheduled once Ban’s report was made public.

“Security Council members now have an opportunity to read the report and decide what position to assume. The Security Council session will most probably be held before the end of the month, though obviously, the exact date depends on the Council members themselves,“ said the spokesman.

“As concerns the report itself, it will have to be translated into the six official languages before being made public to a wider audience,“ he explained.

Reuters reports that Ban has given instructions to UN personnel to prepare for the transfer of authorities to EULEX, which will assume a strengthened operative role in Kosovo.

Police, customs and judges in Serb enclaves in Kosovo will be under the UN umbrella, while EULEX will be in charge in majority-Albanian areas.

Also today, Jeremić met in Belgrade with Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado, when they both agreed that the compromise over the deployment of the EULEX mission was a major step forward.

Amado said that the EU should endorse Serbia’s constructive position regarding this issue.

On the other hand, Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci reiterated Priština’s position that the six-point plan “has been and will remain unacceptable,” adding that it could not be applied in Kosovo.

Meanwhile, Western diplomats in the UN whose countries support Kosovo independence have welcomed the report, Reuters says.

At the same time, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that Washington was closely monitoring the issue of the EULEX deployment in Kosovo and the transfer of responsibilities from the UN mission.

During a visit to the King Lazar primary school in Dobrotin, U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo Tina Kaidanow said that EULEX would be of benefit to all communities living in Kosovo.

“The U.S. constantly, as is EULEX’s goal, strives for the welfare of all people in Kosovo, for the application of law and protection of citizens’ rights. And that’s what our goal will be in future,“ she said.

Following the secretary-general’s report, the plan is for the Security Council to adopt Ban’s recommendations via a statement from the chair, which would be tantamount to giving the green light to the EULEX deployment.