Jeremić to meet with UN secretary general

Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic will travel to New York to meet with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. The two are expected to discuss the implementation of the six-point plan in Kosovo. Jeremic to meet with UN secretary general They will also discuss the formation of the Kosovo Security Forces. According to reports, there will be consultations with UN Security Council members over holding a session to discuss plans for a new report from the international community on the situation in Kosovo. Meanwhile, Jeremic has sent letters to 80 countries around the world asking them to submit statements on Kosovo to the ICJ. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is due to consider the question of whether Kosovo’s unilateral independence declaration was in line with international law over the coming 2-3 years. “I would kindly ask you to consider submitting a written statement to the Court of Justice expressing your country’s official position on this matter of paramount importance by April 17, 2009, at the latest,” states Jeremic in the letter seen by daily Vecernje Novosti. The minister stresses that the ICJ’s ruling will “establish a powerful premise with far-reaching ramifications for the UN system.” “The outcome will: either strongly discourage other separatist movements from attempts at secession, or will bring a result that could encourage them to act similarly,” he warns. Jeremic repeats that the “attempt at secession by the Albanian authorities is a clear violation of the UN Charter that guarantees sovereignty and territorial integrity to all internationally recognized states, including Serbia,” and that supporting such moves would lead to “at least three dangerous doctrines.” According to the minister, these are ad hoc impositions of solutions to ethnic conflicts by subverting the Security Council, forced division of UN member-states, and unilateral secession by provincial or other non-state actors. “As a result, separatist groups throughout the world will receive a fresh example of how to realize their ambitions. The international system will become unstable, uncertain and unpredictable,” he points out. Jeremic’s letter is addressed to UN member-states that have still to recognize Kosovo, that endorsed Serbia’s initiative at the UN General Assembly, or stayed neutral, and the minister offers the assistance of the Serbian legal team to all of them. According to Novosti’s sources, Spain and Russia have officially confirmed that their legal teams are preparing statements for the ICJ, while Venezuela and Cyprus are also about to follow suit. On October 8, 2008, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution seeking the ICJ’s advisory opinion on the legality of Kosovo’s independence declaration. Of the total 192 General Assembly members, 77 voted for, six against, while 74 abstained. Vuk Jeremic (FoNet, archive)

Jeremić to meet with UN secretary general

They will also discuss the formation of the Kosovo Security Forces.

According to reports, there will be consultations with UN Security Council members over holding a session to discuss plans for a new report from the international community on the situation in Kosovo.

Meanwhile, Jeremić has sent letters to 80 countries around the world asking them to submit statements on Kosovo to the ICJ.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is due to consider the question of whether Kosovo’s unilateral independence declaration was in line with international law over the coming 2-3 years.

“I would kindly ask you to consider submitting a written statement to the Court of Justice expressing your country’s official position on this matter of paramount importance by April 17, 2009, at the latest,” states Jeremić in the letter seen by daily Večernje Novosti.

The minister stresses that the ICJ’s ruling will “establish a powerful premise with far-reaching ramifications for the UN system.”

“The outcome will: either strongly discourage other separatist movements from attempts at secession, or will bring a result that could encourage them to act similarly,” he warns.

Jeremić repeats that the “attempt at secession by the Albanian authorities is a clear violation of the UN Charter that guarantees sovereignty and territorial integrity to all internationally recognized states, including Serbia,” and that supporting such moves would lead to “at least three dangerous doctrines.”

According to the minister, these are ad hoc impositions of solutions to ethnic conflicts by subverting the Security Council, forced division of UN member-states, and unilateral secession by provincial or other non-state actors.

“As a result, separatist groups throughout the world will receive a fresh example of how to realize their ambitions. The international system will become unstable, uncertain and unpredictable,” he points out.

Jeremić’s letter is addressed to UN member-states that have still to recognize Kosovo, that endorsed Serbia’s initiative at the UN General Assembly, or stayed neutral, and the minister offers the assistance of the Serbian legal team to all of them.

According to Novosti’s sources, Spain and Russia have officially confirmed that their legal teams are preparing statements for the ICJ, while Venezuela and Cyprus are also about to follow suit.

On October 8, 2008, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution seeking the ICJ’s advisory opinion on the legality of Kosovo’s independence declaration.

Of the total 192 General Assembly members, 77 voted for, six against, while 74 abstained.