STATEMENT BY CAROLINE ZIADEH, SPECIAL REREPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFING ON UNMIK
New York
27 APRIL 2023
I am honoured to update the Security Council on developments in Kosovo, which during the most recent reporting period included serious challenges as well as an important collective effort to bring Belgrade-Pristina relations nearer to stability and normalization. Efforts from both sides will be needed in order to realize the potential for a positive change in relations, particularly given the preceding cycles of tension, provocations and grievances that occurred during much of 2022 and unfortunately have continued, in some respects, even in the most recent days.
Regular breakdowns of effective, timely and preventive action are well documented in the Secretary- General’s report (S/2023/247). Without increased commitment to the mechanism for renewed negotiations, failures of confidence could worsen within Kosovo, with direct consequences for regional stability. Therefore, a sustained focus of attention on the principles and declarations jointly affirmed on 27 February in Brussels, and further elaborated on 18 March in Ohrid, should be matched by courageous leadership action from the parties and from the stewards and supporters of the negotiations.
Specific commitments have been made by both sides to the new agreement on the path to normalization between Kosovo and Serbia, alongside which there are immediate steps that can be taken to demonstrate goodwill on the ground. Achieving actual progress demands that confidence be rebuilt among those who have grown suspicious of the intentions of each side. Leaders should take responsible steps to reduce the likelihood of further standoffs on issues that have eroded public confidence over recent months.
Those issues include matters that precipitated the withdrawal of Kosovo Serbs from Kosovo institutions en masse in November and those that continue to polarize public opinion during the local elections conducted last Sunday. Steps should be taken to demonstrate that police and judicial bodies are fully insulated from political agendas and political interference. Clear and continuous communication to the public will be needed concerning issues that affect their livelihoods and human rights — issues such as expropriations of property and the ability to count upon impartial institutions of justice. Reassurance is necessary in order to replace the feelings of mistrust and uncertainty felt by ordinary inhabitants, on both sides of the Ibar River. Accusatory rhetoric should be avoided, and fears should be replaced with concrete reasons for confidence and optimism.
The 23 April extraordinary elections were peaceful and calm. At the same time, questions of representation must be addressed as part of the broader political process that is now ongoing. Elected leaders, police forces and all civic services at the municipal level should genuinely reflect and fulfil the interests of their local constituents.
On 2 May, the expected endorsement by both parties of the joint declaration on missing persons, facilitated by the European Union (EU), has the potential to resume full cooperation between Pristina and Belgrade on missing persons within the existing working group, chaired by the International Committee of the Red Cross. That would provide families sides the chance for answers regarding their loved ones. Likewise, the presentation by the management team of a draft statute for the association/community of Serb-majority municipalities should lead to its immediate, detailed and good-faith consideration. The charting of a full-implementation path is the minimum baseline owed to the public by leaders during their next high-level meeting. Indispensably, the joint monitoring committee will need to prove to be efficient in its operation and robust in its oversight of actions taken by both sides.
I would like to draw the Council’s attention to the fact that this meeting is taking place against the backdrop of significant anniversaries, which offer an important perspective on recent developments. Among them are the twentieth anniversary of the 2003 Thessaloniki Summit, at which the EU pronounced its unequivocal support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans. As has also been widely noted, this month marks the tenth anniversary of the signing at Brussels of the First Agreement of Principles Governing the Normalization of Relations. During the intervening years, as outlined in numerous reports to the Council, inconsistencies of commitment and action — local as well as international — have regularly limited progress in advancing the normalization of relations. In the latter half of 2022, actions and reactions took Pristina and Belgrade further away from the course previously agreed to in the framework of the EU-facilitated dialogue and, worrisomely, even close to the edge of physical confrontation. Those are the trends that responsible leaders must now work to change.
Through my interactions with a wide array of interlocutors — including municipal, religious, civil society and business organizations — the most common sentiments I encounter are frustration and concern about an uncertain future. However, equally, I see the spirit and the will to work to create a better reality. That is something we cherish as we work alongside all people striving for positive and tangible changes.
Neighbours across the region, those already European Union members and those aspiring to join it, are watching as well. Commerce and investment simply will bypass those areas in which normalized relations are unattained, or where tensions threaten basic institutional stability. Leaders from the region have expressed their support for the process now being undertaken by both sides to advance along the path to normalization. Many have faced and overcome their own past challenges towards achieving stability, reconciliation and progress. They have done so by addressing difficult issues with creativity and a sense of longer-term political responsibility.
In the region, opportunities for reducing barriers to economic development and cooperation are being pursued through the promotion of important initiatives that can, and should be, expedited, including by progress towards normalization. In support of that process, the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) will continue to dedicate all efforts to help both sides and their constituencies reap the benefits of improved communication and understanding of common problems — and implementing solutions.
That brings me to another anniversary. This year also marks five years of work under the rubric of UNMIK’s trust-building agenda. That programme of activity sustains support for those on the ground working sincerely to promote inter-community trust, resilience and confidence. It is an investment, over the longer term, in those who can positively reshape relations at all levels. Our focus is on the empowerment of communities to flourish in spaces where ethnically divisive prejudice and political rhetoric are being transcended. Trust-building can directly help light the path to political normalization. Political agreements need such soil in which to grow. Together, those approaches mark a genuine path towards a more sustainable, peaceful and ultimately prosperous future for all.
I will highlight only a few ways in which the Mission is empowering trust-building champions to overcome the divisions wrought by miscommunication and frequent political invective. They include supporting language rights and language learning, where an UNMIK-sponsored online platform to learn Albanian and Serbian reaches more than 70,000 users. We are assisting families of missing persons via the Missing Persons Resource Centre. We are promoting, and will continue to promote, the empowerment of youth and women leaders by providing substantial platforms for their engagement at all levels of decision-making. We are helping to ensure equal access to justice through improved courtroom infrastructure, free legal aid and legal interpretation services. Next month, we will inaugurate a community dialogue centre designed and led by local trust-building champions. We continue to strengthen cohesive, cross-cutting work with United Nations agencies and with all our international partners. Together, we are steadily growing the constituency for political compromise— despite all the challenges — while demonstrating the positive effects that path offers in the real lives of people.
It should be the aspiration of all of us that the accumulation of international efforts will now chart a realistic path towards normalization. The obstacles to that process may take the form of posturing or insufficient political will to open the space for public acceptance. Implementation will surely face many pitfalls and require patience. None of those pitfalls, however, can match the gains to be achieved for the people through perseverance and delivery.
UNMIK will remain committed to supporting, at all levels, the progress made, which is among the most important parts of our mandate. We will do so in the expectation that the choices made by political leaders, the fulfilment of their obligations and their commitments will lead to greater opportunities for a generation deserving better. To play our role, the Mission continues to rely upon the support of the Council, as we work together with our partners within and beyond the full spectrum of the United Nations system. I thank the Council for that support and for promoting solutions that serve the interests of a new generation in Kosovo and the region.