UN envoy to Kosovo says plan for standards more important than ever

Launching Kosovo's Standards Implementation Plan today, two weeks after deadly violence rocked the province, the top United Nations envoy for Kosovo, Harri Holkeri, said the plan "is not a panacea, but it is a start."

Mr. Holkeri said that while not every ethnic community was involved in producing the plan, it still contained provisions that ought to protect all residents of Kosovo, regardless of their background.

The plan is a detailed guide that sets specific goals in such areas as the building of democratic institutions, the enforcement of rights for minorities and the creation of a functioning economy. Its provisions include the holding of free and fair elections and the establishment of an impartial legal system.

Mr. Holkeri - who was joined by Kosovo's Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi for the launch - said the province "is still a long way from recovering from the violence of two weeks ago," but the importance of the standards is clearer than ever.

The UN Interim Administrative Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) today also released updated information on the recent violence. In total, 19 people were killed - 11 Kosovo Albanians and eight Kosovo Serbs - and more than 900 people were injured, including dozens of international police officers. Some 29 churches and monasteries, 800 houses and more than 150 vehicles were destroyed or badly damaged.