Kosovo: UN envoy stresses need for dialogue to resolve outstanding issues

With the International Court of Justice having rendered the much anticipated advisory opinion on the legality of Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia, the two sides should now engage in constructive dialogue to resolve outstanding issues between them, a senior United Nations official said today.

Lamberto Zannier, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), told the Security Council that efforts to properly resolve issues between Belgrade and Pristina – the respective capitals of Serbia and Kosovo – had been hindered by the anticipated issuance of the advisory opinion.

On 22 July, judges at the ICJ concluded that the February 2008 declaration does not breach either general international law, Security Council resolution 1244 adopted in 1999 following the end of fighting in Kosovo, or the constitutional framework that was adopted by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on behalf of UNMIK.

“The issuance of the ICJ opinion, therefore, should now open a new phase and allow Belgrade and Pristina to engage in a constructive dialogue with a view to the resolution of these issues,” said Mr. Zannier, adding that this dialogue would be very important for the stability and the development of the region.

He also noted that the UN’s preliminary legal assessment is that the opinion does not affect the status of UNMIK, or its status-neutral policy.

Overall, Mr. Zannier reported, the situation in Kosovo has been relatively stable during the period from mid-March to mid-July.

However, as incidents in northern Kosovo in early July demonstrated, the potential for instability remains, he said, referring to the violence in Mitrovica prompted by the opening of a civil service centre by the Ministry of Interior of Kosovo.

“The recent violence in northern Mitrovica reminds us of the need for all sides to commit to dialogue as a necessary precondition for addressing the challenges faced in northern Kosovo,” said Mr. Zannier. “Kosovo’s communities are going to have to work together to rebuild the trust that has been destroyed.”

In his latest report to the Security Council on UNMIK, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wrote that “sensitive issues related to northern Kosovo can only be addressed peacefully and through continuing consultation and coordination between all relevant actors, taking into account the specific circumstances and concerns of all communities.”

Mr. Ban added that progress on the return of displaced persons to Kosovo remains “disappointingly” low and that there is a need for greater focus on reconciliation between the communities.

“The absence of significant progress in reconciliation between the communities, coupled with economic difficulties, continues to present a challenge and to foster the risk of unrest,” wrote the Secretary-General.

“It is my assessment that this period has not seen sufficient progress in addressing outstanding challenges related to Kosovo, in advancing regional cooperation, or in finding solutions to issues of common concern to communities, as well as to Pristina and Belgrade.

“It is also my assessment that the period following the issuance of the advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice on Kosovo’s declaration of independence will provide for further opportunities in this regard,” states Mr. Ban.

“These opportunities can be best explored through a coherent and inclusive approach by the international actors engaged in Kosovo.”

UNMIK administered Kosovo from 1999 when North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces drove out Yugoslav troops amid bloody fighting between ethnic Serbs and Albanians, but it gave up its administrative role in 2008 when Kosovo’s Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG) declared independence.

Serbia rejects Kosovo’s declaration of independence and continues to expect a robust role on the part of the UN mission.