Serbia and Kosovo must not squander chance to overcome challenges, Security Council told

As Serbia and Kosovo aim to overcome the legacy of conflict, the two countries must avoid procrastination on implementing the remaining steps of the April 2013 Accord and allowing older issues to shackle opportunities to open new ground, the United Nations Security Council was told today.

During his quarterly briefing to the 15-member body, Farid Zarif, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) described the two meetings between the Prime Ministers of Serbia and Kosovo in the framework of the Brussels dialogue as “important milestones.”

It is encouraging that recruitment of judges and prosecutors had begun with a number of applications for those positions, in a process that required continued flexibility and goodwill, Mr. Zarif said.

However, the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities, a core provision of the April 2013 agreement, remained unresolved.

“Steady leadership is required from both Pristina and Belgrade in order to enable progress,” he said.

While fully acknowledging the complexity of issues and time required to establish the functional Community/Association, it would be vital to demonstrate goodwill in order to maintain the political momentum through the international community’s firm support, Mr. Zarif said.

There should be no undue delays in the steps required from Kosovo towards the establishment of the special court in order to try cases arising from the findings of the European Union Special Investigative Task Force.

Swift progress on the issue of 1,653 missing persons also is also essential to heal the wounds of conflict and alleviate the grief of the families the victims, he added.