Security Council Hears Briefing by Secretary-General's Special Representative for Kosovo
(Note: Due to the financial liquidity crisis affecting the United Nations and the resulting time constraints, the full press release will be published at a later date.)
The Security Council met this afternoon to discuss the situation in Kosovo, hearing a briefing from the Secretary-General's Special Representative. Also addressing the Council were the President of Serbia and the leader of Kosovo.
SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS 1160 (1998), 1199 (1998), 1203 (1998), 1239 (1999) AND 1244 (1999)
Briefing
CAROLINE ZIADEH, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), recalled that two agreements were reached — in Brussels on 27 February 2023 and in Ohrid, North Macedonia, on 18 March 2023 — establishing a pathway for negotiations and mutual engagement. However, disagreement over implementation stalled progress. Subsequently, by-elections in northern Kosovo resulted in mayors being elected by barely 3.47 per cent of eligible voters, and ensuing clashes on 29 May 2023 resulted in significant injuries to civilians and Kosovo Force (KFOR) personnel. These events — along with the serious security incident in Banjska/Banjskë on 24 September 2023 that led to fatalities — “were serious setbacks”, she reported. There was some positive momentum that emerged at the end of 2023, however, such as progress achieved over license plates, an energy road map, customs documentation and the participation of Kosovo Serbs in the initiation of a referendum to recall the aforementioned mayors.
Despite that, she stressed that unilateral actions on issues that clearly fall within the political-dialogue process and its governing agreements are cause for great concern. “Regardless of which side takes them and what justifications are provided, and in the absence of unambiguous public communications, such actions predictably exacerbate an environment of insecurity and mistrust,” she observed. She then recalled that the Central Bank of Kosovo adopted a regulation on 27 December 2023, announcing that the euro will be the only currency allowed for cash transactions in Kosovo as of 1 February 2024. Limited public explanation was offered, even though the Serbian dinar has served as the primary currency for cash and commercial transactions in Kosovo-Serb majority areas since 1999. Tens of thousands of individuals are affected — as is the economy, which depends on their purchasing power. Further, such regulation interrupts payment to individuals employed by Serbian-funded institutions, certain agricultural and social-welfare subsidies and pension recipients, among others.
She went on to report that, in response to the “obvious concerns” this has raised, Kosovo authorities announced, on 6 February, a transitional period of one month for implementation. However, a cash-transfer truck was prevented entry into Kosovo on 7 February, while some 4 million Serbian dinars confiscated by the Kosovo Police on 3 February still await judicial and administrative action. Against that backdrop, she underscored that those taking actions — regardless of their legality and justification — must consider their impact on affected populations. “Otherwise, such actions not only increase tensions, but also weaken the potential for lasting peace and security across all communities in Kosovo,” she emphasized, adding that “more should be done to win the hearts and minds of non-majority communities”. On that, she detailed Kosovo Police operations targeting facilities used by the Serbian non-majority community in four municipalities and Pristina on 26 January and 2 February, as well as a police operation in Pejë/Peć that reportedly targeted a team of journalists from the only Kosovo-Serb media outlet in the region on 2 January.
“As you know, UNMIK and our main partners place the highest importance on ensuring the freedoms of media and expression at all times,” she stressed, stating that neither the Central Bank’s new regulation nor these recent police operations have contributed to the de-escalation for which international interlocutors have repeatedly called. Efforts towards negotiated, mutually accepted solutions must not falter, and continuous effort to build greater mutual trust and respect are the only viable path to stability, prosperity and security. She added: “History has repeatedly shown that just solutions do not emerge from unilateral actions, but rather from a sustained and painstaking commitment to open communication and dialogue.”
Statements
ALEKSANDAR VUČIĆ, President of Serbia, warned that the provisional institutions of self-Government in Priština have created unbearable living conditions for Serbs and are now carrying out widespread systematic attacks against Serb civilians. In the absence of appropriate reaction, the situation could cause irreparable harm to the survival of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija. He emphasized that the recent move by the “so-called Kosovo Central Bank” — by which payment transactions with the Serbian dinar are banned in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija as of 1 February — means the Priština regime directly disables all medical, educational, social, cultural and other institutions that enable Serbs to live with a minimum of human dignity. It is obvious, he stressed, that the creation of unbearable living conditions is the regime’s act of structural violence, intensifying a years-long, well-planned and systematic attack against the Serbian population.
Citing 470 unpunished ethnically motivated attacks against Serbs, the Serbian Orthodox Church and their property since 2021, he added that the introduction of the euro as the only legal tender in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija was obviously illegal because it was done by the unilateral decision of the political leadership in Priština. The dinar is the legal tender of Serbia, and, therefore, cannot be banned in Kosovo and Metohija. He recalled that the difficult situation deteriorated after the April 2023 elections in four municipalities in the north of Kosovo and Metohija; more than 97 per cent of the inhabitants are Serbs, so only slightly more than 3 per cent of the total number of registered voters turned out for these so-called elections. The situation led to peaceful protests by Serbs, to which Kosovo Albanian armed groups responded by injuring more than 50 unarmed Serbs on 29 May alone, followed by a tragic and reprehensible wounding of KFOR personnel.
He emphasized that armed formations composed almost exclusively of Kosovo Albanians on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija are illegal and contrary to Council resolution 1244 (1999). Due to physical and structural violence towards the Serbian population, more than 14 per cent of Serbs have left Kosovo and Metohija. Rejecting inappropriate calls for restraint and responsibility by both parties, he stressed that the solution to the crisis can only be a clear order to immediately stop all the above-mentioned measures. He recalled that in 2022, Serbia sent a request to the commander of KFOR for the return of the agreed number of Serbian security personnel to assist international forces in protecting the Serbian population. He then called on the Council and the international community to take urgent and decisive measures with the aim of normalizing the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, preventing further persecution of Serbs and creating conditions for the resumption of a meaningful dialogue between Belgrade and Priština.
ALBIN KURTI of Kosovo spotlighted the “deep and uncomfortable irony” and “dystopian feeling” inherent in responding to false allegations of human-rights abuses “made by a country known to have committed the last genocide of the twentieth century”. The brutality of what was committed changed international human-rights law forever and, out of this misery, Kosova emerged as a symbol of the fight for dignity and the triumph of human rights, building itself into a forward-facing, multicultural and multi-ethnic republic. Stating that Kosova is “an inspiring lesson on how economic development and democratic progress can go hand-in-hand”, he said that this growth and well-being is shared with minorities pursuant to a constitution that offers some of the highest protections for minority rights. Detailing this, he underscored: “The idea that Kosova is conducting an ethnic-cleansing campaign or persecution against the Serb community is a lie.”
He went on to say, however, that Serbia’s treatment of ethnic Albanians today constitutes such a campaign “carried out administratively”. Belgrade has removed thousands from the civil registry, and victims have lost access to passports, medical services, social assistance, vehicle registration, property transactions, pensions and voting rights. Further, Serbia has aligned itself with the Russian Federation and is the only European country — other than Belarus — not to impose sanctions following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “It acts as the Kremlin’s Trojan Horse in South-East Europe in a geopolitical war against the democratic world,” he said. Turning to the Central Bank’s regulation, he underscored: “Let me be absolutely clear — the regulation does nothing to prohibit or prevent the Government of Serbia from providing financial support to Kosova Serbs.” Rather, it merely seeks to ensure the transparency and legality of cash imported into Kosova in line with both the constitution and European Union monetary policy.
Emphasizing that the same rules apply to all cash imports — from any country, in any currency — he said that the Central Bank is committed to doing all it can to ensure that Kosovo Serbs can continue receiving unimpeded financial support from Serbia. Further, Prishtinë is committed to ensuring a smooth transition, with sufficient investments in education and information, instead of imposing penalties for non-compliance. Prishtinë does not seek to harm any single group of citizens; rather, it seeks to protect all of them from the threats posed by organized crime, arms-trafficking and money-laundering — all of which rely on criminal groups’ ability to receive illegally smuggled cash, largely across Kosova’s border with Serbia. He added that Belgrade sounded the alarm not because of the transition from the Serbian dinar to euro, “but because we are banning large sacks of money at the border”.
https://press.un.org/en/2024/sc15582.doc.htm
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