UN to review Kosovo''s progress on achieving Standards this summer

BBCM, May 28, 2005 8:33 PM

Text of report in English by Croatian news agency HINA

Washington/New York, 28 May: The UN Security Council on Friday [27 May] considered a report on Kosovo submitted by Secretary General Kofi Annan, who proposed the first review to be launched this summer about democratic progress which the province has made to date.

Annan wrote in the report that the continued progress had been noticed in the implementation of the international community''s Standards in Kosovo and that Kosovo leaders were committed to the implementation of those Standards, although he was not satisfied with the pace of progress.

The secretary general also warned that none of the eight Standards had been full implemented.

The process of the thorough review is expected to start this summer with "political reality" being reviewed on the ground as well as formal preconditions for launching the process of defining the future status of Kosovo on the basis of the persistent and efficient progress made by Kosovo leaders in the implementation of Standards.

Annan said he was planning to soon appoint his special envoy who will carry out the review. According to diplomatic sources, Norwegian Ambassador to NATO, Kai Eide, is likely to take over that task.

The UN has set out eight Standards referring to functioning democracy, the rule of law, security and human and ethnic rights which must be fulfilled before the opening of talks on Kosovo''s final status.

The final decision on the province will be made by the international community after negotiations defined by the Security Council.

Annan''s report came about 10 days after the United States said that it wanted the international community to speed up the process of reaching Kosovo''s final status.

The UN Administrator in Kosovo, Soeren Jessen-Petersen told the Security Council that Kosovo was continuing to carry out the Standards despite challenges.

There is no doubt that the progress has been made, he said commenting on Annan''s report in New York.

Jessen-Petersen spoke about the building of democracy with headway being made in dialogue between Kosovo institutions and the government of Serbia-Montenegro.

He added that "progress in establishing a fully multiethnic Kosovo and integrating all communities will remain limited as long as one ethnic group is pressured to stay outside the political, economic and social processes".

He referred to Belgrade which he accused of not giving Kosovo Serbs a clear sign to take part in political life in the province.

Nebojsa Covic, the head of Serbia-Montenegro''s Coordinating Centre for Kosovo, said that the report unfortunately made references to Kosovo Serbs and the government of Serbia-Montenegro when it mentioned the most important problems.

Taking into account that Serbs and other non-Albanian citizens are living isolated in enclaves as they do not enjoy freedom of movement, the statement that there is freedom of movement in the province is not correct, Covic said.

He added that the basic guidelines of Belgrade''s policy for Kosovo''s final status were that state border could not be changed and that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia-Montenegro must be preserved.

Source: HINA news agency, Zagreb, in English 0839 gmt 28 May 05

BBC Monitoring