YouSaid · the spoken record

Daeie

lines on the record: 185
first: 2012-08-21
most recent: 2019-02-07
sittings or episodes: 7
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Let me also point out that the monotonous recitation of incomplete statistics on attacks on the life and property of members of non-Albanian communities serves but to cast a pall of relativity over the civilizationally inadmissible phenomenon of persecution on an ethnic and religious basis. The report would be much more informative if, in addition to statistics, it advised of how competent institutions - including police, public prosecutors and the judiciary - reacted, and if it provided data relative to investigations, the search for perpetrators, indictments, criminal or civil trials and the types of sentences handed down, along with the terms of their validity and enforcement in cases of ethnically motivated criminal offences.”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“That exacerbates the polarized political environment, which is replete with tensions and tear gas democracy and persistent violence against the members of Serbian and other non-Albanian communities. Security in Kosovo and Metohija has always been in short supply and marked with escalating violence. As a rule, returnees to ethnically mixed communities are the most vulnerable. It is therefore hard to understand why there is reduced focus and space on security observations in the report of the Secretary-General. It is for that reason that we propose that new chapters on the situation in the communities south of the lbar River, on obstacles aggravating or preventing IDP returns, on property rights and impunity for ethnically motivated crimes be included in the quarterly reports of the Secretary-General.”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“Another method of discouragement of returns, especially in the region of Pee, is the dissemination of information in the Kosovo media of the issuance of indictments for war crimes against a large number of Serbs, almost as a rule against IDPs reporting for return. IDPs are repeatedly being attacked, with the frequent use of firearms and explosive devices, while acts of desecration against Orthodox graveyards and memorial plaques of abducted or murdered civilians are on the rise. Attempts to prevent IDPs from observing religious holidays, as was the case in Djakovica and Musutiste, continue unabated. In addition, religious extremism, compounded by terrorism and the activities of radicalized extremists returning from battlefields and terrorist group formations, has dramatically increased in Kosovo and Metohija.”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“IDPs are prevented from participating in developing the law on the Kosovo property comparison and verification agency, which is yet another inadmissible and frightening example of the attempt to seize Serbian property in outright contravention of the agreement on cadastre reached within the dialogue conducted with the facilitation of the European Union. All along, thousands of Albanians are being inscribed in the cadastre as owners of the property of IDPs by way of submission of fraudulent documents, while no special mechanism has been provided to notify IDPs of the proceedings instituted in connection with their property.”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“It is clear that this legislative provocation by Pristina is aimed at making the Community of Serb- majority municipalities an empty shell and preventing Serbs from making decisions with regard to their economic development and urban planning. The theft of Serbian property in Kosovo and Metohija, such as the failed attempt to seize the tourist complex on Mount Brezovica, cannot be legalized by any law. It is therefore necessary to return to the negotiating table, as the unilateral acts do not benefit anybody. The situation in Kosovo and Metohija continues to be characterized by the absence of physical and legal security for Serbs, especially for internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have returned or would like to return home.”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“One such message is the law on strategic investment in Kosovo, which, if implemented, would provide Pristina with cover to contract capital projects directly, without tender offers; for the participation of the institutions of local self-government; and to possess and sell general assets arbitrarily to the detriment of the status and interests ofthe Serbian people in the province. That law was adopted contrary to the procedure that provides for the adoption of laws of vital interest to local communities, eviscerating the Community of Serb-majority municipalities by infringing on the competencies that under the agreement belong quite explicitly to that Community to be.”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“Unfortunately, instead of being the central issue and acted upon as a matter of priority, the establishment of the Community has become the subject of political blackmail. Our side insisted in the past period that the dynamics of the establishment of the Community be worked out and that the date for the management team to commence its work be determined. The Community of Serb-majority municipalities is to be based only on agreements already reached in the dialogue, and not on subsequent attempts to unilaterally alter the agreements reached with the facilitation of the European Union. The process ofestablishing the Community of Serb- majority municipalities must not be allowed to drag on and be threatened by unilateral acts that send messages of disenfranchisement to the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija.”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“In that context, we expect Security Council members to bring the force of their authority to bear and have the law annulled, thereby preventing its negative legal and security consequences from jeopardizing the stability of Kosovo and Metohija and the region, as well as enabling the process of dialogue and the normalization of relations. Otherwise, Kosovo and Metohija will become a black hole in Europe without any protection of private property. I would like to point out, as I did at previous meetings of the Council, that the establishment, within the shortest period of time, of the Community of Serb-majority municipalities, as a mechanism for the systematic institutional protection of the Serbian community in Kosovo and Metohija, is of paramount importance for the survival of the Serbian people in the province.”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“Not only do the authorities in Pristina usurp the property of the State of Serbia in Kosovo and Metohija through the law on Trepca; in article 5 the law states that the so-called Republic of Kosovo will also appropriate mineral resources in other parts of Serbia, outside of Kosovo and Metohija, which is complete legal nonsense. Serbia remains open to seeking a peaceful and sustainable solution to this situation, which is not of its own making, in the belief that resolving all questions and problems through dialogue and agreement is the only right way forward.”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“Trepca is the lifeblood of the Serbs' existence in northern Kosovo and Metohija. Serbian homes sit on Trepca's land, and thousands of Serbs work in Trepca's mines and support their families by that work. For them the defence of Trepca is the defence of their right to exist in Kosovo. In that sense, the attempt to seize it from its lawful owners is also an attempt to finalize the ethnic cleansing of the Serbs and to bring into question the ethnic composition of Serbian communities in the long term. This is not acceptable.”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“Proceeding therefrom, the Government of the Republic of Serbia decided to make all legal consequences of the acts and actions of the PISG in Pristina relative to the legal and physical status of Trepca null and void. Desirous of ensuring that Trepca, which is of vital importance for the survival ofthe Serbs in the province and for the economic development primarily of the municipalities of Kosovska Mitrovica, Zveean, Leposavie and Zubin Potok, as well as of Novo Brdo and Graeanica, the Government took action and made a decision. The attack on Trepca is not only an attack on one company, it is also an attack on the right of a people to exist in a territory and an attack on the very provisions of resolution 1244 (1999), on which peace and stability in the province rest.”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“Pristina is in the process of transforming, without any legal basis or justification, the largest economic giant in Kosovo and Metohija into the property of the so-called Republic of Kosovo, while denying Serbia any rights whatsoever, even though it is the majority shareholder in the corporation. That is a serious attack on the interests of the Serbs, including 3,000 of them working in Trepca. It is estimated that about 38 per cent of Serbian families directly or indirectly depend on it. Property and the right to property are sacrosanct, particularly in the democratic world, and who owns Trepca is only too apparent. The companies and citizens of Serbia who built it own it, and no unlawful decision of the Kosovo authorities can change that.”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“They did so contrary to the principles of international law against such types of confiscation, as well as a number of international instruments guaranteeing the right to the peaceful enjoyment of property, prohibiting discrimination and promoting equality before the law, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the European Charter of Local Self-Government and so forth. Also, the law runs roughshod over the basic principles of the free market and competition and is in direct contravention of the Stabilization and Association Agreement between Pristina and the European Union and of the Central European Free Trade Agreement.”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“Those unilateral actions by the PISG induce legal insecurity that may seriously threaten the fragile security situation in Kosovo and Metohija. Particularly disconcerting is the fact that the law disrupts lastingly sustainable economic development, without which the ethnic structure in the Serbian communities in the north of the province is untenable. By those actions the PISG in Kosovo and Metohija have patently crossed the bounds of their mandate and confiscated the private property of Trepca, thus affecting the owners/shareholders, creditors and the employees in a direct way.”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“The latter, let me recall, specifies explicitly that the authority to administer public-, State- and community-owned property, in accordance with the relevant UNMIK legislation, as well as the regulation of public- and community-owned enterprises, are powers and responsibilities reserved for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General. That law, I emphasize, was adopted by the PISG without participation by UNMIK or consultation with the owners/shareholders of Trepca, representatives of the municipalities in the territories on which the Trepca mines and plants are located or representatives of Serbs in the PISG. Let me remind the Council that Serbs are part of the Government of Kosovo and the Trepca North management and employees.”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“The illegal Privatization Agency of Kosovo then proceeded to privatize State- and community- owned property in the province, to the extent that, through the persistent pursuit of abusive practices for which no legal basis exists in resolution l244 (1999), Pristina unilaterally privatized about 70 per cent of State- and community-owned property in the province. At the same time as the unlawful privatization, Pristina went on to seize the private property of Serbs and of the Serbian Orthodox Church. That widespread ill practice was carried out, by and large, by way of the submission of fraudulent documents issued by Kosovo institutions to local Albanians. The adoption of the law on Trepca was done in gross violation ofthe basic principles of resolution 1244 (1999) and the constitutional framework for provisional self-government in Kosovo.”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“Such actions by Pristina, which instil an atmosphere of unilateral imposition, fait accompli and ultimatum instead of solving outstanding issues through dialogue with the aim of finding acceptable solutions for all involved parties, as has been done in the past, are not in the interests of regional peace and stability at all. As the Council may well know, In 1999 UNMIK undertook to oversee the Mining, Metallurgy and Chemical Combine at Trepca under resolution 1244 (1999). UNMIK transferred the combine management rights to the Kosovo Trust Agency, established by UNMIK itselfin 2002. Following the illegal, unilateral declaration of independence by Pristina in 2008, the Privatization Agency of Kosovo was established, which took over the competencies of the Kosovo Trust Agency, which has not been approved by UNMIK to this day.”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“Yet our readiness to seek sustainable solutions through negotiations conducive to a better life for the people of Kosovo and Metohija has frequently not been reciprocated with the same approach from the other side, which regrettably continues to resort to unilateral and evidently very detrimental moves, such as the recent unheard-of attempt by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG) in Pristina to confiscate the Mining, Metallurgy and Chemical Combine at Trepca. Let me point out that, ever since the inception of the dialogue, Serbia has insisted, during almost every round and at every level, that the question of property be included in the agenda, and yet Pristina has always refused to talk about the matter.”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“Notwithstanding numerous challenges, the Republic of Serbia has demonstrated time and again its clear commitment to solving the outstanding issues through dialogue, within a status-neutral framework that is guided primarily by the interests of regional stability and the creation of conditions for economic prosperity and the progress of the region in the process of EU accession negotiations. The agreement on telecommunications was recently reached due to the efforts of the Republic of Serbia, whereby a contribution was made to the implementation of the Brussels Agreement.”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“I also salute all Members of the Security Council and and take this opportunity to inform the Council of the importance of the continued consideration by this organ - every three months - of the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, with the aim of creating conditions for the unhindered implementation of the UNMIK mandate and as a way of supporting the dialogue process between Belgrade and Pristina that is being faciliated by the European Union (EU). I also take this opportunity to thank His Excellency Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his contribution to the work of the Organization during his tenure, as well as to wish success to his successor, His Excellency Mr. Antonio Guterres.”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“Mr. Daeie (Serbia) (Spoke in Serbian; English text provided by the delegation): I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Zahir Tanin, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, for introducing the Secretary-General's report (S/2016/901) and for his overall engagement in the achievement of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), in accordance with resolution 1244 (1999).”
2016-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7811 (2016) · source
“We believe that the commitment to European integration is the principal driving force behind the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina. We expect the European Union to also continue its active engagement in facilitating our dialogue with Pristina. The Government of the Republic of Serbia will certainly continue its active engagement in the implementation of the Brussels Agreement in the interest of peace, economic progress and reconciliation.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“Such a solution can be arrived at only through negotiations and dialogue with the Provisional Institutions of Self- Government in Pristina and in full respect for the legitimate interests of the Albanian, Serbian and other populations in Kosovo and Metohija, on the basis of resolution 1244 (1999). The solution to the question of Kosovo and Metohija must be in the interests of our citizens, who should be able to live in normal conditions, just as all communities should be ensured a safe life together. On our road to such a solution, we must achieve mutual reconciliation. That will surely be helped by the process of the adoption of European standards and values that we have begun on the journey of our entire region to European integration.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“We expect the necessary conditions to be created to try those suspected of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. We attach special importance to trying the cases arising from the findings of the European Union Special Investigative Task Force on the inhumane treatment of people and illicit trafficking in human organs. We expect the decision on the establishment of the specialist court to be taken as soon as possible. In conclusion, let me point out once again that the quest for a lasting and sustainable solution for Kosovo and Metohija is a national priority for Serbia.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“We consider it to be important for the process that we confront our own past and, in that context, establish the fate of the missing persons. That is important primarily to the families of the missing persons and contributes to the process of inter-ethnic reconciliation in the province. In order to establish the fate of the missing persons, the Serbian expert teams cooperate with UNMIK and EULEX, as well as with the competent authorities in Kosovo and Metohija. The process of mutual reconciliation cannot be complete without the prosecution of the former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army responsible for the persecution of Serbs, Roma and other non-Albanians, as well as their political opponents among Kosovo and Metohija Albanians.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“The report also noted that concrete results were needed in the fight against organized crime, corruption, money-laundering and the financing of terrorism. The current situation in the province bears out our assessment that conditions have not been fulfilled for the transfer of competencies to the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government. The fact that those competencies have been entrusted to EULEX does not diminish the powers and responsibility of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General. I expect EULEX, Within its mandate, to continue to exercise its executive powers in the field of the rule of law, against the backdrop of the realistic assessment of the situation in Kosovo and Metohija in that area. Serbia is committed to the process ofreconciliation.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“The importance of the continued monitoring and assessment of the work of Provisional Institutions of Self-Government, the judiciary and other agencies and their readiness to take over the executive powers now exercised by EULEX, as provided for in the June 2014 decision to extend and reconfigure its mandate, cannot be emphasized strongly enough. On a number of occasions, Serbia has pointed to the need for continuous monitoring and for establishing objective criteria for the assessment of the work of Provincial Institutions by the relevant missions present in Kosovo and Metohija under United Nations auspices. In its Kosovo Progress Report 2014, the European Commission noted that much remained to be done with respect to the functioning and responsibility of the provincial judiciary.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“I am convinced that we all are aware of the importance of respect for ownership rights, irrespective of whether private or State property is involved. In that sense, it is necessary to ensure that all activities in Kosovo and Metohija relative to privatization be returned to the valid legal framework, in particular since such activities necessarily have an ethnic connotation in the province, which is inadmissible in the democratic world. I recall that the protection of the property of economic entities and the suspension of privatization in Serbian communities are important items of the coalition Agreement on the basis of which the representatives of the Serbian community entered the Pristina Government. The Agreement was reconfirmed at the meeting in Brussels on 21 April 2014.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“Much in evidence is the tendency to privatize public and socially owned companies in communities with Serbian majority populations. Those companies are sold to persons of Albanian nationality. The nationality of the persons coming into possession of the companies is not in dispute; rather, it is the fact that the unlawful measures being taken are motivated by the destruction of the economic resources of Serbian communities. I take this opportunity to point out the importance of appropriately addressing the property issue of the Trepca complex, mentioned in the Secretary-General's report. Any other solution of the issue other than that achieved through the Brussels dialogue, would be unacceptable to Serbia.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“We expect the international missions in Kosovo and Metohija and the local provisional institutions of self-government to contribute within their powers to our common struggle, which has global importance. In the context of the priority importance that the Government of the Republic of Serbia attaches to the solution of the property issues in Kosovo and Metohija, let me draw the Council's attention to the ongoing privatization processes conducted by the Kosovo privatization agency, contrary to international and European conventions on human rights. UNMIK, too, once assessed that the process is contrary to resolution 1244 (1999), since the agency was not established under the laws in force in Kosovo and Metohija, in accordance with the resolution.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“At the same time, we are witness to the parallel process of altering historic facts aimed at marginalizing and eliminating the presence of Serbs and Serbia in the history of Kosovo and Metohija. In the context of the struggle against terrorist threats and the rise of violent extremism globally, the need for greater security has assumed an added dimension. As a sponsor of resolution 2178 (2014), the Republic of Serbia has taken all necessary steps to suppress the financing and organizing of terrorism, which are ever-more frequent phenomena related to the recruitment of foreign terrorist fighters to join armed terrorist organizations in the Middle East, such as the Islamic State. Serbia will continue to act resolutely in the efforts to suppress terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“Those acts, let me point out, present not only threats and insults to the Serbian Orthodox Church and its clergy, but also a way to intimidate the remaining Orthodox population in the province, which is preponderantly Serb. I take this opportunity to point to the need for taking additional measures to protect the Serbian cultural and religious heritage in Kosovo and Metohija. Attacks on such sites are tantamount to attacks on the identity of the Serbs, and influence in the direct way their feelings of security and acceptance in the local community. They call into question the commitment of the competent authorities in the province to the protection and preservation of the Serbian cultural and religious heritage.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“In that regard, the cause of our deep concern is not only the desecration of a cultural monument of world renown such as the Visoki Deeani Monastery, but also the fact that it was desecrated with graffiti glorifying the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and the "future Caliphate", at the time when the international community is investing enormous efforts to suppress this scourge as the greatest threat to peace and stability in the world. As I did the last time I addressed the Council (see S/PV.7377), it is with concern that I warn that the desecration of Serbian churches and monasteries has continued and that, last January, "UCK" graffiti were scribbled on the Orthodox church in Lipljan and on the fence wall of the church in Djakovica, despite security provided by the Kosovo Police Force.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“Last April, the Republic of Serbia submitted a report on the implementation of the Convention against Torture, in which it pointed out that it was unable to report on the Convention's implementation on part of its territory under international administration. In that regard, we welcome the recent decision by the Committee against Torture to request information from UNMIK on the implementation of the Convention in Kosovo and Metohija. We condemn each and every act of desecration of a religious site of any religion.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“The incidents are eloquent proof that much serious and genuine work still has be done to achieve reconciliation and approach this problem in an appropriate way, and that appropriate records on them should be kept and their perpetrators tried. Creating conditions for Serbs and other non-Albanians to enjoy basic human rights and the rights belonging to them as non-majority populations in the province without discrimination would certainly help improve the general atmosphere for IDP returns. We regret the fact that the recent closure of the Office of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights in Pristina - justified by financial constraints - was done without consultation with the Republic of Serbia and, if anything, is unwarranted by the situation of human rights in Kosovo and Metohija.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“Such a commitment would also demonstrate the goodwill and the serious intention of all the relevant actors and serve the purpose of normalizing relations, making life together possible and respecting the basic rights and fundamental freedoms of all residents of Kosovo and Metohija. The decrease in the number of potentially ethnically motivated incidents is noted in the report before us, just as is the increase in the number of incidents affecting unoccupied properties owned by non-majority communities, and religious and cultural sites. Such comparisons are unbecoming, since we cannot tolerate any attack on members of other communities.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“It demonstrated once again the intolerance and non-acceptance of Serbs by the majority community and provided ample evidence that, with displaced Serbs unable to visit their places of worship freely and safely and mark religious holidays in a dignified way, the exhortations by Kosovar institutions to displaced Serbs to return are disingenuous, and that capacities to ensure safety and security to all in Kosovo and Metohija, especially at the local level, are non-existent. Under the anti-discrimination law and other rules and regulations in force in Kosovo and Metohija in this area, obstructing access to places of worship and preventing religious practices for the purpose of preserving one's identity are violations of law. This problem calls for a dedicated commitment if we are to overcome the present situation.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“In that context, I call on the United Nations and other representatives of the international Administration in Kosovo and Metohija to help us overcome the problems that prevent IDP returns and make the situation of returnees ever more difficult, not least by ever more frequently incidents. Surely, a contributing factor in the delay of IDP returns has been physical insecurity, as manifested in the continued attacks on Serbs and their property and aggravated by the atmosphere of impunity for crimes committed against Serbs. Such attacks are widespread: one of them happened during the Christmas visit of Serbs from Djakovica- 12,000 of whom lived in the town prior to 1999 - to the Church of the Presentation of St. Mary in the Temple.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“The most recent UNHCR data presented in the current report bear out the decreasing trend: only 14 persons, it is reported, returned to Kosovo and Metohija in the last four months. Self-defeating statistics indeed. To achieve lasting solutions, key obstacles to unencumbered and sustainable return should be overcome, a consistent and fully implemented legal framework for return, including protection of property rights and security, should be ensured, and the obstruction of returns should be eliminated, with full respect for the principle of the responsibility ofinternational and local actors engaged in the process. This is an occasion to recall once again the Serbia ops the list of European countries by the number of internally displaced persons in protracted displacement.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“Creating sustainable conditions for their return is the key factor in the process of reconciliation. Regrettably, even 16 years after the end of the conflict, no conditions exist for a sustainable return of the IDPs to Kosovo and Metohija, primarily due to the lack of proper interest in this question by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Pristina. This sad fact is noted in the regular reports of the Secretary- General on the work of UNMIK and in reports of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR). Only 1.9 per cent of the 220,000 persons who left Kosovo and Metohija in 1999 have realized a sustainable return over the last 15 years. About 204,000 of those persons are still displaced in Serbia.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“When, and if ever, these questions are taken up, they should be discussed in the framework of the dialogue. In that regard, although, we continue to believe that the opening of such questions at this moment is not in the interests either of Belgrade or Pristina - or, for that matter, of our international partners with whom we share an interest in the stability of the Western Balkans. Serbia welcomes the work of UNMIK carried out in cooperation with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the missions of other organizations present in Kosovo and Metohija on monitoring the status of non-majority communities in the province. The Government of the Republic of Serbia attaches great importance to the quest for a proper solution to the question of IDPs from Kosovo and Metohia.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“Respectful of the agreements reached on regional representation and cooperation, the Republic of Serbia has acquiesced to Pristina's participation in the Regional Cooperation Council and the South-East European Cooperation Process and in the activities of the Migration, Asylum, Refugees Regional Initiative. That acquiescence has not changed the position of the Republic of Serbia on the status of Kosovo and Metohija, nor has Serbia desisted from its views. However, there are attempts to include Pristina's representatives in the work of international organizations outside that agreement. They are not acceptable for the Republic of Serbia and do not help preserve the positive atmosphere contributing to the continuation of the dialogue at all.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“I am pleased that the current report recognizes the importance of the establishment of the community of Serbian municipalities, which is the key question for the Republic of Serbia in the context of the direct continuation of the implementation of the Brussels Agreement. Let me point out that, going forward in the dialogue with Pristina, the key questions for the Republic of Serbia continue to be the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and property of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and property issues. Iwould also like to use this opportunity to emphasize that the Government of the Republic of Serbia has taken a constructive stance vis-a-vis the participation of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Kosovo and Metohij a in the work of regional forums.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“In that context, I am pleased to note that the report also mentions the direct communication initiated by Serbia's Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vueie, with Mr. Mustafa. Serbia approaches the dialogue with Pristina openly, and is desirous of finding practical solutions that will enable all the people of the province to lead a normal life within a broader process of the region's integration in the European Union. There is no doubt that the participation of Serbs in the political life of Kosovo and Metohija is a contribution to that end. The Government of the Republic of Serbia fulfils - conscientiously, consistently and in a timely manner - all its obligations under the agreements reached thus far under the First Agreement on Principles Governing the Normalization of Relations, initialled in Brussels on 19 April 2013.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“The formation of a Government in Pristina and the continuation of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina at a high level are singled out as key political developments in the report before us. The Government of the Republic of Serbia is fully committed to the dialogue, conducted with the facilitation of the European Union, and expects that its resumption will solidify the basis for the implementation of the agreements already reached. The essence of the process of normalization is to find mutually acceptable answers to questions that burden the life of the people of the province and prevent them from realizing their basic rights. That can be achieved only through dialogue, based on a genuine understanding ofthe needs and interests ofthe other side and the readiness to compromise, clearly demonstrable in practice.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“We appreciate the contributions made by other international organizations that, through their missions under the auspices of the United Nations, make up part of international civilian and security presences in Kosovo and Metohija. They include the Kosovo Force, the European Union Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, as well as specialized agencies of the United Nations. In particular, we are appreciative of the efforts made by Mr. Farid Zarif, Special Representative of the Secretary- General of the United Nations, in monitoring the implementation of the UNMIK mandate and coordinating the international civilian and security presences. We are well aware ofthe challenges he faces.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“Those events have borne out the assertions I have made repeatedly in the Council that the undiminished presence ofthe United Nations Mission is of paramount importance for stability and for the creation of conditions conducive to a lasting and sustainable solution for the question of Kosovo and Metohija. My country appreciates very much the status-neutral UNMIK engagement aimed at establishing preconditions for a peaceful life together and for the security of all the residents of its southern province and respect for their human rights. We therefore expect that, proceeding from resolution 1244 (1999), UNMIK will continue to carry out its mandate in the coming period as well, in particular in the areas that are important for Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija and that are a precondition for their survival and normal life.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“I concur with European Union (EU) High Representative Federica Mogherini, who said in her statement to this body at the meeting convened to discuss cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations on 9 March that "the Balkans offer us all, today, reasons to be proud and optimistic" (S/PV. 7402, p. 6). Yet the recent terrorist attacks in Zvornik, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kumanovo, Macedonia, are a clear demonstration of the fragility of stability in the region. Therefore, all of us in the region, as well as the relevant international stakeholders, should invest additional efforts to preserve.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“Drawing upon the constructive cooperation that we have had ever since the establishment of the provisional administration of the United Nations in Kosovo and Metohija, I continue to believe that our common endeavour based on resolution 1244 (1999) will make it possible for us to achieve a sustainable political solution for the question of Kosovo and Metohija, By its constructive approach, the Republic of Serbia has made every effort to render a concrete contribution to the achievement of the goal of transforming the Western Balkans into a zone of lasting peace, stability and prosperity. It is not in dispute that, after much turbulence, substantial progress has been achieved in the region, both with regard to the building of peace and democracy and in the area of regional cooperation and European integration.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“Mr. Daeie (Serbia) (spoke in Serbian; English text provided by the delegation): I am very pleased to address the Security Council on this occasion. As we sit down to consider the most recent report (S/2015/303) of the Secretary-General on the work of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), I extend to the members of the Council my gratitude for the continued attention they devote to the question of Kosovo and Metohija, which is of paramount importance for the Republic of Serbia.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source