YouSaid · the spoken record

Thaci

lines on the record: 239
first: 2012-08-21
most recent: 2018-12-17
sittings or episodes: 10
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

“In partnership with the international community and the European Union, Kosovo has established Specialist Chambers and will cooperate with authorities in a transparent, responsible and credible manner in the process. Let me also emphasize that, regardless of the fact that we are the victims, today in Kosovo there are more Albanians than Serbs being convicted of war crimes, while in Serbia not a single Serb has been convicted in any of the 400 massacres and instances of ethnic cleansing committed against Albanians in Kosovo. Moreover, Serbia's Office of the Prosecutor for War Crimes is no longer operating. I believe in the right and just war we conducted, just as I do not question that some fighters might have deviated from the struggle for freedom. The meeting rose at 5.15 p.m.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“Three hundred and sixty people - men, women, children and the elderly - were killed in the village of Meja, with no investigations, indictments or convictions. In the village of Studime, 116 were killed; again, with no one accused or convicted. The same happened in Racak, Rezala, Gornje Obrinje and all other massacre sites. To those who talk aboutjustice we say that fighters in Kosovo were subject to justice in a number ofinstances, first with the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo in parallel with the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and then with the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo. Twenty years on, Kosovo wants to show the greatest level of State responsibility by believing in truth and justice.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“Serbia's State apparatus - its paramilitary police troops - also raped approximately 20,000 Albanian women, with no one accused let alone convicted. One million Albanians were forcibly expelled from Kosovo, where 40 per cent of the infrastructure was destroyed by Serbian State forces. President Milosevic was accused but never convicted. There were 400 massacres of Albanians, but not a single person has been indicted or convicted. One hundred and sixty people were killed in the village of Izbica alone - men, women, children and the elderly. Two hundred and fifty civilians were killed in Krusha - again, men, women, children and the elderly - and 64 remain missing, with no one accused or convicted.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“Mr. Thaci (spoke in Albanian; English interpretation provided by delegation): I thank you, Sir, for this opportunity to address the Security Council once again, and I thank everyone for their support and understanding. We cannot deny the past. We know who the victim was, and we know who the aggressor was. There will be no rewriting of history. The war took place in the twentieth century, and we must accept that reality without theatricality and look forward towards the future. As unfounded accounts of how events unfolded were provided, let me state several facts before the Council. Whether one likes it or not, the State of Serbia killed 13,500 Albanian civilians in the Kosovo conflict. Not one person has been accused.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“It is up to us to bring about that future, in the coming weeks and months, through a peaceful, final, legally binding agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, without borders along ethnic lines or exchanges of peoples, but rather through their reciprocal recognition of each other as independent and sovereign countries with multi-ethnic societies.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“I am inspired every day by Kosovan athletes who teach us that a comeback is possible after defeat and that our flag can be flown even in countries that have not yet recognized our country. I am inspired by thejournalists who criticize me daily but who also make me a better President every day. I am inspired by the citizens of Kosovo who, despite all the pain, suffering and loss that they have endured, never gave up on the values and principles that still stand - liberty, equality, justice and dignity. I believe in a European future for Kosovo and our region, a future without intrigue, conflict or hatred.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“I firmly believe that an agreement like this has the power to transform our entire region and can shift the priorities of our people. It would mean that no one could win votes founded on hate and populism or be able to stoke people's fears. A comprehensive agreement would open the door to new leadership, whose primary aim would be reform and development. I truly believe in a future where Kosovo and Serbia will sit as equals at the table of the European family. I believe in a future where Kosovo and Serbia's soldiers will serve alongside one another in peacekeeping missions around the world. I believe in that future because I have seen the unimaginable unfold before my eyes.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“We are ready to take tough decisions, but decisions from which both Kosovo and Serbia will emerge as winners. However, we are also aware that if we do not seize this historic moment, all the parties involved will suffer the consequences. Two decades ago, on a mundane day much like this one, I was in uniform, fighting the regime of Slobodan Milosevic. I am very proud of my past and that of my fellow fighters. Today, as President of the independent State of Kosovo, I am aware that I have another big challenge before me, which is the battle for our future, for peace, the battle to end the century-old conflict between our two peoples. I know that it will not be at all easy. I know that it will require compromises and that agreements of this kind are not very popular. However, they are necessary.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“We have always been the victims and we have always fought for survival. Peace does not mean having no disagreements, but this cycle of violence is unjustifiable and must come to an end. In democratic societies, the use of force is a monologue, not a dialogue. It is therefore my generation's duty to leave behind it a region without conflicts and in sustainable peace, a functional Balkans in which Kosovo and Serbia, as two independent nations, aspire to a European future. I know all too well that for leaders, building peace is much more challenging - more dangerous, even - than going to war, but we have an obligation to maintain peace for our children and the generations to come. We owe them a future without conflict. Kosovo is ready. We are ready for dialogue.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“That reaction is the consequence of aggressive action on the part of Serbia, and I want to believe that this state of affairs will be overcome in the near future. Pristina and Brussels are communicating intensively about the issue. We in Kosovo remain committed to peace and dialogue with Serbia nevertheless. To that end, a few days ago the Parliament of Kosovo approved a resolution on dialogue and the structure of the negotiating team, which includes a governing coalition and representatives of opposition parties and civil society. As long as we do not have a final agreement that can be implemented, situations of this kind will continue to be repeated. Neither I nor the people of Kosovo support the conflict. Never in our history have we instigated any conflicts, in fact.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“Without a dialogue or a final agreement, we will become countries that produce endless and unnecessary drama for domestic electoral consumption, to the detriment of the future of our nations. I implore the Council to take a look at the abhorrent campaign that Serbia led against Kosovo's bid for INTERPOL membership. I should like to know who stands to benefit from Kosovo's lack of membership in that organization. It is organized crime and terrorism that benefit here. Should I demean this forum now by using the language and methods employed by Serbia against Kosovo? I shall not. To be frank, I feel bad about their behaviour. It is only natural that such behaviour would lead the Government of Kosovo to take measures with respect to Serbian products that come into Kosovo. However, Kosovo did not provoke the situation.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“I am proud to be the President of the most pro- NATO and pro-European Union country in the world. Despite the difficulties and injustices to which we are subject, especially in the visa liberalization process, we as a country stand unshaken in our orientation. We do not have and do not seek any another alternative. The future of Kosovo and our region is within the Euro-Atlantic structures. This inevitably leads us to the essence of today's debate. The problem that our northern neighbour has today is not Kosovo's army but rather the existence of Kosovo itself as an independent and sovereign State. These circumstances make the dialogue between our two countries crucial.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“The establishment ofKosovo's army should not be perceived as an attempt to duplicate the NATO Mission in Kosovo. On the contrary, the decision of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo to establish the army is a direct function of capacity- building that will make our country better able to contribute to local security and beyond. Our aim is to shift the paradigm from a country that has been a consumer of security to one that becomes a contributor to peace and stability. However, this will in no way interfere with NATO's current mission in Kosovo. Kosovo's armed forces will, in fact, complement this mission. Even today in Kosovo, 20 years later, KFOR is treated as a saviour mission. The citizens of my country respect NATO members as heroes; they still hand them out flowers and they will be grateful to them forever.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“I feel awful for them, because I know that the majority of them handed in their uniforms with tears in their eyes and broken hearts. Nevertheless, I want to guarantee to everyone that we will never back down from our even stronger commitment to including all communities in Kosovo's army. This is an army that will serve all of Kosovo's citizens, without exception. The only threats to our region are irrational calls for war and conflict coming from our northern neighbour. In addition, allow me to assure the Council that Kosovo will respect every existing international agreement, including the letter sent to the Secretary General of NATO regarding cooperation with the Kosovo Force (KFOR). We will continue to cooperate very closely with NATO. All our efforts will be coordinated with NATO.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“More than 1 million citizens of Kosovo, expelled violently by the State apparatus of Slobodan Milosevic, have returned to the homes and property that were totally destroyed in the summer of 1999. In that context, I am deeply disturbed that some Kosovar Serbs, citizens of Kosovo and members of the KSF, were forced to resign due to immense systemic pressure imposed upon them by elements of the Serbian State. I was moved by the stories of some soldiers from the Serbian community about the intimidation imposed upon them by the Serbian State. Their families were attacked and their homes hit with grenades, and many of them held for hours on end by Serbian police as they sought to travel to Serbia. This is the terrible truth.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“Over 10 per cent of the soldiers are from non-majority communities; they include Serbians, Montenegrins, Croats, Turks, Bosniaks, Romas, Egyptians, Ashkali and so on. This is a force that will protect every citizen of Kosovo throughout Kosovo territory- every child and every youngster, regardless of the language that they speak at home. Until 1999, my people, owing to their tragic past, have always been afraid of military uniforms, precisely because they have historically been foreign and a symbol of repression. However, Kosovo's soldiers will be soldiers of peace and Kosovo's army will be a contributor to stability in the region. In that regard, Kosovo has the highest number of returnees, and that in record time.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“The establishment of the army is the will of the people of Kosovo, with the unanimous political will of the people's chosen representatives - regardless of whether some like it or not. The State of Serbia has expressed its aggravation, but the Serbian citizens of Kosovo have not. Allow me, in my capacity as the President of the Republic of Kosovo and Commander-in-Chief, to clearly state that Kosovo's armed forces will produce more peace and stability. The transformation of the mission of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) is not a step we have undertaken to send a message to anyone. Kosovo's army is not and will never be a threat to anyone. Kosovo's army is and will remain a professional and multi-ethnic force.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“Secondly, the comprehensive proposal for the Kosovo status settlement presented by President Ahtisaari - who was the Special Envoy for the Future Status Process for Kosovo - clearly underscores the right ofKosovo to have an army in article 5.2. Moreover, the strategic review of the security sector, undertaken in close cooperation with NATO, very clearly emphasizes Kosovo's right to transform its Security Force into armed forces. Finally, and most importantly, the decision of the International Court of Justice - which, might I add, was made upon Serbia's request, specifically by former Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic' - underlines the fact that Kosovo did not violate any international laws when it declared its independence. It is therefore Kosovo's indisputable right to have an army.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“There is nothing at all extraordinary about that. There is nothing that is in contradiction with resolution 1244 (1999), the Ahtisaari plan, the Constitution of Kosovo or even international law. First and foremost, resolution 1244 (1999), and specifically paragraph 15, refers only to the demilitarization of the Kosovo Liberation Army - a process that was completed in record time and without incident in September 1999. This process was highly appreciated, even by the Security Council and the Secretary-General at the time, Kofi Annan. It was also highly praised by NATO, as substantiated by reports produced by NATO and the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo during that time.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“This is a time to demand a serious review of the degree of engagement of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo and when the Council is called on to address the real problems the world is facing today. Nothing extraordinary happened in Kosovo last week. In fact, what happened was a totally normal decision, both in its mission and in its purpose. If Kosovo has made any mistake, it is that of having waited unnecessarily for five years to establish an army. The decision to establish an army may be belated, but it is in no way wrong. It is belated because we waited for goodwill from those who never showed goodwill towards Kosovo. However, the Republic of Kosovo, which is a sovereign and independent State, has now undertaken the natural step towards establishing its army. I ask the Council what is extraordinary about that?”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“Thanks to the Council, the world learned of the many ills that were suffered during the war with Serbia, including systematic violence, ethnic cleansing, the deaths of thousands of innocent people, the many thousands who are still missing, and the more than 20,000 women who continue to live with the pain and stigma of the sexual violence that was inflicted on them. The Council was our voice when we did not have one. However, we are here today two decades after that bloody war and ten years after Kosovo gained its independence. We have been summoned for an extraordinary meeting during a time of complete normality and substantial progress in Kosovo.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“Mr. Thaci (spoke in Albanian; English interpretation provided by the delegation): I am honoured to speak before the Council today on behalf of the institutions and the people of the Republic of Kosovo. I want to thank the United Nations and the Security Council for their continued focus on Kosovo and the developments in the region. I will never forget the voices of hope and calls for peace that echoed in this Chamber during the darkest days of the citizens of Kosovo, including myself. My people and I will never forget that when we were facing our toughest moments, the Council became our voice. We will remain forever grateful for that.”
2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8427 (2018) · source
“In the coming days we will sign a border demarcation agreement with Montenegro. We have fostered very good neighbourly relations with a view to ensuring peace and stability in the region. We have also begun to normalize relations between Serbia and Kosovo on an equal footing. Despite all the difficulties in implementing the agreements, the dialogue has been successful. I do not wish to discuss history here, but let me just say that Kosovo is now on a clear path towards progress and Euro-Atlantic integration, including being a part of NATO, the European Union and the United Nations.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“I am sorry that this platform is being misused for the purposes of political propaganda and everyday political issues in Serbia. Kosovo is a new, multi-ethnic country and a State whose citizens are equal before the law. I am very sorry that we are wasting the Security Council's time. We could talk and debate for hours, but the facts are clear and unalterable. In my opening remarks I mentioned that there could be no document, even in this institution, capable of containing all the crimes and the genocide that Serbia committed in Kosovo. The war is over. Kosovo is an independent and sovereign country, now recognized by 111 States. It is a member of major international mechanisms and organizations. It is strengthening its international status and has built excellent relations with all the countries in the region.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“I have visited minority families and I have worked with minority Government officials for the past 16 years. Mr. Dacie must understand one thing: the Serbian army and police and the Serbian Administration will never return. His dream has ended once and for all. Serbia can continue the war. That is its practice. It is used to that. But Serbia will lose again.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“Serbia committed ethnic cleansing and killed 15,000 people as the State of Serbia. Serbia has committed genocide. And more than that, it has destroyed lives. Serbia has killed women, the elderly, destroyed people's lives, raped women. Serbia committed genocide in Kosovo and it will be taken to suit for that issue. Once and for all, I must say Kosovo will not obtain Serbia's permission on any issue. It is now a sovereign country. Albanians were always the majority in Kosovo. History cannotbe rewritten by political and propagandist brochures and materials. The citizens of Kosovo can live in their homes and communities irrespective of their ethnicity - the Serbs, the Montenegrins all the other communities. I am one of the leaders who has continually worked in that direction.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“Not enough words suffice to express the crimes and genocide that Serbia committed throughout Kosovo, again citing the genocides in Croatia, Srebrenica and Kosovo. What Mr. Dacie is attempting to do today is again unfortunate and desperate. The images that he has brought here does not change the fact that Kosovo will continue to be a champion in the war on extremism and fundamentalism. He knows that his own intelligence services created the graffiti that he referred to. The intelligence services were installed as parallel institutions in Kosovo and have been working against Kosovo using the old ways. In Kosovo alone, the political and military machines of the State of Serbia have destroyed over 300 religious sites. Serbia burned half of Kosovo from 1998 to 1999. Serbia removed more than a million citizens of Kosovo from the country.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“The most important issues for the people of Kosovo are terrorism, corruption, non-respect of minorities, the creation of a legal State and others. Mr. Dacie mentioned that he was born in Kosovo. That is true. Kosovo, with its constitution that is in accordance with Martti Ahtisaari's document, offers dual citizenship, and I have offered dual citizenship to Mr. Dacie. He is welcome to take up that offer. He was born in Kosovo, but his family actually came to Kosovo as colonizers between the two World Wars. I would also like to refer to the propagandistic brochure that was disseminated here in the Security Council. That is a desperate and unfortunate act. The crimes that were sponsored and committed by the State of Serbia happened in the global spotlight.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“That is why the mandate of the next Special Representative of the Secretary-General should include serious discussions on how the Council can transfer the resources spent in calm Kosovo to the people in the Middle East and elsewhere, who today are facing the direst existential threats. Kosovo is working on its aspirations to be a member of the European Union, NATO and the United Nations very soon. Before I conclude my remarks, please allow me to respond to several issues that Mr. Dacic' mentioned here. I would like an opportunity to reply to them before this organ. Mr. Daeic' began his election campaign today from the floor of the Security Council. I would like to remind him, however, that according to Kosovo itself and according to our relations, the issue of Kosovo is the eighth or ninth most important issue to the people of Kosovo.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“In conclusion, allow me to call on you, Mr. President, and members of the Council to recognize the progress achieved. Are there still problems in Kosovo? Yes, there are, as there are in each ofthe former Yugoslav republics in our region. But is Kosovo safe today? Yes, according to INTERPOL statistics, it is safer than 80 per cent of other European capitals. We are combating extremism, and we are a champion in the region in that regard. We are cooperating with the international community. We are part of an anti-corruption coalition. We are trying to build a prosperous democracy. I know that still more needs to be done, but as someone who witnessed war for himself, members of the Council should be proud of themselves for the success in Kosovo.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“In the coming days, Kosovo will also sign a border demarcation agreement with Montenegro, which will soon become a NATO member. Kosovo will thereby complete demarcation of three quarters of its borders, the most of any country of the former Yugoslavia. No other republic has managed to resolve such painful challenges with its neighbours, as we have done. The decision of the Russian Federation to allow Kosovar sportsmen to use Kosovar passports when travelling to Russia will also help improve the movement of Kosovars. Brazil also recently allowed all Kosovars to use their passports when travelling to Brazil. As Kosovo recently became an Olympic nation, that is a welcomed move in the lead-up to the Games in Rio de Janeiro. We hope our world judo champion, the Kosovar athlete Majlinda Kelmendi, will win our first gold medal there.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“I assure the Council that the association will not have executive powers. We have a highly decentralized municipal Government that will form the basis of our civic democracy. We hope to sign those deals next week so that the leaders of the Western Balkans can meet in Vienna for the next summit of our nations in the context ofthe Berlin Process. All leaders ofthe Western Balkans will meet and discuss practical forms of cooperation, either through joint infrastructure investments, youth- to-youth exchanges or the demarcation of borders. Kosovo will continue to play a role in several key processes, including the promotion, with Serbia, of a new highway that will link Serbia with the Albanian and Montenegrin coast via Kosovo highways. The so- called Pristina-Nis project will connect important parts of the Balkans.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“The first agreement, regarding telecommunications, will ensure that Kosovo obtains an independent international dialing code, which will save millions of euros as we currently use Monegasque, Serbian and Slovenian codes. The second agreement, on energy, is meant to definitively stop the parallel distribution system in northern Kosovo that was set up by Serbia. Kosovo law will now prevail in creating a competitive distribution market in the entire territory of Kosovo and taxes to Kosovar authorities will be finally paid. The third deal will ensure that a barricade constructed in the north, which is called a "peace park", will no longer hamper the freedom of movement. The fourth deal is expected to establish the association/community of Serb-majority municipalities envisaged in the Ahtisaari plan.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“We will also seek and are working intensively towards and deserve membership of INTERPOL and the Council of Europe, two vital tools to promote and protect human rights and human lives. I have heard some harsh words on the part of Minister Dacie today. I understand that he is taking part in an election campaign in his country and may therefore need to use nationalist language, but the dialogue with Serbia has continued and is continuing to ensure the normalization of relations in the context of the European integration process. Next week, Kosovo and Serbia will again meet in Brussels and I hope that we will agree to conclude a package of important agreements.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“That language completely inappropriately calls for clashes between faiths and has clear racist undertones. The Kosovo war was not a religious conflict. It was a genocide committed by the State of Serbia against the people of Kosovo. It destroyed lives in three countries and led to three different armed conflicts, as well as to the genocides in Croatia, Srebrenica and Kosovo that were directly committed by the State of Serbia. We expect to have a clash of arguments with Serbia on the merits of our membership, but we refuse to engage in a lowly and unacceptable discourse that promotes discord between religions and increases religious intolerance. We call on all members of the Security Council to support Kosovo's bid to UNESCO membership. Council members can do so even without having yet recognized Kosovo.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“Thousands of tourists, from Japan to Rwanda, are visiting the sites today and they provide good income for the people of Kosovo. I invite Council members to visit Kosovo as soon as possible to witness, themselves, the positive and safe situation. Our Government has also engaged in interfaith dialogue, which the Secretary-General has characterized in several of his reports as a positive contribution to reconciliation. I address the issues related to our UNESCO bid at length because we are gravely concerned over Serbia's methods as it seeks to deny our membership and keep us isolated from opportunities in education, science and culture. Serbia's ambassador to UNESCO, Darko Tanaskovie, was recently interviewed by a Russian radio station, where he called for a "wider Christian front" against Kosovo's membership.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“Beyond that, Serbia's attempt to block Kosovo's membership is completely at odds with the agreement signed in Brussels in April by Kosovo and Serbia, as represented by Mr. Dacic' and myself. Thirdly, I must answer the question about the safety of the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Kosovo. I can confirm in all conviction that they are safe - indeed, safer than they have been at any time in the past 1,000 years. They are protected by a very consolidated and modern legal framework approved by United Nations Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari, endorsed by the Secretary-General and adopted by the Kosovo Parliament. Our local police authorities protect 95 per cent of the sites of the Serbian Orthodox Church. NATO forces have entrusted us and are satisfied with the safety of the sites.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“We will learn of the final outcome of the vote in November. Many countries, from Austria to Viet Nam, became members ofUNESCO long before theyjoined the United Nations. The second question is: Would Kosovo's membership of UNESCO endanger the ongoing dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia on the normalization of relations? Kosovo is already a member of two United Nations specialized agencies: the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. UNESCO would therefore not be the first agency or organization that Kosovo has joined since the initiation of the technical dialogue with Serbia in March 2011. Despite Serbia's claims, Kosovo's membership of international bodies will only advance stability and strengthen the dialogue for normalization. The continued isolation of Kosovo will certainly not promote normalization between Kosovo and Serbia.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“We initially requested that New York transfer our application to UNESCO as the UNESCO secretariat had initially advised, but we understand that the United Nations does not want to play a role in exchanging correspondence and has left it to the UNESCO States members to decide the merits of Kosovo's membership. We have heard several questions posed here today. Allow me to answer a few of them. Is Kosovo eligible to become a UNESCO member before becoming a United Nations Member? The answer is a resounding yes - Kosovo is eligible to become a UNESCO member before becoming a United Nations Member State, provided that it exerts its maximum effort to secure a two-thirds majority of the votes in the General Conference. The voting takes place upon the recommendation of the Executive Board.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“That project was started many years ago, but as complex negotiations draw to a close it will become a pillar of a new stage of economic development. Today, Kosovo is the country with the highest average economic growth in the Western Balkans in the past seven years, and with the lowest debt-to- gross domestic product ratio in all of Eastern Europe. Yet while continuing to face enormous challenges, we are bravely seeking to translate our political freedom into greater economic opportunity for all the people of Kosovo. Allow me to highlight the other key development that the Council has heard about today. Kosovo has applied for membership of UNESCO.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“Kosovo is a country in which almost half of the population has experience as a refugee, and we sympathize with the plight of those who are seeking freedom and now filling the roads of our countries in search of it. Part of our success to curtail the flow of asylum- seekers leaving Kosovo was due to some good news on the economic front. A French consortium won the bid to build a â‚¬400-million ski resort in Brezovica, which will greatly aid the resident Serbian community and bring fresh investments to Kosovo as a whole. We have also agreed to investments in our energy system, and with the help of the World Bank and the United States Agency for International Development, we are completing a transaction for over â‚¬l billion in new power generation that will create employment and exports from Kosovo.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“I am happy to report that we took strong measures to significantly lower the numbers of emigrating Kosovars. While the number of Kosovars claiming asylum in Germany reached 11,147 in March, by June the number had fallen to 1,373 and in July the number was in the hundreds and no longer in the thousands. Similarly, while the number of Kosovar asylum seekers in Hungary reached 14,000 in March, in June the number was below 300. Our efforts to inform the Kosovo people were aided by European police forces that started monitoring the Serbian border with Hungary, where the illegal flow of immigrants was most rampant. Kosovo may have stemmed our numbers, but we are concerned about the fate of tens of thousands of Syrians who have left their country in the most tragic of circumstances.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“The time has now come for international justice for the Kosovar women who were victims of a genocidal crime committed directly by the Serbian State. I therefore call on all members of the Security Council to support the petition signed by more than 150,000 citizens ofKosovo - all the people ofKosovo - seeking international justice for the Kosovar women raped by Serbians during the war. International humanitarian law, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and United Nations resolutions on that matter clearly state that issues of sexual violence in conflict cannot remain unrecognized and unpunished. Kosovo calls for justice. Last winter, a huge number of Kosovars left Kosovo to seek asylum in European Union member countries.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“Any political delay in the signing of the Agreement or that on visa liberalization will be a strong setback to the dialogue process in Brussels. As recently featured in the media, several Kosovar andinternational artists organizedanevent,the Thinking of You art exhibition and installation, to pay homage to the women raped by Serbian forces during the 1998- 1999 war in Kosovo. The World Health Organization has concluded that 20,000 women f I repeat, 20,000 Albanian women - were raped and assaulted by the forces of the Serbian State during the war in Kosovo in 1998 and 1999. Fifteen years after the war, sadly, the tragedy of the rape of these women as a war crime in Kosovo has not been addressed by the mechanisms of international justice - neither by the United Nations nor by the Council of Europe.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“It was a war of fascism, pure and simple. We in Kosovo will not allow our history to be rewritten to blur the differences between hunter and prey. We will protect the legacy of our war - Kosovo's freedom and independence. Kosovo has now established an instrument that is far more credible than those used in trials of the courts in other Balkan countries. We wish to thank those individual Member States that have noted and welcomed Kosovo's initiative, and I hope that the Security Council will also recognize the mature efforts of the Kosovo Government to deal with all crimes committed in the years of conflict. I also wish to invite European Union member countries to sign, without delay or prevarication, the Stabilization and Association Agreement in September.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“As Deputy Prime Minister and the President of Parliament's largest party, I worked with my colleagues to convince fellow members and the greater public to establish this unusual legal instrument so that trials can be conducted in a credible, independent and internationally managed fashion. It has been 17 years since the war in Kosovo began in 1998. Our resistance was a true case of David versus Goliath. I reaffirm that no Kosovar, myself included, will stand idly by and allow our specialist court to equate the genocidal acts of Slobodan Milosevic and the State of Serbia with the later acts of desperate individuals from the community of the oppressed, committed during or after the war. Serbia's war against Kosovo was conducted with the involvement of the army, police and paramilitary units, and backed by Serbian intellectuals.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“Zahir Tanin of Afghanistan to his leadership of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo. Afghanistan was one of the first countries in the world to recognize the independence of Kosovo. In recent months, Kosovo has faced some of the most difficult challenges ofthe past few years. However, as the Council is aware, those challenges have also provided Kosovo with opportunities to demonstrate its transformation from an importer of security resources to an exporter of stability and peace initiatives in the region. I wish to inform the Council that the Parliament of the Republic of Kosovo has now voted to amend the country's Constitution to create a specialist court that will adjudicate the alleged crimes cited in the report of the Council of Europe. The vote in our Parliament was overwhelmingly positive and consensual.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“I am very pleased to report today on the latest progress achieved in Kosovo, a new country now recognized by a majority of Member States. At the outset, allow me to thank the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Zarif, for his work in Kosovo. He represented the United Nations in the course of the new situation in Kosovo following the declaration of independence of the Republic of Kosovo, the International Court of Justice opinion on the declaration's legality and on General Assembly resolution 64/298 of September 2010, which definitively closed the issue of the status of Kosovo by starting European Union-facilitated talks on the normalization of relations between the State of Kosovo and Serbia. As the same time, I would also like to welcome Mr.”
2015-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7510 (2015) · source
“To conclude, I call on the Security Council to recognize the progress that, with its help, has been made in Kosovo. We ask the Council to end the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, because it has finished its executive functions in Kosovo and has only a monitoring role. I invite members to work to that end, because in today's world - with its many divisions, cultures, religions and politics, with the current developments in Africa, in Ukraine, in the Middle East - Kosovo is ajoint success story. We still face many challenges in Kosovo to create a dignified State and to become a member of the EU and NATO, but we are on the right path.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source
“This year, we mark the seventieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War, and we are still terrified by the destruction caused by Adolf Hitler. Youth will never forget the lessons of the Holocaust. We have built a monument to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust in the courtyard of the Kosovo Government in order not to forget what happened in Auschwitz. Nor should we in the Balkans forget the nationalism of the time of Slobodan Milosevic: it can return. Last year, we worked to document the crimes and the victims caused by that regime. Kosovars will soon address the International Court of Justice for the genocide committed by Serbia. We will also ask for war reparations, not addressed to the current Government but to history, in order not to forget what has happened in Kosovo.”
2015-05-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7448 (2015) · source