UNMIK/PR/1201
Mr. Prime Minister,
Municipal Assembly Presidents,
Party Leaders,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am very pleased to join you here this morning to address how we make standards a reality for everyone in Kosovo. Your role in municipal government could not be more important in this task that is so important for Kosovo’s future. Standards are the basis for defining future status but also for creating a society in which all Kosovo can live in peace and prosperity.
No one here needs to be convinced of the importance of the standards process for the future of Kosovo. All our important visitors repeat this message. Standards point the way to a better future for Kosovo; if successfully implemented, they mean a better life for everyone, for all communities, in Kosovo. The standards are, in fact, the future.
The standards do not discriminate. They do not mean that one group should be better off, and another worse off. They are not designed to benefit one group over another; they are for the benefit of everyone. Failing the standards means that everyone is worse off.
The standards are not an obstacle, a barrier in the path to Kosovo’s future, placed there by the international community, as some complain. They are the only way to a better future. They point the way to a modern, just and peaceful society that will find its place in the European family. Without the standards, there is only stagnation and frustration.
We have heard much rhetoric about standards over the last several months. Now is the time to turn rhetoric into reality. The Kosovo Standards Implementation Plan describes very clearly what needs to done. Your task is now to do it, and I hope this is already happening.
The standards will live or die in the towns and villages of Kosovo. They are not a bureaucratic exercise for us to worry about in Pristina. Your leadership and hard work at the municipal level is essential. Without your leadership and hard work, the standards will fail.
Many of us present this morning had the honour yesterday to meet with the United States Under Secretary of State, Mr. Marc Grossman. He had a clear message: “Standards for Kosovo” is the workplan we need to follow as we prepare for an opening of the review of Kosovo’s future status in mid-2005. He left us in no doubt about the firmness of the International Community’s support for this process. He was also clear that time is short. Time is very short. We have just 12 months to that target date for review.
As I listen to Kosovo’s leaders discuss their aspirations for the future, I recognize much impatience. Perhaps I also recognize in many a failure to understand the seriousness of Mr. Grossman and other leaders of Security Council Member States. I understand the impatience, but I cannot understand how anyone can fail to hear the message of countries on which Kosovo counts for support, countries Kosovo needs to realize its aspirations for the future. Any leader who devotes energies to political initiatives that are contrary to the standards is a leader who is seeking to hurt Kosovo.
We are meeting today to ensure that our energies our focused on priority tasks. We have also asked donor countries to join us today. We want to help them intensify their already substantial efforts to support you and ensure that that their programmes strongly support your efforts to make standards a reality in your municipalities.
Many will claim they lack the authority to implement standards. Does anyone here lack the power to ensure fair distribution of municipal resources among communities? Does anyone here lack the power to speak out against those who oppose inter-ethnic reconciliation? Does anyone here lack the power to join in the work of municipal returns committees? Does anyone here lack the power to welcome Kosovo’s people back to their homes? Does anyone here lack the power to respect the use of all Kosovo’s languages? I don’t think so. Do you lack the power to create jobs for unemployed youth? Do you lack the power to provide a European quality education to all your young people? Do you lack the power ensure high quality public services for everyone? Here we are talking about the competencies that Kosovo really needs. But they will come only by your efforts to build confidence in the future by creating reconciliation and a climate in which investors are prepared to create new economic strength in Kosovo. To do this, we must all implement the standards that create those conditions.
I look forward to hearing your views in the course of this conference. Only through dialogue can we understand the challenges we face – and to separate real problems from phoney issues created to deflect us from the serious work we must undertake.
Thank you.