UNMIK/PR/1647
PRISTINA – Mr. Richard Monk of the United Kingdom assumed duties as UNMIK Police Commissioner in Pristina yesterday, following his appointment to the post by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. He replaces Mr. Stephen J. Curtis, who left the mission last month.
During 2002 to 2006, Mr. Monk served as the first Director and Senior Police Adviser to the Secretary General of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). During this time he founded and was head of the Strategic Police Matters Unit responsible for capacity/institution-building, particularly in the countries of Central Asia and the Southern Caucasus. On behalf of the OSCE, he carried out a ‘Study of Policing in Yugoslavia’ that forms the basis of international policing assistance to Serbia and Montenegro.
As Commissioner of the United Nations International Police Task Force (IPTF) in Bosnia during 1998-99, Mr. Monk was responsible for implementing the provisions of Annex 11 of the Dayton Peace Agreement and for rebuilding and reforming the police forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2001, he was commissioned by the OSCE and by the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia to produce reports on the tasks of a police follow-on mission to the UN Mission in Bosnia. Prior to that, in 2000, he was a member of the UN Secretary-General’s Panel on Peace Operations, which reviewed the criticisms of past peacekeeping operations (the Brahimi Report).
As a police officer for 35 years in the UK, Mr. Monk served in several senior positions including as Head of Scotland Yard Branches dealing with Crime, Community Affairs and Crime Prevention and as Assistant Chief Constable (Crime) for the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary.
Mr. Monk’s honours include the Queens Jubilee Medal, the Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, the Queens Police Medal and the United Nations Medal. He was appointed to be an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty the Queen in 2000.
Police Commissioner Richard Monk will be attending the weekly press conference at the UNMIK Press Centre tomorrow, Wednesday 7 March, at 11:30 hours.
