UNMIK/PR/1703
PRISTINA -- The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Kosovo (SRSG) Joachim Rücker has urged the Security Council to act quickly to decide Kosovo’s status.
On Tuesday, he told the 15-nation body deliberating the future of Kosovo that more delays could put at risk the achievements of the past eight years in which the UN has administered the province. The SRSG briefed the Council on the preparations for elections, on Standards implementation and on the general security situation in Kosovo.
“The population was encouraged by the Contact Group’s Ministerial statement of 27 September, in particular the recognition that the status quo was not sustainable and that any settlement needed to be acceptable to the people of Kosovo,” said the SRSG.
In speaking with journalists after the meeting on Tuesday in which he delivered the quarterly update on UN activities here, he said that he was reassured by the emphasis the Council put on the importance of Kosovo Serb participation in the 17 November elections.
Council members made it very clear that Serbia must encourage Kosovo Serb participation rather than call for a boycott, he said.
The SRSG informed the Council that he had asked Belgrade to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and to encourage the Kosovo Serbs to participate, including Internally Displaced Persons who are living in Serbia.
He stressed that he “would like to reiterate that UNMIK, as the interim administration in Kosovo, has largely achieved what is achievable under UNSCR 1244 and under the Standards Programme.”
“The status quo is not sustainable and without a timely status solution we put at risk the achievements of the United Nations during the past eight years. Come December, the people of Kosovo need clarity,” he said.
