UN Security Council to Debate Kosovo Plan

Pristina _ The United Nations Security Council is set to meet on Wednesday to discuss the world body’s six-point plan for the deployment of the EU’s law-and-order mission, EULEX, to Kosovo.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon admits in his report that Kosovo has rejected the six-point plan for the deployment of EULEX which Serbia has accepted.

The report calls for the United Nations mission set up after the 1998-1999 Kosovo conflict nearly a decade ago to retain overall authority while transferring many day-to-day administrative responsibilities to the EULEX mission. A 2,000-strong EU peacekeeping force is to take over in six main areas, including police, courts and borders.

Authorities in Pristina reject much of the plan but "are in favor of a quick deployment" of the EU mission and "will cooperate," the report added.

As a result, Ban says, he has instructed UN staff to prepare to transfer some duties to the EU mission.

The UN chief emphasised that "continued dialogue is necessary" between the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo but said talks should also include the Serbian Orthodox Church and international groups.

“I consider that continued dialogue is necessary in Belgrade and Pristina. This should also involve the Serbian Orthodox Church, relevant international actors and other stakeholders,” reads the report under the section of Serbian Patrimony.
 
Serbia insists that the EU cannot deploy a new civilian mission in Kosovo to replace the UN administration unless the mission is neutral in status and does not put into action the plan of former UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari – which envisages internationally-supervised independence for Kosovo.

Belgrade also insists that the mission must be confirmed by the UN Security Council, in which it has a strong ally with veto power, Russia.
 
Meanwhile the report adds that the UN mission has already begun to adapt and ‘reconfigure’ to take into account Kosovo’s independence.
 
“The United Nations Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, has begun to adapt its structure and profile in response to the profoundly changed reality in Kosovo following Kosovo’s declaration of independence and the adoption of a Constitution,” reads the report.

Yet he admits that there will be tension and confusion based on the 1999 UN Security Council resolution under which the UN mission is mandated and the constitution of the independent Republic of Kosovo.
 
“My Special Representative is facing increasing difficulties in exercising his mandate owing to the conflict between resolution 1244 and the Kosovo Constitution, which does not take UNMIK into account.”
 
It is precisely this which has seen resistance to the plan from Pristina’s leaders.
 
Kosovo, which unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February and has been recognised by most European Union member states, objects to the six-point plan being based on UN Security Council Resolution 1244. This resolution, passed at the end of the 1998-1999 conflict between Serb forces and Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority, refers to Kosovo as Serbia’s southern province, not as an independent state.
 
Critics of the plan also warn that the UN plan could lead to the ‘soft’ partition of Kosovo.
 
Although not explicitly stated in the plan, critics say the reality on the ground will be that police, customs and courts in Serb enclaves will come under United Nations jurisdiction, while EULEX will be in charge in areas with a majority ethnic Albanian population.
 
For example, the report calls for a senior policeman from the Serb community “who will report to the senior international police officer in Kosovo through existing command channels.”

However, UN officials reject the idea that the six-point plan splits Kosovo and keeps EULEX out of the Serb-dominated north. Rather, they say, it envisages a gradual transition from UNMIK to EULEX as the UN mission works to reintegrate the already alienated north with the rest of the country.
 
Download the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s report here.