Europe

Photo: UNOMIG, 2002

United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia, peacekeepers in Gali on the Abkhaz side of the ceasefire line

Successful police reform and restructuring with the support of the UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) helped to encourage the return of 110,000 refugees and internally displaced persons during 2001 and the first quarter of 2002. UNMIBH support for the State Border Service played a vital role in the fight against organized crime, illegal border crossings and terrorism, and the UNMIBH Special Trafficking Operations Programme was instrumental in assisting local police forces in countering trafficking in women. UNMIBH was due to hand over its peacekeeping operations to the European Union on 31 December 2002.

Following elections to the Kosovo Assembly in November 2001, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) focused on establishing a Provisional Self-government. In 2002, these provisional institutions, as ministries, assumed public administration responsibilities, for instance for health care and education, while the Secretary-General's Special Representative (SRSG) retained certain reserved powers, including powers over the policing, raising finances, appointing judges and conducting foreign relations. UNMIK also focused on laying the foundations for economic progress via moves toward privatization, tackling crime and violence, and creating a fair and safe society. The SRSG laid out eight 'benchmarks' that Kosovo society must meet before discussions on the province's final status could begin, which included a stepped-up pace of minority return. During the past year, the local Kosovo Police Service expanded to 5,500 police officers with increasingly autonomous operations, while efforts were made to bring more minorities into the local judiciary.

UNMIK Photo

To avoid double counting, a polling supervisor in Kosovo checks a voter's fingers for fluorescent markings

In the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, the situation in the Kodori Valley was a source of tension throughout the year. Although the tension subsided somewhat by the end of 2002, not least because of mediation and resumed patrolling in the Valley by the UN Observer Mission in Georgia, the overall situation in the conflict zone did not improve. The Secretary-General's Special Representative continued her efforts, with the support of the Group of Friends, to encourage advancement in the political process.

In the absence of a comprehensive political settlement, the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus continued to monitor the buffer zone, both helping to maintain calm on the island and creating the best conditions for United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia, Peacekeepers in Gali on the UN Secretary-General's good offices efforts. In May, the UN Secretary-General visited Cyprus to encourage the two leaders to quicken the pace of talks. He met with them again in September in Paris and in October in New York. In November, he presented them with a document providing a "basis for agreement" on a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem.

UN Photo, May 2002

Force Commander Lt. Gen. Jin Ha Hwang escorts Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his wife Nane through the buffer zone in old Nicosia, Cyprus on 16 May 2002

The UN Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP) continued to monitor the demilitarization of the Prevlaka peninsula and the neighbouring areas in Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The Mission conducted daily patrols and met periodically with local authorities to strengthen liaison, reduce tension, improve safety and security, and promote confidence between the parties. Noting its satisfaction with the overall calm and stability of the peninsula, the Security Council asked the Secretary-General to prepare for the termination of UNMOP's mandate on 15 December 2002.