Field deployment of UN civilian police in Kosovo set to start over the weekend.
AUGUST 6 -- The United Nations civilian police will begin patrolling Kosovo's capital over the weekend and commence active duties at other sites of the province, the UN Police Commissioner in Kosovo said Friday.

Speaking to the press in Pristina, Sven Fredericksen said UN civilian officers would first be on the beat in Pristina, where the crime rate remained very high.

There continued to be too many cases of harassment of minority groups and capital crimes in the provincial capital, which could only be contained by a greater law enforcement presence, Commissioner Fredericksen said.

UN civilian officers, operating as part of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), will work out of Pristina's existing police stations and from substations to be set up in "hot spots" in the city.

The UN civilian police force -- which now numbers 474 police and is being enhanced at a rate of 200 additional officers a week -- will continue to work alongside the KFOR international security force, which currently retains responsibility for law and order in Kosovo. UN civilian police will take over law enforcement activities from KFOR on a "step-by-step" basis, Mr. Fredericksen said.

Responding to questions about the task of building an indigenous Kosovo police force, the Commissioner said the plan was to develop a democratic, ethnically mixed indigenous contingent that would be sent into the field to work with UN civilian officers.

All local trainees would be instructed to cooperate with each other and to treat every Kosovar individually. "If they can't handle this, they are not worth being police officers and they will be kicked out," the Commissioner said.

UN mission's Pristina regional administration moves to Municipal Building to join Kosovar civil servants.
AUGUST 6 -- The United Nations mission in Kosovo on Friday moved the offices of its Pristina Regional Civil Administration to the Municipal Building where it joined Kosovar employees who have been reporting for duty under the supervision of UNMIK, the UN Interim Administration Mission in the province, and the KFOR international security force.

According to UNMIK, the move marked a milestone and demonstrated the UN mission's partnership with Kosovar workers performing essential public services.

"This is an important moment in the history of the United Nations mandate in Kosovo and in the history of Pristina," said Dominque Vian, Deputy Representative of the Secretary-General for Civil Administration in Kosovo. "It is a concrete expression of our shared desire to build a democracy in Kosovo founded on human rights."

The Pristina Administration is one of five regional offices established by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) as bases for UN efforts to help rebuild the province's civil infrastructure and economy.

The UN Administrator of the Pristina regional office, Enrique Aguilar, called the move "a unique occasion to bring international community representatives to work alongside their Kosovo Albanian and Kosovo Serb counterparts."

Under UNMIK supervision, Kosovars have been returning to work at the Municipal Building over the past several weeks. By late September, it is expected that some 400 employees will be back in place at the Municipal Building administering health, education and welfare services.

Aid starts flowing into Kosovo through FYR of Macedonia after Skopje government lifts transit fee -- UNHCR.
AUGUST 6 -- Humanitarian assistance began flowing into Kosovo through the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia after the Skopje government announced the lifting of a transit fee it had imposed in mid-July on Kosovo-bound aid, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Friday.

Convoys of aid trucks started moving to Kosovo after the Skopje government told representatives of UNHCR and major donors this morning that it would waive the customs charge of nearly DM 640 per truckload or train car of goods crossing the border. The fee, which was imposed in mid-July, brought the aid pipeline to a halt and led to a huge backup of supplies.

UNHCR warmly welcomed the move and encouraged the international community to respond favourably to requests from the Skopje government for support to defray the costs of facilities and services the country provided to facilitate the delivery of aid into Kosovo.

UN experts urge action to stem further environmental damage from Kosovo conflict.
AUGUST 5 -- The team of scientists dispatched by the United Nations to Kosovo and Serbia to study the impact of the conflict on the country's ecology has found serious environmental consequences and potential threats to human health, the team's leader said Thursday.

The team from the joint Balkans Task Force of two UN agencies -- the UN Environmental Programme and the UN Centre for Human Settlements (HABITAT) -- concluded a 10-day tour in late July of the industrial sites hardest hit during the NATO bombing campaign.

Speaking at a news conference at UN Headquarters, Pekka Haavisto, said his group had found toxic and hazardous chemicals, including mercury, at several locations in Kosovo and Serbia.

He stressed that immediate protective actions were needed to ensure that the chemicals did not cause further environmental degradation, such as ground water contamination, or threaten the well-being of workers already rebuilding some facilities.

Mr. Haavisto said international humanitarian assistance could be provided to address the pressing environmental concerns at locations inside Serbia, which was not receiving international assistance for reconstruction.

"It's common sense that efforts be made to avoid further environmental or human health problems, which could be totally separate from reconstruction," Mr. Haavisto said.

A second team of scientists will visit the area later this month to assess the condition of the Danube, the impact of the bombing on biodiversity, and long-term health consequences. The teams' official findings and recommendations will be submitted to Secretary-General Kofi Annan in September or October.

Prominent Albanian leaders in Kosovo pledge to participate in UN-administered transitional council.
AUGUST 5 -- The head of the United Nations mission in Kosovo has received assurances from Kosovo's two most prominent ethnic Albanian leaders of their participation in the UN-administered Kosovo Transitional Council, a UN spokesman said on Thursday.

Dr. Bernard Kouchner got the pledges from the two men yesterday during his first joint meeting with Ibrahim Rugova, of the Democratic League of Kosovo, and Hashim Thaci, of the Kosovo Liberation Army. Both of them said they would attend the next meeting of the Transitional Council.

Dr. Kouchner, who as Special Representative of the Secretary-General leads the UN Interim Administrative Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), will preside over the forthcoming meeting.

The Transitional Council is open to all groups and parties in Kosovo and will serve as the province's highest political forum.

Meanwhile UNMIK reported today that Jock Covey, Principal Deputy Special Representative, met with the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Mr. Vujovic, to discuss continuing concern over the security of Serbs remaining in Kosovo.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights calls for end to continuing violence in Kosovo.
AUGUST 4 -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, called today for an end to the killings, abductions, property destruction and acts of revenge which have continued to afflict Kosovo in recent weeks.

Speaking ahead of the submission next month of a report to the Commission on Human Rights on the situation in Kosovo, the High Commissioner also urged action on behalf of some 5,000 Kosovar Albanians reportedly detained, imprisoned or abducted in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Saying she abhorred the terrible atrocities that have been committed against people living in Kosovo, Ms. Robinson stressed that respect for human rights was a universal obligation.

"My condemnation of violence committed against people living in Kosovo does not change when the ethnic identification or political affiliation of the victims change," Mrs. Robinson said. She noted that her staff on the ground reported kidnappings, forced expulsions, murder, physical abuse and violent appropriation of other people's property.

The High Commissioner also appealed for support for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Bernard Kouchner, in his efforts to restore the rule of law and respect for human rights.

"Member States of the United Nations should give him the personnel and support he needs in his vital work," she said.

Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today it was providing relief aid and assistance to some 10,000 Serbs in the area of Gnijlane and 3,000 more Serbs near Orahovac, as well as to other non-Albanian populations scattered throughout the region.

However, UN staff in Kosovo have reported that the situation for Serbs in mixed villages in the region is becoming increasingly difficult. A UNHCR spokesman in Pristina said the agency was concerned that towns of mixed populations were being emptied of Serbs, as Serbs fled towns with mixed ethnic populations for areas where only Serbs were congregated.

UN welcomes Human Rights Watch report calling for more protection of minorities in Kosovo.
AUGUST 4 -- A United Nations spokesman on Wednesday welcomed the report of Human Rights Watch on the situation in Kosovo, saying its observations on the need for greater protection of minorities in the province were valid.

The report of the New York-based human rights organization focusing on abuses against Serb and Roma populations in Kosovo was released Tuesday.

Speaking at a press briefing in New York, Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said the protection of the rights of minority groups was a major concern of the UN Interim Administrative Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

While UNMIK was addressing a difficult situation in the province, the operation was moving in the right direction, Mr. Eckhard said.

The fact that the international security force KFOR was performing policing duties in Kosovo was an interim measure, until the UNMIK civilian police were fully deployed and until the training of indigenous police could get under way, he said.

UN forensic experts uncover evidence of torture at mass grave site in Kosovo.
AUGUST 4 -- After visiting a Kosovo mass grave where evidence of torture has been uncovered, Special Representative of the Secretary-General Dr. Bernard Kouchner said on Wednesday that international investigation of such sites was absolutely crucial for preventing violence in the future.

Speaking to the press after a visit to the site near Suvido, Mitrovica, Dr. Kouchner, who leads the UN Interim Administrative Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), stressed that the investigations carried out by international forensic experts and doctors was vital to the fight for human rights.

Documentation of the site - the largest now being reviewed by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) -- would help establish an indispensable historical record of the violent events in Kosovo, Dr. Kouchner said.

Dominique Lecomte, head of the ICTY team of investigators, who joined Dr. Kouchner at the press briefing, said that the probe showed evidence that many of the victims had been tortured.

During the last 10 days, the ICTY team has uncovered 72 graves. According to UNMIK, some 40 to 50 bodies have been exhumed and autopsied. Relatives in the area have already identified some of the victims.

In latest deployment, Russian, US police officers joining 400 UN civilian police already in Kosovo.
AUGUST 4 -- Some 200 police officers from Russia and the United States will be the latest addition to the growing international civilian police contingent in Kosovo, UNMIK, the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in the province, said on Wednesday.

With 404 UNMIK civilian police already on the ground, 69 officers from the Russian Federation were scheduled to arrive in Pristina on Wednesday and 116 from the United States expected to be there the next day, the UN Mission said. Some 20 more officers from Denmark are to arrive over the weekend.

Presently drawn from 21 countries, UN civilian police are being now deployed throughout the province and have been stationed at several border crossing.

As the UNMIK police contingent builds to its full strength of 3,110, UN police are advising the international security force, KFOR, on civilian police functions and establishing contacts with local communities.

When fully deployed, UN police will be charged with providing temporary law enforcement and developing a professional and impartial Kosovo Police Service.

UN efforts to assist Serb population in Kosovo continue, refugee agency reports.
AUGUST 4 -- The United Nations, in coordination with the KFOR international security force, is working to provide assistance to the Serb population in Kosovo, the UN refugee agency said Wednesday.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is now providing relief aid and assistance to some 10,000 Serbs in the area of Gnijlane and 3,000 more Serbs near Orahovac, as well as to other non-Albanian populations scattered throughout the region.

However, UN staff in Kosovo have reported that the situation for Serbs in mixed villages in the region is becoming increasingly difficult, a UNHCR spokesman in Pristina said.

Ron Redmond said UNHCR was concerned that towns of mixed populations were being emptied of Serbs, as Serbs fled towns with mixed ethnic populations for areas where only Serbs were congregated.

Mr. Redmond cited security concerns as the reason for the Serb exodus. People were afraid to work in their field or harvest their crops, he said.

UN refugee agency stresses need for unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to Kosovo.
AUGUST 3 -- With nearly 90 per cent of some 850,000 Kosovo refugees having returned home, the need for smooth delivery of humanitarian supplies to the province is becoming ever more acute, the UN refugee agency said on Tuesday.

Kris Janowski, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said that with the large number of returnees in need of assistance, the agency was very concerned about the negative impact of a customs fee on all goods transiting the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Speaking to the press in Geneva, Mr. Janowski said the charge imposed by the Skopje Government since mid-July had brought the UNHCR aid pipeline through that country to a standstill and was contributing to a back-up of supplies.

UNHCR believed the 640 DM inspection fee on all goods transported through the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was disproportionate and penalized humanitarian agencies trying to provide assistance to Kosovo.

Some 85 UNHCR trucks are currently waiting in a parking lot in Skopje to transport nearly 3,500 metric tons of aid to Kosovo. Also stalled are 17 rail cars with some 850 metric tons of timber, mostly to supply the UNHCR effort to rebuild homes before winter.

Prior to the imposition of the fee, UNHCR had been sending an average of 20 to 25 trucks a day from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia into Kosovo.

UN mission in Kosovo says reported number of bodies in mass graves based on as yet unconfirmed data.
AUGUST 2 -- A spokesperson for the head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said on Monday that there was no precise information as yet as to the number of victims in mass graves in the province.

The spokeswoman for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General Dr. Bernard Kouchner said that Dr. Kouchner's statement in a Reuters interview on Sunday that mass graves in Kosovo could contain as many as 11,000 bodies reflected what many people believed to be the potential number of victims.

According to the spokeswoman, the estimate mentioned by Dr. Kouchner was based on reports of mass graves in Kosovo received to date from all sources and that most of those reports were, as yet, unconfirmed by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

"He did not intend to imply that ICTY itself had provided these figures, or that ICTY had completed its investigations in Kosovo," the spokeswoman said in a statement released in Pristina.

In major step to restore services to Kosovo, UN reopens post and telecommunications building.
AUGUST 2 -- Taking a major step towards restoring services to Kosovo, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, head of the United Nations mission in Kosovo, reopened Monday the doors of the Post and Telecommunication Building (PTT) in Pristina.

Dr. Kouchner, who leads the UN Interim Administrative Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), greeted some 400 PTT workers there to begin restoring services that have been largely dysfunctional since the start of NATO bobming campaign.

Welcoming their return in a spirit of reconciliation, Dr. Kouchner said, "with you, we are building democracy." Former PTT employees had been encouraged by UNMIK and the local telecommunication commission to return regardless of their ethnic or religious backgrounds.

UNMIK and KFOR, the international security force in Kosovo, have already begun drafting plans, with the help of former PTT workers, to quickly restore minimal services. The full restoration of the phone system in Kosovo, estimated by KFOR to cost between $1 and $5 million, will involve the modernization of the largely obsolete mechanisms damaged during NATO airstrikes.

UNMIK, which now maintains civil authority in Kosovo, will chair the Joint Coordinating Commission on Telecommunication and will administer the Kosovo assets of PTT Serbia, 51 per cent of which is State-owned.

UN refugee agency encourages Kosovars to return home before first snow. AUGUST 2 -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is encouraging as many people as possible to return to their damaged houses to start cleaning and repair work before snow falls in late October, the UN agency said on Monday.

In recent days, UNHCR and its partners distributed shelter kits mostly roofing plastic C to 3,600 families. Another 20,000 kits are expected from the European Community Humanitarian Office and 20,000 from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Around 50,000 more plastic sheets are being urgently released from emergency stockpiles. According to the UN refugee agency, additional materials are needed, such as doors, window frames, glass, roofing timbers and tiles.

As of 31 July, UNHCR had delivered 13,000 tents in Kosovo, where shelter has become a priority for tens of thousands of Kosovars whose houses were damaged during the war.

UN mission in Kosovo takes first step towards restoring fully operational customs service.
AUGUST 1 -- In a first step towards restoring normal customs service in the Kosovo, United Nations international police officers have been deployed at four border crossings with Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) announced on Sunday.

In announcing this development, UNMIK stressed that the restoration of customs services, which was carried out under its overall supervision, is an essential part in the economic recovery process of the province.

Commercial traffic is now being requested to provide relevant information on trade flows into Kosovo, which will eventually serve as a basis for determining how future customs duties will be levied, UNMIK said.

The UN mission emphasized that a fully operational customs service would contribute to the generation of revenue and prevent the proliferation of the black market. In addition, customs services will contribute to the protection of public health and safety and ensure the control of hazardous goods, UNMIK said.

Head of UN in Kosovo condemns attack on Serb cathedral in Pristina, appeals for end to violence.
AUGUST 1 -- Condemning the recent bombing of a Serbian Orthodox cathedral in Pristina as unacceptable, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General Dr. Bernard Kouchner appealed today for an end to the cycle of violence and revenge.

Dr. Kouchner visited the cathedral on Sunday morning where a bomb had exploded the night before, causing structural damage to the cathedral and shaking buildings in central Pristina.

Also on Sunday, Dr. Kouchner, who heads the UN Interim Administrative Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), met with visiting Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, at UNMIK's headquarters in Pristina.

Dr. Kouchner and Mr. Blair later met with commanders of KFOR, the international security force in Kosovo, and representatives of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), to review progress in efforts to demilitarize the KLA.

On Saturday, Dr. Kouchner met with Ibrahim Rugova, leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), who had just returned to Kosovo.

During the meeting, joined by other LDK members, the two men reviewed the situation in Kosovo and discussed the LDK participation in the Kosovo Transitional Council. The Transitional Council is open to all groups in Kosovo and will serve as the highest political body in the province.