UN mission in Kosovo issues regulation to deter violence and ensure public security.
AUGUST 13 -- In the wake of recent tensions in Mitrovica and in a bid to deter future unrest, the United Nations mission in Kosovo has issued the second regulation of its administration, the UN mission announced on Friday.

Regulation No. 2, which was signed in Pristina Thursday evening by the head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Dr. Bernard Kouchner, authorizes KFOR and UN civilian police to deny access of individuals to a troubled location or to remove people from it.

"The Regulation is a preventive tool -- it's a deterrent mechanism to deter public unrest and violence," Hansjoerg Strohmeyer, one of Dr. Kouchner's legal advisers told a news briefing in Pristina today. "Practically speaking, it allows us to remove people who are instigating, through hate speech or other forms of provocation."

Noting that this was a common practice in many countries, particularly in Europe, Mr. Strohmeyer said that the Regulation meant that a person would be removed beyond the city limits or in certain cases beyond Kosovo. He stressed, however, that it was "a preventive tool, not an enforcement mechanism for criminal action."

The move came after UNMIK determined that the Mitrovica unrest had been stirred up by agitators brought in from the outside, first by the Serbs and then by the Albanian Kosovars. UN officials in Pristina stressed that the Mitrovica events underscored the need for KFOR and UN civilian police to be able to respond adequately to similar siltation throughout Kosovo to secure public peace and order.

Two months after its return to Kosovo, UNHCR says 750,000 refugees have been brought home safely.
AUGUST 13 -- Two months since re-entering Kosovo, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has overseen the safe return of nearly three-quarters of a million refugees, a spokeswoman for the agency said on Friday.

All but 50,000 refugees who fled to other countries in the region have now returned to Kosovo, UNHCR spokeswoman Judith Kumin told a press briefing in Geneva. Nearly one third of the some 91,000 evacuated to more distant countries have also returned.

During the same period, however, about 130,000 Serbs and Roma have fled Kosovo, mostly to other parts of Serbia and to Montenegro, Ms. Kumin said. Those newly displaced have joined roughly 50,000 non-Albanians displaced from Kosovo since tensions began to rise in the province in March 1998.

Yesterday, Dennis McNamara of UNHCR, who heads the humanitarian "pillar" of the UN mission in Kosovo, visited displaced Serbs and Roma in the Kralijevo area of southern Serbia, where some 90,000 displaced from Kosovo have congregated.

The purpose of that trip, as well as of Mr. McNamara's scheduled meetings on Friday with Yugoslav authorities in Belgrade, was to evaluate the needs of the displaced and to discuss overall humanitarian situation in Serbia and Montenegro.

Reconciliation and justice must pave way to multiethnic Kosovo, Secretary-General says.
AUGUST 12 -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Thursday that all citizens of Kosovo, whether Serbian or Albanian, must be encouraged to live together and not to seek revenge.

Speaking at a press conference in Geneva, Mr. Annan said means for reconciliation between the parties must be found to bring about a multi- ethnic Kosovo.

Although the situation in the province remained very difficult, Mr. Annan said the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), along with the KFOR international security force, could not allow those attempting to expel Serbs from Kosovo to succeed.

"Obviously, justice is required, but revenge is not justice," Mr. Annan said.

Mr. Annan said he hoped the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) would continue to work with Dr. Bernard Kouchner, who, as the Secretary- General's Special Representative, leads the efforts of UNMIK to restore civil order and build democracy in Kosovo.

Responding to a question from the press about bringing criminals to justice, Mr. Annan said it was necessary to make it understood by all that there was no escape from justice and that the international community would do its best to see the guilty brought to trial.

Impunity should not be an accepted fact, Mr. Annan said, and it was for that reason the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and the International Criminal Court had been established.

Greater responsibilities demand higher standards for UN civilian police in Kosovo -- UN spokesman.
AUGUST 12 -- The tough challenges facing United Nations civilian police in Kosovo place strict demands on the qualifications of candidates who must meet very high professional standards, a UN spokesman said on Thursday.

Speaking at a press briefing at UN Headquarters, Spokesman Fred Eckhard said that the standards were stricter in Kosovo because responsibilities were greater than ever before and the UN civilian police "may have to use their weapons in a situation that would be similar to some of the toughest urban areas in the world."

Responding to a question regarding the recent failure of some international civilian police candidates to meet the entrance standards set by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Mr. Eckhard said the situation in Kosovo necessitated that civilian officers be conversant in English and have full skills with their weapons.

Some candidates who had not met the strict standards set by UNMIK had been let go, Mr. Eckhard said. He noted that this was not the first time international civilian police candidates had been sent home after failing to meet entrance standards. Although the UN specified in writing the standards for UN civilian police contributed by Member States, over the years the UN had often faced difficulties getting police to meet those requirements, he said.

More than 650 UNMIK civilian police are now in Kosovo, with a team of more than 60 UN officers already patrolling the provincial capital, Pristina. Some 80 more have been deployed throughout the province, with others undergoing training and induction.

UN mission in Kosovo beefs up its police presence in provincial capital.
AUGUST 11 -- The United Nations mission in Kosovo on Wednesday took another step towards enhancing its law enforcement presence in the province with over 60 international police -- or double yesterday's number -- expected to patrol today the provincial capital of Pristina.

Speaking at a press briefing in Pristina, Nadia Younes, the spokesperson for the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), said 32 UNMIK civilian police were patrolling the Pristina area last night with the KFOR security force and 80 officers were in the regions.

Ms. Younes said that there was a total of "662 UN International Police in the theatre", including the 174 that had come from Bosnia and Herzegovina to perform only monitoring functions. She noted that many members of the police force were in the induction period, while 40 UNMIK civilian police were on hold in Skopje in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Meanwhile UNMIK was taking measures to stem the escalation of violence against Kosovar Serbs and other ethnic minorities, the Spokeswoman said. The UN mission has identified some of the hot spots and has been setting up police substations to be manned around the clock. The substations are expected to be in place by the end of the week, said Ms. Younes.

UN refugee agency reports increasing violence against Kosovo Serbs in Pristina.
AUGUST 11 -- With attacks against Serbs in Kosovo's capital on the rise, the situation for some 2,000 Serb Kosovars remaining in Pristina has noticeably worsened over the last few weeks, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said Wednesday.

According to UNHCR, there have been at least nine murders and seven serious assaults against Serbs in Pristina during the past week. Meanwhile, the KFOR security force said that bomb attacks had occurred regularly against Serb homes, churches and businesses.

UNHCR has also reported a pattern of intimidation against the remaining Serbs. In many cases of harassment, Serbs are first receiving warning letters ordering them to leave their homes. Then threats are delivered in person, followed, in several days, by physical assault and, in some cases, murder.

Increasing numbers of Serbs still in Pristina are being forced, before fleeing, to sign letters transferring their property rights to Albanians, UNHCR says. These practices are being applied to whole blocks of apartments, triggering the simultaneous departure of tens of Serb families.

During the past two months, the number of Serbs in Pristina has dwindled from an estimated 20,000. Since the end of the NATO bombing and the arrival of KFOR in June, nearly 130,000 Serbs have fled Kosovo, mostly for other parts of Serbia and Montenegro.

The situation in Pristina is particularly disturbing because most Serbs remaining there are vulnerable persons, many of them elderly, disabled or isolated without family support, UNHCR says. As a result, case-by-case assistance is needed involving visits to individual homes.

To address the situation, UN aid workers are delivering humanitarian assistance directly to Serb homes, which proves to be a time-consuming and manpower-intensive process, according to UNHCR. The UN agency has also set up several distribution points for the Serb population, often in the basement of Serb buildings.

Problems mount for displaced non-Albanian Kosovars, UN refugee agency warns.
AUGUST 10 -- More than three-quarters of a million Kosovar refugees, almost all ethnic Albanians, have now returned to their homes in Kosovo just as non-Albanians have been leaving the province in large numbers, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.

UNHCR spokesperson Judith Kumin told a news conference in Geneva that returns of Kosovars from more than a dozen European host countries were continuing at a rate of about 1,000 a day.

At the same time, an estimated 179,000 people have moved from Kosovo into other parts of Serbia as well as into Montenegro, and the situation of the displaced persons is becoming "increasingly difficult," Ms. Kumin said.

The overall number includes 176,000 Serbs and Roma as well as 3,000 Croatian and Bosnian Serbs who were relocated to Kosovo after fleeing conflicts in their home countries, according to UNHCR. Most of the displaced -- around 130,000 -- have arrived since the end of the NATO airstrikes and the deployment of the KFOR security force in the province.

While most of the newly displaced are staying with host families, many are living in very difficult conditions in tents and collection centers. In southern Serbia, for instance, where there are 3,000 displaced Serbs and Roma from Kosovo, more than 1,000 are taking shelter in tents.

Ms. Kumin said that Dennis McNamara, who heads the humanitarian component of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), would look into the problem of the displaced during his visit to Belgrade later this week.

UN mission in Kosovo reports progress towards reaching its main objectives.
AUGUST 9 -- Exactly eight weeks after the international community arrived in Kosovo to help rebuild the war-torn province, leaders of the main components of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said on Monday that despite formidable challenges, the UN mission was on track towards fulfilling its key tasks.

Speaking at a joint press conference in Pristina, representatives of UNMIK's "four pillars" -- civil administration, humanitarian affairs, institution building and reconstruction -- reported on their efforts to make tangible progress on all four fronts.

Dominique Vian, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary- General for Civil Administration, said the goal of having a UN presence in all municipalities was on its way to being fulfilled, either with UN officials in advisory positions or in direct administrative roles, as in the case of Pristina, Prizren and Pec.

"Now, life has come back to relative normalcy; services are functioning, although in a limited manner," Mr. Vian said.

All UN regional administrators had been in place for a month, guiding efforts to rebuild civil service structures and establish mechanisms for democratization, he said. Some 30 judges had been appointed by the UN and were already working.

Reporting on the growing UN civilian police presence in Kosovo, Mr. Vian said 602 officers were already on the ground. UNMIK civilian police had begun joint patrols with the KFOR international security force over the weekend.

As for the progress in institution building, Deputy Special Representative Daan Everts told the news conference that the opening of a police academy in Vucitrn was one of the main priorities.

The first course for 200 local police cadets was scheduled to begin on 30 August, said Mr. Everts, who as Deputy Special Representative for Institution Building heads the UNMIK component led by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Dennis McNamara, Deputy Special Representative for Humanitarian Affairs, said with more than 90 per cent of the Kosovar refugees having returned home, UNMIK was now focusing on providing adequate shelter.

To address the enormous need before the onset of winter, the humanitarian community was providing thousands of tons of shelter material, including nearly 80,000 shelter kits, said Mr. McNamara. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) coordinates the UNMIK humanitarian "pillar."

Joan Pearce of the European Union, said the EU, as coordinator of the UNMIK reconstruction component, was also concerned about ensuring adequate housing, as well as water and power supply before winter. A comprehensive plan had been drafted and efforts were under way to meet short-term reconstruction needs, stressed Ms. Pearce, who spoke on behalf of Joly Dixon, Deputy Special Representative for Reconstruction.

To help rebuild civil structures in Kosovo, UN mission begins paying local civil servants.
AUGUST 9 -- In a continuing effort to rebuild civil structures in Kosovo, the United Nations has begun making ad hoc payments to Kosovar civil servants, a UN spokesman said Monday.

Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan, told the press at UN Headquarters in New York that 39 judges, prosecutors and customs officials would receive payments, in the form of stipends, from the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

"This is just the beginning of what will eventually have to be -- with the financial support of the international community, if we get it -- payments to up to 50,000 civil servants," Mr. Eckhard said.

Under the supervision of UNMIK, local municipal workers, judges and others have been working as part of the newly established civil administration in Kosovo.

The 39 civil servants will receive an initial payment of DM 14,000. A second series of payments, to be disbursed in about a week, will go to health workers, firefighters and teachers.

Responding to questions from the press, Mr. Eckhard said while funds from the international community would be used initially to pay salaries, civil servants would eventually be paid from public revenues generated through such sources as tax collection and customs fees.

"The intention is not to ask the international community to indefinitely pay the Kosovar civil service. But, for an initial period, they are being asked to pay," Mr. Eckhard said.