Complete UN Kosovo Coverage

Secretary-General appeals to all Kosovars to show "utmost restraint and patience".
JUNE 18 -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Friday appealed to all parties and every citizen in Kosovo to show "utmost restraint and patience" as the long and hard work of peace-building and construction begins.
"The United Nations and KFOR are committed to helping you -- the people of Kosovo -- create a peaceful, democratic and multi-ethnic society," the Secretary-General said in a statement.
Mr. Annan also urged the Kosovar Albanian population to return to their homes -- but to be patient and do so with the assistance of the United Nations and the international security force, known as KFOR. "I urge the Serbian population in Kosovo to remain in their homes and to do their part to return Kosovo to a life of peaceful coexistence amongst all communities," he said.
The Secretary-General stressed in his appeal that the United Nations and KFOR were committed to ensuring the safety and security of all the people of Kosovo, regardless of ethnic background.
"I urge all parties to recommit themselves to creating a life of peaceful coexistence, which is the foundation for lasting peace in Kosovo, and throughout the region," Mr. Annan said.

UN advance team in Kosovo pushes ahead with efforts to restore basic services.
JUNE 18 -- United Nation efforts to push ahead with the massive task of restoring normalcy to a shattered Kosovo continued Friday, as Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN Secretary-General's Acting Special Representative, finalized plans for a mine action centre.
The Mine Action centre will open in Kosovo's capital Pristina by early next week, according to a UN spokesman. The international military force in Kosovo, KFOR, is responsible for supervising demining until the civilian component of the UN mission in Kosovo can assume responsibility. Currently, there are four civilian deminers in Kosovo and more are on the way, said the spokesman.
Meanwhile, Mr. Vieira de Mello's staff concluded an agreement on Friday with the Power and Water Authority in Kosovo. The spokesman said the agreement will provide more security to technicians working to restore service. Parts of Pristina had water on Friday.
Mr. Vieira de Mello, who is acting head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), also visited by helicopter areas where widespread destruction and displacement has been reported, including the towns of Djakovia, Pec, Drnica and Orahovac.

UN refugee agency receives pledges of cooperation from Kosovo Liberation Army.
JUNE 18 -- The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has received assurances from the Kosovo Liberation Army leadership of full cooperation with the UN's relief programme in Kosovo, the UN agency said on Friday.
KLA leaders told Assistant High Commissioner Soren Jessen-Petersen that they would caution refugees against rushing to return to their homes until Kosovo was declared safe by the international security force, KFOR.
More than 50,000 Kosovars have headed home from neighbouring countries in the last three days and more are on their way. UNHCR said it wants the refugees to return soon, but feels they must go back safely. The UN agency said many parts of Kosovo remain insecure, the withdrawal of Yugoslav troops is still under way and there has been no thorough survey of the landmines and unexploded ordnance which litter the countryside.
In response to Mr. Jessen-Petersen's statement that it would be a pity if peace in Kosovo began with an exodus of Serbian civilians, the KLA said its members would act with restraint in dealing with the local Serb population. It also said it will let the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia deal with war crimes suspects.
Meanwhile, UNHCR and the World Health Organization say they need more medical staff. UNHCR has appealed to Kosovar professionals -- doctors, engineers, administrators, judges and lawyers -- to return to help rebuild Kosovo's war-damaged infrastructure. The agency estimates that 50,000 to 60,000 Serbs have left Kosovo in the last three weeks.

Deputy Secretary-General briefs Security Council on preparations for UN civilian operation in Kosovo.
JUNE 17-- Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette briefed the Security Council on Thursday about preparations for the UN's massive civilian operation in Kosovo.
The UN mission will undertake a multiplicity of tasks, including humanitarian relief, safe return of all refugees, reconstruction of key infrastructure, maintenance of civil law and order, promotion of human rights and assistance with a political process to determine Kosovo's future political status.
Ms. Frechette has just returned from Geneva where she met with officials from the European organizations that will play a lead role in implementing the mandate of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
Speaking to journalists outside the Security Council chamber, Ms. Frechette said the European officials welcomed the Secretary-General's proposal for UNMIK's role and structure and were prepared to assume their responsibilities.
According to the Secretary-General's proposal for the Mission, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will lead institution-building and the European Union will head reconstruction and development. The UN itself will oversee the civil administration, while the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will be responsible for humanitarian affairs.
"We are now going to work very closely with them to define in great detail how the division of labour will operate," said the Deputy Secretary-General. "We also spent quite a bit of time discussing very mundane administrative issues but which will have to be resolved quickly if we want this operation to function smoothly and seamlessly," she added.

UN forensic experts gain access to reported torture site in Kosovo's capital.
JUNE 17-- Forensic experts from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia have gained access to an alleged war crimes site in Kosovo's capital Pristina, a UN spokesman said on Thursday.
The Tribunal's investigators were able to enter the Yugoslav police headquarters, a reported torture site, after it was secured four days ago by Kosovo Forces (KFOR).
On Wednesday night, the forensic experts took out several cartons of files for possible use in an investigation, the spokesman said.

Acting head of UN Kosovo mission confers with Patriarch of Belgrade on Serb exodus from province.
JUNE 17-- The acting head of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the commander of the Kosovo Forces (KFOR) on Thursday discussed the exodus of Serb civilians with the Patriarch of Belgrade who is visiting Pristina, said a UN spokesman.
During the meeting, Sergio Vieira de Mello, the Secretary-General's Acting Special Representative, and Lieutenant General Michael Jackson discussed with the Patriarch the impact the Serb departure could have on Kosovo institutions, including its health facilities.
According to the UN spokesman, Serb doctors and support staff have abandoned the main hospital in Prizren. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says there is no water in Pristina because Serb staff who operated the city's water system have all left.
Meanwhile, Mr. Vieira de Mello stepped up his contacts with local community leaders. On Thursday, he met with representatives from all three Kosovo Albanian political parties that have endorsed the UN Mission and pledged their support for a multi-party democracy in the province.
At the request of the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry, the Special Representative was also expected to meet with Nubojsa Vujovic, the newly- appointed head of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Committee for Cooperation and Links with the United Nations.

Thousands of jubilant Kosovo refugees head home despite UN warnings about landmines.
JUNE 17-- More than 34,000 jubilant refugees have headed home to Kosovo in the last three days, ignoring warnings from UN agencies about the danger of landmines and booby traps, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Thursday.
A UNHCR spokesman in Kosovo's provincial capital, Pristina, said that although it was nice to see smiles on the faces of the returning refugees it could not stress enough the danger of spontaneous mass returns. At least two returnees were killed in mine blasts this week in Kosovo. UNHCR said there were eleven landmine incidents on the Kosovo side of the border Wednesday, while UNICEF, the UN Children's Fund, reported 20.
Fewer refugees from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are joining the rush back to Kosovo, with only about 5,000 crossing the border at Blace in the last two days.
Meanwhile, a UNHCR expert who had flown on a helicopter mission to survey damage to housing in southwest Kosovo, described the scope of destruction as "shocking" and said winterizing the homes would be extremely difficult. The original plan was to use plastic sheeting to winter-proof at least one room per house. UNHCR said it might have to erect tents in the yards of homes too damaged to be immediately habitable.

UN mission in Kosovo steps up efforts to restore normalcy to shattered province.
JUNE 16 -- The acting head of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has joined the commander of the Kosovo Forces (KFOR) in a television appeal to Serbian civilians not to leave the Yugoslav province.
The joint appeal by Sergio Vieira de Mello, who is the Secretary- General's Acting Special Representative in Kosovo, and General Michael Jackson, was broadcast on local television on Wednesday, according to a UN spokesman. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported, however, that 24,000 Kosovar Serbs had entered Serbia and 9,000 more went into Montenegro.
Meanwhile, Mr. Vieira de Mello, has asked KFOR to conduct aerial surveys of areas with internally displaced people to allow the World Food Programme (WFP) to deliver food to them. WFP has already delivered 20 tonnes of bread to the town of Prizren from their mobile bakery in Kukes, Albania.
Mr. Vieria de Mello also reviewed plans to bring into Kosovo 150 to 200 UN Civilian Police Monitors from Bosnia and Herzegovina as the forward contingent of a UN police force that could eventually number more than 2,000.
The United Nations was also working on Wednesday to restore the water supply to Pristina. A UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team is expected to begin repairing other utilities on Thursday.

Thousands of Kosovar refugees begin trek home -- UNHCR.
JUNE 16 -- A spontaneous exodus of Kosovars returning home from neighbouring countries gathered momentum throughout Wednesday, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
At the main Albanian border point at Morini, well over 10,000 people crossed back into Kosovo. Most people were travelling in their own cars or tractors and were headed for the town of Prizren. From the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the same phenomenon occurred, the UN agency said, although the numbers were lower. Most of the refugees had been living with host families and were driving their own vehicles. Some had hired taxis in Skopje.
UNHCR staff are providing the refugees with mine awareness materials as they cross the borders. The UN agency has also established way stations on the road to Prizren to offer water and medical help to refugees who might need it.

UN refugee agency alarmed by Serb exodus from Kosovo.
JUNE 15 -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Tuesday it is deeply concerned about the exodus of thousands of Serbians from Kosovo.
The UN agency said it was witnessing the same pattern of displacements of Serbs seen in Western Slavonia in December 1991, in the Krajina in August 1995 and in Sarajevo after the 1995 Dayton peace agreement.
The High Commissioner's Special Envoy, Dennis McNamara, discussed the outflow of Serb civilians with Lieutenant General Michael Jackson, the commander of the Kosovo Force (KFOR). The General confirmed that his troops would do their best to provide security for all of Kosovo's citizens, but stressed that under the circumstances, there was unfortunately a limit to what could be done.
In an effort to stabilize the situation, UNHCR is also talking to the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and to the Serbian leadership in Kosovo. However, the agency said tensions were high and there were likely to be more departures.
Serbs arriving in Montenegro say they fear reprisals and are uncertain of their future in Kosovo. UNHCR is using both local radio and international networks to send out the message that KFOR troops will provide security to all people regardless of ethnicity.
UNHCR estimates 13,000 Serbs have crossed into Montenegro since Thursday but it is not known how many Serbs are crossing directly into Serbia. The Serb population of Kosovo is estimated at between 100,000 and 200,000 people.
At the same time, UNHCR reported a rush of refugees returning to Kosovo from neighbouring countries. People in cars, tractor trailers and on foot were lined up at the borders of Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
UNHCR estimates more than 3,000 refugees in vehicles and an indeterminate number on foot crossed back into Kosovo on Tuesday. At least one mine explosion on the Kosovo side of the Blace border crossing killed one returnee and injured another. Three people from Albania were also injured in a separate mine explosion. According to UNHCR many of the returnees were men, apparently going to their home towns for look- and-see visits.
Meanwhile, UNHCR teams in Kosovo fanned out to assess conditions in and around Pristina, Glogovac and in Prizren near the border with Albania. On Monday, a multi-agency convoy took emergency supplies to Glogovac, where 20,000 displaced people have swollen the town's original population of 4,000. People said they had received no relief in the last two and half months and had to scrounge for food in the hills. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported that many people, particularly children, would need nutritional attention.

UN Deputy Secretary-General meets European officials in Geneva to discuss plans for UN mission in Kosovo.
JUNE 15 -- United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Louis Frechette arrived in Geneva on Tuesday for a series of meetings with representatives of European organizations which will work jointly with the UN as part of the newly-formed UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
Ms. Frechette met Tuesday morning with a delegation of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which will lead the institution-building effort in Kosovo on behalf of the United Nations.
Questions of coordination also topped the agenda of her meeting later in the day with representatives of the European Union (EU) and the European Commission. Under Secretary-General Kofi Annan's plan for the UN's civilian operation in Kosovo, the EU would lead the reconstruction and development effort in the province.
The United Nations itself will oversee the interim civil administration in Kosovo and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will be responsible for humanitarian affairs.

Secretary-General outlines structure, role of UN civilian mission in Kosovo.
JUNE 14 -- Stressing that international activities in Kosovo must be integrated with a clear chain of command, Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday issued a preliminary report outlining the structure and role of the new civilian mission which will administer the province.
The report presented a "preliminary operational concept" for the overall organization of the international civil presence in Kosovo to be known as the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK). A more detailed report will be submitted to the Council within 30 days based on an assessment by a UN advance team which is already in the provincial capital, Pristina.
According to the concept outlined by the Secretary-General, UNMIK will have four main components -- interim civil administration, humanitarian affairs, institution-building and reconstruction -- and will be under the overall authority of his Special Representative.
The Special Representative will coordinate the activities of all UN agencies and international organizations and also facilitate the political process which will determine Kosovo's future political status. Special units will be set up to provide political and legal advice and to liaise with the military and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Four Deputy Special Representatives will be responsible for each of UNMIK's components. To ensure effective cooperation on the ground, each component will be assigned to an agency that will take a lead role in a particular area. The United Nations itself will oversee the interim civil administration, while the UN High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) will be responsible for humanitarian affairs. The European Union will be the lead agency in reconstruction efforts, with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) playing the lead role in institution-building.
Commenting on the challenges facing the new mission, Deputy Secretary-General Louis Frechette told a news conference at UN Headquarters that UNMIK will be an innovative operation.
"I think it is a new type of mission because, in the past, every aspect of a mission was carried out by the United Nations and by United Nations personnel," Ms. Frechette said, noting that this time the UN had been asked by the Security Council to work out the implementation of the civilian part of the mandate with the assistance of other organizations.
"Therefore, we will have to have systems on the ground, and between and among headquarters, that will ensure that, indeed, we don't trip over one another," said the Deputy Secretary-General.

UN opens headquarters in Kosovo.
JUNE 14 -- The United Nations on Monday reported the establishment of its "operational presence" in Kosovo over the weekend and said it had begun setting up the Pristina headquarters for the massive international civilian operation that will provide a temporary administration for the province in accordance with last week's decision by the Security Council.
On Sunday, Sergio Vieira de Mello, acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo, arrived in Pristina with a 40-strong advance team that has begun laying the groundwork for the UN mission, the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK).
Last Friday, Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Mr. Vieira de Mello, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, as his Special Representative, on an interim basis. The Special Representative will be the top civilian administrator in Kosovo until the province is able to enjoy substantial autonomy and self-government.
Mr. Vieira de Mello had already met with the commander of KFOR (the Kosovo Force) and had held several meetings with community leaders around the province who could help the UN mission in building Kosovo's democratic institutions.
Meanwhile, KFOR has notified the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia of the existence of various mass grave sites and is reportedly securing them, a UN spokesman said in New York on Monday. An initial forward planning presence on the ground is preparing for the arrival of a team of investigators.

UN agencies begin distributing emergency relief inside Kosovo as Serbs stream out of province.
JUNE 14 -- United Nations humanitarian agencies are distributing emergency aid to thousands of people in Kosovo as displaced ethnic Albanians begin to trickle back to their towns and villages, a UN spokesman said on Monday.
The agencies aim to distribute relief to people in Stimlje southwest of Pristina and in Kosovska Mitrovica in northern Kosovo, said the spokesman. Assessment teams set out for these places early Monday and trucks will move into those areas as soon the road is safe.
The plans laid out by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) call for immediate aid to an estimated half a million displaced people in desperate conditions believed to be concentrated in areas that saw heavy fighting between Serb forces and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) over the last 16 months.
A small team of liaison officers from UN humanitarian agencies accompanied the first KFOR (the Kosovo Force) troops into the province over the weekend and a 50-vehicle humanitarian convoy with 250 tons of relief aid reached Pristina. A second 40-vehicle convoy arrived in the provincial capital on Monday and four trucks carried 50 tonnes of emergency supplies to an estimated 18,000 to 20,000 displaced persons in Glogovac.
The relief is being delivered by UNHCR, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
UNHCR, which is overseeing all humanitarian operations in Kosovo, believes that up to 500,000 refugees may return to Kosovo from Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia within three to four months. The agency says assistance programmes in the asylum countries will need to continue for the foreseeable future, and most likely through the winter.
Meanwhile, UN staff in Kosovo have reported seeing convoys of Serbian civilians leaving on Sunday for Serbia proper. In Montenegro, UNHCR's office in Podgorica reported a steady flow of civilians of Serb and Montenegrin origin arriving from Kosovo.
There has been no official report on the number of Serbs who have left Kosovo, according to UNHCR. The agency's Belgrade office hopes to be able to assess the situation around Nis, in central Serbia, where many people are reported to be arriving. UNHCR says it is extremely worried that the peace in Kosovo may be starting with a new exodus, that of Serbian civilians, and hopes the KFOR deployment will provide the necessary security for all civilians to remain in and return to their homes.