Week of 27 June through 3 July

Secretary-General appoints Bernard Kouchner of France to head UN mission in Kosovo.
JULY 2 -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Friday chose Bernard Kouchner of France to oversee the massive international effort to turn war-devastated Kosovo into a functioning, democratic society.   FULL STORY >>

UN envoy warns of deteriorating security situation and spiral of violence in Kosovo.
JULY 2 -- The acting head of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo warned on Friday that despite the efforts of KFOR, the international military force, the security situation was deteriorating and the spiral of violence widening, affecting increasing numbers of people, particularly Serbs.   FULL STORY >>

UN refugee agency "dismayed" by dearth of government funding to ensure safe return of Kosovars.
JULY 2 -- A senior official of the United Nations refugee agency expressed dismay on Friday that while governments had spent billions of dollars on military operations in Kosovo, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had virtually no money to ensure the safe return of Kosovars.   FULL STORY >>

UN moves to set up judicial system in Kosovo.
JULY 1 -- The top United Nations official in Kosovo has made the first step to establish the beginnings of a new judicial system in the province by appointing on Thursday the first group of judges, prosecutors and investigators.  FULL STORY >>

Kosovo refugees returning home with "lightning speed", says UNHCR.
JULY 1-- Refugees are returning to Kosovo with lightning speed and most were expected to be home by winter, Soren Jessen Petersen, the Assistant United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Thursday.   FULL STORY >>

Secretary-General holds high-level "Friends of Kosovo" meeting on UN efforts to rebuild shattered province.
JUNE 30 -- Bringing together ministers and high-ranking officials from 16 countries and three key international organizations, Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday briefed the group on the initial deployment of the UN mission in Kosovo and the resources it would need to rebuild the devastated province.   FULL STORY >>

UN urges returning Kosovars to halt retaliatory attacksagainst Serb and Roma minorities.
JUNE 30 -- Alarmed by a wave of reprisals against Serb and Roma minorities in Kosovo, a senior United Nations official on Wednesday called on returning refugees to prevent retaliatory attacks.   FULL STORY >>

United Nations food agency expands Kosovo operation to aid 2.5 million people in Balkans.
JUNE 30 -- The United Nations food agency on Tuesday announced a dramatic expansion of its emergency aid operation in the Balkans to assist 2.5 million people who have suffered form the Kosovo crisis and previous strife in the region.   FULL STORY >>

Eighteen countries pledge to send police contingents for UN mission in Kosovo.
JUNE 29 -- Eighteen countries have agreed to send police contingents to serve with the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), a UN spokesman said on Tuesday.  FULL STORY >>

Pace of spontaneous returns to Kosovo slowing, UN refugee agency reports.
JUNE 29 -- The United Nations refugee agency reported on Tuesday that the pace of spontaneous returns to Kosovo was beginning to slow, with a 30 per cent decline recorded on Monday as compared with the high of 41,700 Kosovars streaming back to the province last Saturday.   FULL STORY >>

UN Mission in Kosovo moves to re-establish judicial system and deploy international police contingent.
JUNE 28 -- With more than half of the 800,000 Kosovo refugees now back in the province, the United Nations is moving to defuse tensions between Serbs and ethnic Albanians, re-establish the judicial system and deploy international police.   FULL STORY >>

UNHCR begins organized repatriation of refugees to three towns in Kosovo.
JUNE 28 -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Monday began the organized repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Kosovar refugees, taking more than 300 from camps in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to their homes in Pristina.   FULL STORY >>