Kosovo has the highest level of maternal and infant mortality in Europe, says UN agency.
NOVEMBER 19 -- Kosovo has the highest level of maternal and infant mortality in Europe, UN Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director Nafis Sadik said today in Pristina.Dr Sadik, who is visiting maternity clinics and hospitals in Kosovo, told journalists that the war conditions have aggravated the situation of women and children.
UNFPA is working in Kosovo to provide training and equipment to ensure safe delivery of newborn infants and quality maternal care in hospitals and clinics.
Dr. Sadik said many of the current deliveries are premature to women who suffered great trauma and stress during the war. "In many hospitals and clinics there isn't adequate equipment or trained personnel to care for premature infants," she said.
Many women and infants are dying because of a lack of basic equipment and care, she said. "As winter draws in, the situation is expected to worsen, as many of the clinics where women give birth have no electricity, heating or water."
Dr. Sadik said even full-term infants are often underweight, as their mothers did not get enough to eat during the war.
"Another problem related to the effects of the war is a higher than normal incidence of miscarriage," she said.
She said the World Health Organization in Pristina estimates that almost 50 per cent of premature infants born in Kosovo do not survive.
Regulation enacted on appointment and removal from office of lay judges in Kosovo.
NOVEMBER 19 -- The Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, has signed a regulation on the appointment and removal from office of lay judges in Kosovo.A statement issued today by the UN Mission in Pristina said the regulation will establish "an independent, impartial and multi-ethnic judiciary" in the territory.
The Advisory Judicial Commission will post public announcements inviting qualified applicants to apply for the positions. The Commission is also accepting recommendations on suitable candidates from regional, municipal and judicial authorities and legal professionals. It will review individual applications and submit recommendations in writing to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General.
Lay judges help to determine the facts during a trial and, in conjunction with the law judges, adjudicate the case. The Commission will investigate a complaint regarding a lay judge and advice the Special Representative on the appropriate action to take.
Registration for non-governmental organizations in Kosovo to begin on 29 November.
NOVEMBER 19 -- The Head of the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), Dr. Bernard Kouchner, has signed a regulation on the registration and operation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Kosovo. The registration will start on 29 November in Pristina.A statement issued in Pristina today said the registration will start in the regions on 6 December and should be completed by the end of January.
Once registered, NGOs will operate as legal entities and will be eligible for public benefits status, which gives tax exemption, including customs duties and sales tax on organizations distributing humanitarian aid.
International NGOS must provide documentation that they are registered in another country or jurisdiction and a written statement from their headquarters describing their purpose, planned activities and authorized representatives. Local NGOs will be required to verify their establishment in Kosovo.
Donors' conference for Kosovo raised more money than expected, says UN official.
18 NOVEMBER -- The Second Donors' Conference for Kosovo in Brussels yesterday raised more money than expected, UN Spokesman Fred Eckhard said today.Briefing the media in New York, he said the pledging conference for the long-term development of Kosovo resulted in pledges of more than $1 billion.
Of the total, $970 million was pledged for reconstruction and recovery efforts in the territory. A further $88 million was for the regular Kosovo budget, $47 million for peace implementation activity and $18 million for humanitarian assistance.
About half of the pledges came from countries in the European Union, Mr. Eckhard said.
The pledges were made after senior officials from 47 donor countries and 34 international organizations discussed Kosovo's medium-term reconstruction programme, which was prepared jointly by European Commission and World Bank experts in support of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
The conference is the second major effort by donors to raise money for Kosovo, and focused on its long-term development over the next four to five years, Mr. Eckhard said. At the First Donors' Conference on 28 July commitments were made to provide $2.17 billion, including $1.6 billion for immediate humanitarian needs. Of that amount, approximately $460 million were either spent or firmly committed by the first half of 1999, he said.
Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General honour victims of Kosovo plane crash.
17 NOVEMBER -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today the 24 men and women who died in the World Food Programme air crash in Kosovo last Friday gave life to the words "humanitarian imperative".In a message to the memorial ceremony for the victims, delivered on his behalf by his Chef de Cabinet, S. Iqbal Riza, in Rome, Mr. Annan said they were "irreplaceable colleagues" whose memory will live on.
"We share the grief of their families and friends all the more because this loss comes as a deep blow to their other family: the international humanitarian family. Whether their job was providing for the poor or helping build the peace, they were united in a mission to rebuild the lives of human beings in need," he said. Our imperative is to carry on their work, the Secretary-General said.
Mr. Annan said the men and women of the humanitarian family are a special segment of the human race, who feel their duty to help innocent people more deeply than they fear for their own safety.
In a parallel ceremony in New York, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette said the 24 people lost their lives in a mission to improve the lives of others.
"We owe it to their families and friends to seek to honour that example. We owe it to the mission which our colleagues never had the chance to finish. And we owe it to the millions in need who rely on us for hope every day," she said.
"No one can replace them, but we can follow their sense of purpose. That is the finest thanks we can give for the lives of these irreplaceable people," she said.
Donors pledge over $1 billion for the first phase of reconstruction in Kosovo.
17 NOVEMBER -- Donors today pledged over $1 billion to kick-start the first phase of the reconstruction of Kosovo, which will cover recovery needs until December 2000, the European Commission and World Bank said in a press release issued in Brussels.At the Second Donors' Conference for Kosovo held in Brussels, co-chaired by the European Commission and the World Bank, senior officials from 47 donor countries and 34 international organizations discussed Kosovo's medium-term reconstruction programme. The programme was prepared jointly by European Commission and World Bank experts in support of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
In Brussels, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, Head of UNMIK, urged the international community to provide the necessary means to fulfil its commitment and bring Kosovo to peace, stability and democracy.
The First Donors' Conference for Kosovo, which took place in July 1999, focused primarily on humanitarian needs and refugee return.
UNMIK establishes banking and payments authority for Kosovo.
17 NOVEMBER -- The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has taken steps to establish a sound banking system in the territory with the signing by UNMIK head Dr. Bernard Kouchner of two regulations establishing a banking and payments authority in Kosovo and a regulatory regime for commercial banks.A press statement issued by UNMIK in Pristina today said the newly created Banking and Payments Authority of Kosovo (BPK) would act as a depository for the Central Fiscal Authority (CFA), established earlier this month to manage the territory's consolidated budget, and other parts of the interim civil administration.
BPK will have most of the powers of a central bank, its Interim Managing Director Nick Brentall told a press conference, including bank licensing, supervision and regulation, but without the power to issue its own currency. BPK will oversee the payments system of Kosovo, provide settlement of deutsche mark payments, and temporarily to provide depository and payments services for deutsche marks.
BPK's Bank Supervisory and Regulatory Department will be responsible for issuing licences to commercial banks and will develop rules and provide the overall supervision of banking activities in Kosovo.
"From today, commercial banks that agree to follow international standards of prudence in their conduct may apply for licences to open in Kosovo," Mr. Brentall announced. Banks currently operating in Kosovo have 30 days from 15 November to file for a licence or must cease operating in the territory.
Mr. Brentall said banks would provide opportunities for enterprises to apply for credits to establish new businesses and refurbish existing industry. "With this activity comes an expansion in the economy with creation of new jobs and new skills," he said.
Dr. Kouchner has also signed a regulation prohibiting the establishment and operation of casinos in Kosovo. The regulation, which went into force on 16 November, will allow enforcement authorities to close casinos and seize assets and moveable property involved in illegal gambling.
World Bank launches project to help Kosovars rebuild their lives.
17 NOVEMBER -- The World Bank and the Kosovo Foundation for Open Society (KFOS) yesterday announced the establishment of a new initiative to help the people of Kosovo rebuild their lives by supporting the development of Kosovo's local government and communities.The Bank said in a press statement issued in Washington DC that the Kosovo Community Development Fund - the first operation financed by the World Bank in Kosovo - will provide rapid, targeted support to assist communities rebuild their shattered infrastructure and improve community services.
It will also support the development of local governments to allow them to serve their communities in a transparent, fair and accountable manner.
The Community Fund will finance small-scale projects - identified by communities themselves - up to a maximum of $75,000, the Bank said. Eligible projects will include small-scale infrastructure, community services and business development activities.
The Community Fund will finance projects in communities all over Kosovo. However, resources will be especially targeted towards poor and marginalized communities where investment is most needed, the Bank said.
The Fund will operate in partnership with KFOS, the Pristina-based foundation that is part of the philanthropist George Soros' network of non-profit foundations based throughout Eastern Europe.
Project financing is expected to total $20 million, dependent on available financing, including $1 million from the Bank's Post Conflict Fund and $3 million tentatively committed by the Japanese Post Conflict Fund.
UNMIK introduces new authority to oversee abandoned housing and settle residential property disputes.
17 NOVEMBER -- The Head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Dr Bernard Kouchner, has signed a regulation establishing a directorate to oversee abandoned housing and settle residential property disputes.A statement issued by UNMIK in Pristina today said the Housing and Property Directorate will conduct an inventory of abandoned private, state and socially owned housing and supervize its use or rental.
The Directorate will also mediate residential property disputes or refer them to the Housing and Property Claims Commission, an independent and impartial organ of the Directorate.
The Commission will initially be composed of a panel of two international and one local experts in housing and property law. It will have exclusive jurisdiction to settle claims by people who lost property as a result of discriminatory legislation, people who entered informal contracts since 1989 and want to have them regularized, and people who lost property as a result of the recent armed conflict.
The UNMIK statement said the Directorate is the first step in the process of resolving the complex issue of contested residential property ownership, which will be guided by UNMIK and the UN Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat).
Kosovo Transitional Council told of decreasing violence and crime.
NOVEMBER 16 -- Violence and crime in Kosovo decreased during the past week, security officials told the Kosovo Transitional Council (KTC), the highest-level advisory board of Kosovars.The officials, from the Kosovo international peace-keeping force KFOR and UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) Police were addressing the regular meeting of KTC in Pristina today.
The past week had been the most stable period since KFOR arrived in Kosovo on 12 June, Head of UNMIK, Dr Bernard Kouchner, also told the KTC.
"It's not enough but it is better than before," he told the media after the meeting.
Dr. Kouchner, who was leaving for a European donors conference on Kosovo in Brussels, said the continuing problem of violent crime in Kosovo would be an issue at the conference.
"The donors must understand that if they want us and the Kosovars to decrease the level of violence, we need money for salaries, money to re-establish the administration and money to re-establish industry," he said.
In Brussels, Dr. Kouchner would be seeking some 200 million deutsche marks for the 2000 Kosovo budget, to make up for an expected shortfall in domestic revenues.
More than 390 million deutsche marks will be needed for the 2000 budget, according to the European Union representative who briefed the KTC. Salaries, for 64,500 people expected to be employed in public administration, will take up much of the expenditure.
Registration of Kosovo population to start before end of year.
NOVEMBER 16 - Registration of the Kosovo population will start before the end of the year, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said today in a statement issued in Pristina. Identity cards will be issued and a voters' list prepared in order to hold elections as soon as possible.In registering the population and providing them with identity cards, UNMIK will "re-establish the public order that was seriously disturbed by the systematic destruction of identity cards during the recent conflict," the statement said.
The registration, which will take four to five months, will start in Pristina and then be expanded to the rest of Kosovo in January.
So far, 90 registration centres, to be managed by UN Volunteers and local staff, have been identified. In addition, there will be 30 mobile centres.
Investigations begin into cause of Kosovo plane crash.
15 NOVEMBER -- Investigations have begun in to the cause of Friday's crash of a UN plane in which 21 passengers and three crewmembers perished.Investigators from France -- where the plane was registered -- arrived in Pristina on Saturday and will be joined by a team from the Italian civil air administration and two officials from the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said today.
The plane, an ATR-42, chartered by the World Food Programme (WFP), was on a flight from Rome when it crashed on a mountain near Pristina, just before it was about to land. Those on board included three WFP staff, members of the UNMIK police, a Canadian official and representatives from non-governmental organizations working in Kosovo.
"It is our understanding that there will be a preliminary report of the investigation within one month and that a final report will be ready sometimes within the first half of 2000," said Ms. Maryan Baquerot, chief of staff to UNMIK head Bernard Kouchner.
Dr. Kouchner, along with KFOR Commander General Karl Reinhardt, visited the crash site on Saturday. "The loss of all these people, who were coming to help Kosovo, is a terrible tragedy for all of us," Dr. Kouchner said. "We needed people who were so committed to come to a place that has experienced so much torment. A place that is still in a state of turmoil," he told families of the victims.
Bodies of the victims were flown to Rome on Monday where the Italian government was to organize an airport ceremony attended by family members, the Italian Prime Minister and WFP Executive Director Catherine Bertini, WFP Deputy Director Jean Jacques Graisse said in Pristina.
