UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo / 19 October 2000
International StaffAbout 1,892 personnel of UN and partner organizations on the ground, including
about 1,055 UN civilian staff as of 19 October Of total deployed, humanitarian personnel number over 100; 647 Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) personnel in place as of 19 October UNMIK has 4,162 civilian police deployed in all five regions of the
province and at four border crossings. They are patrolling in
high-risk areas on behalf of UNMIK as well as jointly with KFOR Between 150-200 additional officers are expected to be deployed each week Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 26 October recommended that the Security Council
increase the strength of the UNMIK police force by more than 1,600 officers, after
receiving a recommendation from Dr. Kouchner that the force should be significantly
increased. Mr. Annan urged the Council to increased the force strength from 3,110 to
4,718 to ensure that UNMIK had a police service that could enforce and maintain civil
order UNMIK Regional Administrators are working with local leaders in five regions to
maintain basic services and reduce tensions. Civil Administration officers are chairing
or supervising the work of senior municipal bodies in many of Kosovo's 29
municipalities Four joint civilian commissions, under UNMIK's leadership or co-leadership, are
currently operating in the health, education, energy and public utilities, and post and
telecommunications sectors First meeting of Joint Commission on Prisoners and Detainees took place on 21
September. Participants include experts with a human rights law background
nominated by members of KTC, representatives of human rights NGOs, legal
practitioners and family members of detained persons. Commission is chaired by the
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Regular meetings of Kosovo Transitional Council (KTC), presided over by UN, take
place every Wednesday. Grenade attack of 28 September in marketplace of town
close to Kosovo Polje leaves two people dead, 35 others injured. Members of KTC,
including local Albanian leaders, meeting on 29 September, said they were
"determined to stop those cowardly acts of violence against civilians" and pledged their
commitment to a multi-ethnic society At its meeting of 6 October, the KTC denounced "the phenomenon of abuse of
freedom of speech in media and public statements through threats and incitement of
violence against individuals, institutions and communities. KTC also condemned, at its
meeting on 3 November, the attack on Kosovo Serb leader, Mr. Momcilo Trajkovic,
who was shot and wounded by unknown assailants in his house on 31 October.
UNMIK and KFOR, also denounced the attack At its meeting of 10 November, KTC demanded from Belgrade information on the
whereabouts of missing persons and condemned the holding of political prisoners in
Serbia and urged their release An agreement to set up the Kosovo-UNMIK Joint Interim Administrative Structure
(JIAS) was signed on 15 December by three Kosovo Albanian political leaders -- Mr.
Hashim Thaci of the PPDK (People's Democratic Party of Kosovo), Mr. Ibrahim
Rugova of the LDK (Democratic League of Kosovo) and Mr. Rexhep Qosja of the
LBD (United Democratic Movement). The agreement establishes 14 joint
Administrative Departments (subsequently increased to 19), each to be co-headed by
a representative of UNMIK and Kosovo, and an Interim Administrative Council,
which will define the policies and recommend new regulations or amendments to
current law. The Council will consist of eight members -- the three Kosovo Albanian
political leaders and the as-yet-unnamed Kosovo Serb, plus four UNMIK members
and one observer for each side The Council agreed on 4 January to begin drafting regulations to define the
competencies of 19 departments to be created under the JIAS, in cooperation with the
legal office of UNMIK. The 19 departments agreed upon are: Budget and Finance,
Reconstruction, Trade and Industry, Education and Science, Youth and Sport,
Culture, General Public Services, Justice, Transport and Infrastructure, Post and
Telecommunications, Utilities, Health and Social Security, Labour, Agriculture,
Environment, Civil Security and Emergency Preparedness, Democratization, Local
Administration, and Non-residents' Affairs. On 11 January the Kosovo Interim Administration Council allocated seven out of 19 proposed administrative departments to political parties which will co-head them with officials of UNMIK as follows:
Kosovo Democratic League (LDK) - Budget & Finance and Justice
Democratic Progress Party of Kosovo (PPDK) - Local Government and Trade & Industry
United Democratic League (LBD)- Education & Science and Reconstruction.
The Department of Democratization & Civil Society will be allocated to an independent, while three of the remaining 12 departments will be co-headed by national communities The personnel who will head the allocated departments will be named by next week,
UNMIK said. The departments will be operational by the end of this month. The departments form part of the Joint Interim Administrative Structure, established
on 15 December to enable Kosovars to share the administration of the territory with
UNMIK until elections are held. Head of UNMIK, Dr. Bernard Kouchner said after the Council meeting that this was
the first time in the history of the UN system "we are sharing the administration and
working directly with the local people." UNMIK has made "good progress" in implementing its mandate over the past six
months, according to the latest report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council
released on 28 December. The demilitarization of the Kosovo Liberation Army was
"an important step forward," but there was concern about the security situation for
Kosovo Serbs, Roma and other minority groups. Despite the efforts of KFOR and
UNMIK, "the level and nature of the violence in Kosovo, especially against vulnerable
minorities, remains unacceptable". Regulation No. 1 on the Authority of the Interim Administration in Kosovo, came into
force on 10 June. According to the regulation, all legislative and executive authority
with respect to Kosovo is vested in UNMIK. It is exercised by the Special
Representative for the Secretary-General, who has the power to appoint any person to
perform functions in the civil administration in Kosovo. All persons undertaking public
duties or holding public office in Kosovo shall observe internationally recognized
human rights standards Regulation No. 2 on the "Prevention of Access by Individuals and their Removal to
Secure Public Peace and Order" came into force on 12 August. The regulation gave
KFOR and UNMIK police a tool to deter violence by authorizing them to remove or
prevent access to individuals to who were judged to threaten public peace and order Regulation No. 3 on the "Establishment of the Customs and other Related Services in
Kosovo" came into force on September. UNMIK Customs Service began collecting
duties on goods imported into Kosovo on 3 September at border crossing between
Kosovo and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Revenues raised by the
Customs Service are allocated to Kosovo's budget Regulation No. 4 on the "Currency Permitted to be Used in Kosovo" came into force
on 2 September, legalizing the use of foreign currencies for payments and contracts in
Kosovo. The UN regulation allowed the use of all currencies, including the Yugoslav
dinar, while lifting past legal restrictions on the use of or possession of all foreign
currencies. UNMIK is maintaining its books and accounts and making public
payments in Deutsche mark Regulation No. 5 on the "Establishment of an Ad Hoc Court of Final Appeal and an
Ad Hoc Office of the Public Prosecutor", which came into force on 4 September,
created the new Court as the highest judicial body in Kosovo and the adjacent
prosecutor's office Regulation No. 6 on "Recommendations for the Structure and Administration of the
Judiciary and Prosecution Service", which came into force on 7 September, outlined
structures for those bodies. A Technical Advisory Commission on Judiciary and
Prosecution Service was established to advise the SRSG on related matters Regulation No. 7 on the "Appointment and Removal from Office of Judges and
Prosecutors", which came into force on 7 September, outlined those procedures and
the methods for dealing with complaints against judicial officers. The regulation also
provided for the establishment of an Advisory Judicial Commission Regulation No. 8, which came into force on 20 September, created the Kosovo
Protection Corps, a civilian emergency service agency to absorb demobilized Kosovo
Liberation Army (KLA) soldiers. The Kosovo Corps would consist of 3,000 active
members and 2,000 reserve members. At least 10 per cent of active and reserve
members are to be chosen from minority groups (See Other developments section on
demilitarization of KLA) Regulation No. 9, which came into force on 24 September, authorized the import,
distribution and sale of oil and other petroleum products. The regulation also
established a regulatory board to licence companies and to supervise the flow of oil
products into the territory Regulation No. 10, which came into force on 13 October, abolished discriminatory
laws relating to housing and property ownership Regulation No. 11, which came into force on 13 October, authorized UNMIK to use
Kosovo's Public Payment Service, headquartered in Pristina, to collect and disburse
public funds Regulation No. 12, which came into force on 14 October, authorized the Post and
Telecommunication Enterprise of Kosovo (PTK) to provide mail and phone services to Kosovo, under
UNMIK supervision Regulation No. 13, which came into force on 16 October, authorized financial
institutions, other than bank, to make micro-credit loans up to 2,000 DM to individuals
and small businesses in Kosovo Regulation No. 14, which came into force on 21 October, created a system for
UNMIK to temporarily licence all vehicles and to issue interim licence plates Regulation No. 15 on Temporary Registration of Privately Operated Vehicles in
Kosovo came into force on 21 October Regulation No. 16 on the Establishment of the Central Fiscal Authority of Kosovo and
Other Related Matters came into force on 6 November Regulation No. 17 on the Approval of the Kosovo Consolidated Budget and
Authorizing Expenditures for the period 1 September to 31 December came into force
on 6 November Regulation No. 18 on the Appointment and Removal from Offices of Lay Judges came
into force on 10 November Regulation No. 19 on the Prohibition of Casino-Type Gambling in Kosovo came into
force on 12 November Regulation No. 20 on the Banking and Payments Authority of Kosovo came into force
on 15 November Regulation No. 21 on Banking Licensing, Supervision and Regulation came into force
on 16 November Regulation No. 22 on the Registration and Operation of Non-Governmental
Organizations in Kosovo came into force on 15 November Regulation 23 on the Establishment of the Housing and Property Directorate and the
Housing and Property Claims Commission came into force on 15 November Regulation No. 24 on the Law Applicable in Kosovo, came into force on 22 March. Regulation No. 25, which came into force on 12 December, repeals Section 3 of the
UNMIK Regulation No. 1 on the authority of the Interim Administration in Kosovo. Regulation No. 26, which came into force on 22 December, extends the period of
pre-trial detention by up to six months for those charged with a crime carrying a
possible prison sentence of five years or more. Regulation No. 27, which came into force on 22 December 1999, approves the Kosovo Consolidated Budget and authorizes expenditures for the period 1 January to 31 December 2000. Regulation No. 2000/1, which came into force on into force on 14 January 2000, establishes the Kosovo Joint Interim Administrative Structure. Regulation No. 2000/2, which came into force on 22 January 2000, establishes Excise Taxes in Kosovo. Regulation No. 2000/3, which came into force on 22 January, establishes Sales Tax in Kosovo. Regulation No. 2000/4 on the Prohibition Against Inciting to National, Racial, Religious or Ethnic Hatred, Discord or Intolerance, came into force on 1 February 2000. Regulation No. 2000/5, which came into force on 1 February 2000, establishes a Hotel, Food and Beverage Service Tax. Regulation No. 2000/6 on the Appointment and Removal from Office of International Judges and International Prosecutors came into force on 15 February 2000. Regulation No. 2000/7, which came into force on 18 February 2000, amends Regulation No. 1999/16 on the Establishment of the Central Fiscal Authority of Kosovo and other Related Matters. Regulation No. 2000/8, which came into force on 1 March 200, establishes the Provisional Registration of Business in Kosovo. Regulation No. 2000/9, which came into force on 3 March 2000, establishes the Department of Local Administration. Regulation No. 2000/10, which came enter into force on 3 March 2000, establishes the Department of Health and Social Welfare. Regulation No. 2000/11, which came enter into force on 3 March 2000, establishes the Administrative Department of Education and Science. Regulation No. 2000/12, which came enter into force on 14 March 2000, establishes the Administrative Department of Public Services. Regulation No. 2000/13, which came enter into force on 17 March 2000, establishes the Central Civil Registry. Regulation No. 2000/14 on the Extension of Custody of Persons Held Pending the Petition for Extradition came into force on 18 March 2000. Over 50 justice officials have been appointed in the new independent and multi-ethnic
judiciary system created by the United Nations Mission There are courts serving Pristina and other districts, such as Prizren, and two mobile
courts to hear emergency cases; they have dealt with several hundred KFOR
detainees On 13 December, Dr Kouchner announced a regulation making UNMIK regulations
as the primary law of the land, with a new penal code now being drafted by Kosovar
legal experts with assistance of the Council of Europe and the law in force in Kosovo
on 22 March 1989 as the second applicable law. All laws must conform to
international human rights standards. He said he will appoint 400 news judges and
prosecutors. He will also appoint lay judges -- respected members of the community
-- to lend objectivity to the decisions of the courts. By early next year, all courts will be
functional. Courthouses in every municipality will be refurbished. Each courthouse will
be secured by guards. Every member of the judiciary will receive a proper salary. A
Kosovo Court for Human Rights, to be set up early next year, will handle politically
motivated and major human rights cases. It will fill the gap between the International
Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia and local courts. Two-thirds of the judges and
prosecutors will be Kosovars, the others, international On 30 November, UNMIK officially took over the prison in Prizren. Early next year,
UNMIK takes over the entire correctional system. On 13 December, Dr Kouchner
announced that he was issuing a regulation allowing courts to extend the pre-trial
detention of suspects beyond the current six-month limit UNMIK has begun rounds of stipend payments to local civil servants and others,
including doctors. Payments are being made from a UN trust fund established to
support civil administration in Kosovo. Under a special arrangement that began on 17
August Kosovo Consolidated Budget introduced on 8 November 1999 will cover the
payments of stipends, as well as payments to needy persons, up to 31 December
1999 Main post office in Pristina opened on 1 August; several hundred staff have returned
and an inventory of their skills is being conducted Five post offices opened in the Pristina area on 9 August to manage payment of
pensions to some 25,000 pensioners who have not been paid since February-March
this year. A Task Force on Pensions was established jointly by the Civil Administration
and the Reconstruction components with the participation of local experts and
members of the Kosovo Pension Association Waste collection and disposal project began on 16 August in Pristina with a public
information campaign on sanitation and environmental measures to be launched by
UNMIK and UNICEF. A project to clean the Bistrica River, funded by the UN
Development Programme, began on 18 August UNMIK's Regional Administration for Pristina on 9 November signed an agreement
with Germany Agency for Development Co-operation (GTZ), and Higjiena-Teknik,
the company in charge of garbage collection in Pristina. GTZ will assume technical and
financial supervision of the project and will deliver equipment and material assistance.
The UNMIK Municipal Administration will oversee the regular collection and disposal
of municipal wastes, as well as a public awareness campaign supported by the World
Health Organization UNMIK, KFOR and representatives of Kosovo's power company have reached
agreement on a strategy for maintaining electricity and heat supply over the winter. A
British consortium will manage Kosovo's power sector through the winter following an
agreement signed on 15 September On 26 August, UNMIK began chairing the Joint Civil Commission on Energy and
Public Utilities -- taking that position over from KFOR, which did much of the
emergency repair work on utilities in the immediate aftermath of the war On 27 December, Kosovo began running multi-ethnic passenger trains between
Kosovo Polje and Zvechan, with security provided by UNMIK and KFOR. The
services stop at Obolic, Priluzje, Vucitrn and Mitrovia and KFOR is providing
additional security in the stations. Passenger wagons on freight trains are also operating
between Skopje's Volkovo station and Pristina's Teretna freight station. The Kosovo
railway system has 11 locomotives at its disposal. Norway has made a commitment to
donate 18 locomotives in September 2000 Pristina Slatina airport reopened to civilian aircraft on 11 January. The airport was closed on 12 November following the crash of a UN chartered plane More than 810,000 people have returned to Kosovo after residing in camps or with
host families in Albania, the Former Yugoslavia Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro
(Yugoslavia), Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries during the NATO air
strikes. A recent assessment showed that 120,000 houses were damaged or
destroyed by war, however everyone will be sheltered for the winter UNHCR reports that an estimated 180,000 displaced Serb and Roma people from
Kosovo have moved into Serbia and Montenegro. Around 130,000 of these internally
displaced persons are believed to have arrived in Serbia and Montenegro since the
end of NATO air strikes and the deployment of KFOR in Kosovo in June 1999 In a revised Consolidated Inter-Agency Humanitarian Appeal issued on 27 July, the
funding requirements for 1999 are now set at over $900 million 12 United Nations humanitarian agencies and the International Organization for
Migration appealed for more than $400 million to continue to fund work in the Balkans
this year. United Nations agencies have already received more than $500 million for
the region World Food Programme is providing food aid to 600,000 people in Kosovo 500,000 Kosovars need proper accommodation before the onset of winter. UNHCR
says it can only extend very basic, emergency shelter assistance UNHCR and other agencies are providing more than 75,000 shelter kits. These kits
are aimed at allowing the repair and weatherproofing of at least one room in a house.
In all, the kits will benefit an estimated 387,000 people. UNHCR is also bringing in at
least 1.5 million pieces of timber for reconstruction but plans are under foot to develop
a host family programme for those Kosovars who will not be able to weatherproof one
room in a home before winter sets in. Winterization through distribution of shelter
repair kits is well under way. However, the full housing reconstruction programme will
not begin until spring UNHCR plans to provide 60,000 cubic metres of firewood to vulnerable families
throughout the region and to distribute 650,000 blankets out of 850,000 planned to
help Kosovars through the winter To help farmers become self-sufficient again, FAO has distributed seeds and fertilizer
in Kosovo in advance of the coming winter as part of a $6.7 million project. Some
14,500 metric tons of winter wheat seeds and 9,000 metric tons of fertilizer were
handed out to more than 70,000 farming families in the province The UNMIK Mine Action Coordination centre has reported that 1.1 million square
metres of land have been demined or cleared of unexploded ordnance. Sixteen mine
clearance companies have been funded by donor organizations to undertake mine
clearance; mine awareness programmes are being carried out by 12 organizations at
the provincial and community levels. KFOR experts have inspected and cleared mines
and other devices from 1,700 kilometres of roads, nearly 1,200 schools and 16,000
houses and public buildings The vast majority of 1,000 public schools throughout Kosovo opened on 25 October
to some 300,000 children, without incident. UNICEF is distributing school furniture,
materials and supplies, stoves and winterized tents for delivery to schools Some 86 per cent of Kosovo's children are now in school. The schools have been
furnished with desks, chairs and schoolbag and new textbooks have been published in
Albanian, Serbian, Bosnian and Turkish A damage assessment of some 649 schools in Kosovo found that 25 per cent are
damaged, 21 per cent severely damaged and 60 per cent were destroyed beyond
repair Before KFOR arrived there were an estimated 40,000 mines in the province. KFOR
explosive ordnance disposal teams have cleared all the major routes and population
centres, and also marked the remaining sites known to contain mines or other
unexploded ordnance. UNICEF, the lead agency in all mine-awareness activities, has
distributed more than 300,000 posters and leaflets in Kosovo warning of the dangers
of landmines, unexploded ordnance and booby-traps Child immunization began mid-September, with mobile teams immunizing children
against tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps and rubella.
Some 360,000 children will be vaccinated, or have their vaccination cards updated. A
separate campaign is planned to immunize 30,000 children between the ages of 1 and
2 against measles. UNICEF is supplying health centres with rehydration salts, and
hygiene items for babies and women, and other items All hospitals and basic health services are now functioning in Kosovo, and nearly all
children have been inoculated against childhood diseases. Drugs, blankets, laboratory
supplies, generators and soap are being purchased. By January 2000, every health
institution will have a Kosovar director and co-director UN "Blue Sky" Radio went on the air on 1 October with a mixture of news bulletins in
Albanian, and with UNMIK news and features aired in both Albanian and Serbian Radio Kosovo began broadcasting on 1 November Radio Television Kosovo was launched on 19 September. The station, operated by
the European Broadcasting Union, is to employ both Albanian and Serb Kosovars.
This is an emergency service which will enable people throughout the territory to
receive vital information. It has been on the air for a week broadcasting two hours of
programming in Albanian and Serbian daily An Independent Media Board composed of five local journalists (four Albanians and
one Serb) has been constituted to provide advice on media issues. UNMIK-OSCE
and KFOR has set up an informal Joint Consultative Council to coordinate work on
media matters On 20 October, Dr. Kouchner appointed Douglas Davidson, of the OSCE, as
temporary Media Commissioner and authorized him to require existing and planned
radio and television stations to apply for temporary licences. Mr. Davidson is charged
with formulating a plan for permanent media licencing and regulatory systems Radio Television Pristina resumed radio broadcasts on 28 July. Radio Pristina is airing
a 90-minute programme in three languages produced by the OSCE administered staff.
UNMIK Radio produces 30 minutes of the programming. The staff of Albanian, Serb,
and Turkish journalists is growing as the station develops. The editorial staff of the
three ethnic teams co-operate by exchanging information UNMIK has started broadcasting on Radio Prizren a one-hour programme called the
"UN Hour". This programme will be broadcast in cooperation with KFOR, OSCE
and other international organizations An agreement signed with the Swiss government has given the UNMIK radio
operation a complete and functioning radio studio. The studio will be operated under
the authority of UNMIK, which will have full editorial responsibility for the
programming produced. Mr. Eric Lehman, the new Director General of Radio
Television arrived in Pristina on 25 September. A former President of the Swiss
Broadcasting Association, he will focus on developing a public broadcasting system for
Kosovo Local individuals are being actively recruited for the new Kosovo police service UNMIK reported that over 40,000 application forms were distributed in the UN's
efforts to recruit for the service and over 19,000 were returned. Some 170 Kosovo
Police Service cadets are on the streets and another 178, drawn from all over the
province and representing Albanians, Serbs and other minorities, are undergoing
training Fifty UN Volunteers began training in mid-October to register the population of
Kosovo. It is planned that 120 UN registration centres will be opened around the
territory to compile census data and a voter roster for future elections OSCE rule of law division organized a symposium for the judiciary which opened on
24 September The Judicial Training Unit is stepping up its efforts on the development of a judicial
training institute in Kosovo. Intensive training will be provided in areas such as
international human rights law. The Judicial Support Unit is continuing interviews of
potential judges OSCE is proceeding with plans to set up a Kosovo Law Centre; a Legal Monitoring
Unit has begun work The OSCE opened the first in a series of political party centres on 7 October,
designed to provide space, basic infrastructure and communications services to
political parties in Kosovo. As of 13 October, OSCE had opened 10 field offices to
help develop political parties, facilitate human rights work and assist non-governmental
organizations. OSCE estimates that as many as 20 parties have been created
representing a wide political spectrum, including Albanians, Serbs, Turks and Bosnians The OSCE Democratization Department organized a meeting on 17 September to
discuss the representation of women in the political process Efforts have begun to establish Political Party Service Centres in major Kosovar cities.
These centres are to ensure fair competition for emerging parties by providing equal
facilities The Executive Board of the World Bank, meeting in Washington on 8 October,
approved a $25 million grant as first tranche towards a $60 million strategy to help
rebuild Kosovo's infrastructure and develop a modern economy over an 18-month
period Meeting of the joint World Bank/ European Commission High Level steering Group in
Washington, D.C. was held on 28 September to examine progress of Kosovo's
reconstruction and economic recovery programme An Economic Policy Advisory Board, with Kosovar co-chair, has been created to
review basic economic strategy and proposed regulations on major economic issues The Second Donors Conference for Kosovo held on 17 November in Brussels
committed more than $1 billion to reconstruction projects for the year 2000 and $88
million towards a Kosovo budget estimated at $515 million for 1999/2000. The First
Donors Conference held on 28 July 1999 in Brussels pledged $2.082 billion to cover
the budgetary deficit presented by UNMIK, the immediate basic needs identified by
UN agencies and the immediate requirements for reconstruction Draft regulations are in preparation to institute a fully functioning payment system in
Kosovo; the central system is based on the deutsche mark The Banking and Payments Authority of Kosovo (BPK), with most of the powers of a
central bank was established on 17 November 1999. BKK acts as a depository for
the Central Fiscal Authority (CFA), established earlier in November to manage the
territory's consolidated budget, and other parts of the interim civil administration.
BPK's Bank Supervisory and Regulatory Department is responsible for issuing
licences to commercial banks and developing rules and providing the overall
supervision of banking activities in Kosovo UNMIK announced on 20 December that the lead mine, Stari Trg, would reopen
following a six-week assessment to see what preliminary work needs to be done to get
the mine operational. The reopening of Stari Trg , which is part of the Trepca mining
complex, would be a significant step towards the economic recovery of Kosovo. Kosovo Telecommunications (PTK) signed a contract contract with Alcatel and
Monaco Telecom on 17 December for the supply of a mobile telephone network to be
installed in Kosovo beginning January 2000. The network, which will have a capacity
of 100,000 lines, will cover seven towns. Agreement reached on 20 September of demilitarization and transformation of KLA,
according to an Undertaking of 21 June 1999 concluded with NATO and the
Regulation of 20 September issued by Head of UNMIK on creation of Kosovo
Protection Corps (KPC). Kosovo has been demilitarized and the KPC will shortly be constituted as a civilian
emergency response agency. The International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has received reports of 11,3344
bodies in 529 gravesites. As of 10 November 1999, approximately one third of the
529 gravesites have been examined. Work has been completed at 195 sites. In total
4,256 bodies had been reported to be buried in those 195 sites. To date 2,108 bodies
have been exhumed. This figure does not necessarily reflect the total number of actual
victims. The Tribunal has discovered evidence of tempering with graves Since the conflict erupted in 1997, kidnappings increased substantially, mainly by
Kosovar Albanians as a tactic against the Serbs. From 19 June to 31 October 1999, a
total of 130 persons were kidnapped or disappeared. Thirty-one per cent of these
were ethnic Serbs, even though they currently make up only 6 per cent of the
population of Kosovo UNMIK human rights monitors, working closely with the Humanitarian Pillar and the
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, are active throughout Kosovo. In
several instances, monitors have secured the release of abducted Serbs in Gnjilane and
Orahovac The OSCE has human rights personnel in Kosovo attempting to prevent abuse and
following up on incidents. They are recording kidnappings and documenting mass
grave sites as well as receiving complaints from civilians about a variety of issues.
OSCE has also attempted to assess the situation of Serbs in Pristina, in cooperation
with UNHCR and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). OSCE
human rights teams are closely monitoring the situation of Slav Muslim minorities in
Djakovica and surrounding areas UNHCR and OSCE completed their third joint review of the situation of ethnic
minorities in Kosovo in early November and reported that the overall situation of
ethnic minorities in Kosovo remained extremely precarious. The reported noted that
while crime statistics indicated a decline in the overall number of violent incidents as far
as minorities are concerned, there has been a significant decrease in the overall
non-Albanian population since June 1999. The review also notes that KFOR's
increased efforts to provide protection, especially through the deployment of
permanent static troops, are playing a preventive role and are giving rural minorities
more confidence. The UN Civil Administration has also deployed Civil affairs Minority
Officers who are residing, on a permanent basis, in selected communities in order to
contribute to improved security On 13 December, Dr. Kouchner announced the launching of an Agenda for
Co-existence whose objective is to establish security, then peaceful co-existence
between the communities. The Agenda also provides for safe access by minorities to
essential public services. Facilities will be established at the community level to
guarantee access to public services such as health and education OSCE released on 6 December 1999 two human rights reports that document
extensive human rights violations in Kosovo. The first report, Kosovo/Kosova - As
Seen, As Told, covers the period from December 1998 to June 1999 and concludes
that Yugoslav and Serbian forces committed extensive human rights abuses and
violated the laws of armed combat. Their victims were overwhelmingly Kosovo
Albanians. The second report, As Seen, As Told, Part II, covers the period between
14 June and 31 October 1999 and details human rights violations against Serbs and
other minorities. The report notes that the desire for revenge has been the primary
motive for the vast majority of human rights violations Some 200,000 minorities, mainly Serbs and Roma, have fled Kosovo since the end of
the NATO bombardment of the province last June. This exodus was primarily from
towns. Only 400 to 600 Serbs remained in Pristina, and they do not enjoy any secure
freedom of movement, the report says UNMIK has established a focal point within its Institution-building component for
issues related to missing persons and works closely with the ICRC and the
International Commission for Missing Persons The UN Office for Human Rights in Belgrade has asked the Justice Minister for the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for an accounting of all Kosovars detained in the
territory before March 1999, those held in Serbia after that date and all who have
been released from Serbian prisons. The Human Rights Office has also asked the
Ministry of Justice to visit several Serb prisons to ascertain the condition of women,
children, elderly or sick detainees from Kosovo OSCE Mission in Kosovo (OMIK) held a Kosovo International Human Rights
Conference in Pristina on 10 and 11 December. This was the first human rights
conference and the first important international conference in more than 10 years to be
held in Kosovo. More than 500 guests from Kosovo and throughout the world
participated A team of international experts from the joint United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP)/UN Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) Balkans Task Force (BTF) left
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on 26 July after visiting the worst-damaged
industrial sites resulting from the Balkans conflict. The team leader has suggested
immediate international action to redress environmental consequences and health risks
posed by groundwater and soil contamination At the end of August, a second team conducted a study examining the condition of the
River Danube and the impact on biodiversity BTF is working with UNMIK on issues of urban management and rehabilitation,
housing law, property registration and environmental management After completing the last of its studies in the region mid-September, the BTF issued a
report on 15 October indicating that even though the Kosovo conflict had not caused
an environmental catastrophe affecting the region, levels of pollution detected at four
sites in Serbia - Pancevo, Krajujevac, Novi Sad and Bor - required immediate
clean-up action. However, much of the pollution detected pre-dated the conflict, the
report said UN has allocated $50 million to fund UNMIK initial operations The General Assembly authorized the Secretary-General to spend up to $200 million
for the Mission's operations, which includes the $50 million already allocated However, only $125 million is to be committed to UNMIK pending final
appropriations by the General Assembly; of that amount, some $43 million has been
received as of 7 October The proposed UNMIK budget from its inception on 10 June 1999 to 30 June 2000 is
$456.4 million, including the $200 million already authorized by the General Assembly
and $585,5000 in voluntary contributions in kind The 1999 budget for Kosovo, approved on 8 November, totals 125 million deutsche
marks (approximately $66.5 million), nearly 70 percent of which is financed by
international donors. The approval of the budget made it possible for UNMIK to use
local revenues from customs, excise and sales taxes as well as donor grants to provide
major public services such as health, education, police and fire services, water and
assistance to the needy. The Central Fiscal Authority (CFA), which gives the
administration the legal right to collect revenues and make expenditures on behalf of
the Kosovo Budget, also came into effect on 8 November 1999 The Customs Service, begun in August, has raised more than 25 million deutsche
marks (about $13 million) and is being expanded with more customs officers working
24-hours a day on the borders The establishment of an offshore bank account for the Kosovo budget was announced
on 17 November in Brussels during the Second Donors Conference for Kosovo.
DEPLOYMENT
International Staff
UN Civilian Police
CORE ACTIVITIES
Civilian Administration
UNMIK Regulations
Legal Framework
Restoration of Public Services
Humanitarian Activities
Institution-building
Reconstruction
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Demilitarization
Criminal Tribunal
Human Rights
Environment
UNMIK Budget
Information correct as of 19 October 2000; to be updated as required