PRESS BRIEFING ON KOSOVO

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING ON KOSOVO

John Ruggie, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General, told correspondents at a briefing this afternoon that under Security Council resolution 1244 (1999), the international security presence in Kosovo, or KFOR, was still responsible for a great many things on the ground that affected the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). It was KFOR's responsibility to establish a secure environment for the return of refugees; it was still the responsibility of the force to ensure public safety, and also the protection and freedom of movement of the international civilian presence in Kosovo. KFOR's deployment itself was now at approximately 34,000, which meant it still needed 16,000 more before being fully deployed.

In this phase of the operation, Mr. Ruggie said, the United Nations job was "to get up and running" in each of the following areas, or "pillars": humanitarian activities, under the leadership of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); civil administration, under the leadership of the United Nations itself -- in Pristina, in the districts as well as at the level of municipalities; institution-building, which was the primary responsibility of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE); and reconstruction, under European Union leadership.

In addition, Mr. Ruggie said it was the responsibility of the United Nations to ensure that those four pillars were working as a close family, in coordination with the others, so that they were mutually reinforcing and operated in an integrated manner.

As of today, between the United Nations and all the partner organizations, there were about 700 international staff in Kosovo. Of the number, 144 were United Nations staff; another 186 United Nations staff were "in travel status" or "in the pipeline from here to there". It was expected that by the end of August there would be about 400 United Nations staff in place. The OSCE was also deploying quite rapidly, with about 90 international staff in place, as of today. The humanitarian component was about 107.

Continuing, Mr. Ruggie said that as of today, some 156 police officers from the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) had been deployed to Kosovo. As regards the inflow of police officers from Member States directly, he said that starting this week, the logistical means were now in place for the processing of about 100 international police every five days. In about a month's time, the number could rise to 200 police officers every five days.

The development rate in UNMIK thus far is unprecedented under these kinds of circumstances, he said.

He recalled that correspondents had been receiving regularly daily briefings on the various activities on the political and civilian fronts in Kosovo. He reminded them that the Kosovo Transitional Council -- a critical first step towards the development of self-government in Kosovo -- was brought together under the leadership of UNMIK on 16 July. A series of joint civilian commissions in a variety of areas, including health care, media, education and public works, had been meeting in an attempt to reduce friction between Serb and Albanian personnel in the workplaces, ranging from hospitals to television stations.

He said that Bernard Kouchner, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Kosovo, had sworn in seven additional Serbian judges and three new prosecutors, bringing to 19 the total number of judicial officials appointed by the United Nations. There were also judges travelling around Kosovo as part of a mobile court, handling about 90 cases so far, involving nearly 200 people.

Mr. Ruggie said the United Nations had begun to deploy in the five districts, and links had been established among them, and between them and the headquarters in Pristina.

On the humanitarian front, he said there was a great deal of activity going on, and that different non-governmental organizations, as well as intergovernmental and bilateral agencies were at work. The UNHCR was now assisting more than 700,000 refugees, as well as the Serbs who had fled Kosovo in the past weeks.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) had done an extensive assessment of needs of children, as well as of schools, he went on. Steps were being taken to repair schools, purchase desks, chairs and blackboards, so that kids could go back to school when the school season started in September. The World Food Programme (WFP) had been providing food aid to about 650,000 internally displaced inside Kosovo.

The European Union and the World Bank were chairing a donors' meeting on Kosovo in Brussels on 28 July for reconstruction, Mr. Ruggie said. There were already emergency reconstruction funds available.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia now had five teams operating on the ground from the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Canada and Sweden, he said. Two more from Belgium and Germany were expected there by the end of the week. The Tribunal had been told of approximately 200 reported mass grave sites so far and those were being investigated.

"We have been out there now for six weeks", Mr. Ruggie observed and added: "It has been an extraordinary challenge, as we said at the outset it would be, but we are proceeding according to plan. Needless to say, we try every which way to improve our performance and to speed up deployment. But

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given the constraints of operating in Kosovo and sending things into Kosovo, there are obstacles that cannot be entirely overcome that we have to work within."

A correspondent noted that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had criticized the United Nations interpretation of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) and the Secretary-General's report to the Council. Was UNMIK operating under Yugoslav law or any other?

Mr. Ruggie replied that the resolution was clear in assigning to UNMIK all necessary authority to govern its own activities and those of the province for an interim period. The starting point for laws was the local legal code unless the Special Representative of the Secretary-General felt it was necessary to adjust the Mission's objectives in keeping with its mandate.

What type of recourse was there for anyone disagreeing with UNMIK? the journalist asked.

Mr. Ruggie said a normal judicial system was being put in place to deal with individual criminal activities. For constitutional questions, the Security Council was the ultimate venue, since it was the Council that had adopted the resolution.

Another correspondent said that United States officials had criticized the United Nations for moving too slowly on Kosovo. Was UNMIK getting everything it needed from KFOR and Member States?

The relationship between KFOR and UNMIK on the ground had been outstanding, the Special Adviser replied. KFOR had done whatever it had been asked within the means available. With 16,000 troops to go before full deployment, there were limits to what KFOR could do, but UNMIK had a superb working relationship with it.

It seemed there was disappointment that UNMIK was not already taking on policing, civil administration and other responsibilities being carried out by KFOR, the same journalist noted.

Mr. Ruggie said it would have been humanly impossible for UNMIK to be fully operational within six weeks of the Security Council adopting a resolution. As of today, UNMIK had 156 lightly armed police in the area, compared to 34,000 KFOR troops. Even when fully operational, UNMIK would have [only] 3,100 police. It had never been intended for the United Nations police to assume full responsibility for public safety until KFOR had established a secure environment. That was how the resolution had been drafted and adopted by the Security Council.

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When would the 3,100 police be on the ground? another journalist asked.

For the time being, Mr. Ruggie replied, the United Nations was deploying 100 police a week until about a month from now, when that figure would be raised to 200 a week. Unlike armed forces, which were basically self- sufficient, police required facilities, vehicles and bases from which to operate.

He said training had initially being done only in Pristina, but would now be done in the regions as well to absorb a greater number of police. Within a month, they could be absorbed at a rate of 200 a week and thereafter at a higher weekly rate.

Responding to another question, he said deployment of the 3,100 police would take some months.

Would the actual police be available? another correspondent asked.

Mr. Ruggie said that out of an estimated 3,110 police required, 3,085 had been pledged. It was expected that the pledges would become reality.

How could it be made clear that KFOR had been entrusted with those responsibilities for a longer period than some people envisioned? the same journalist asked.

All that could be done was to provide the available information and to remind people of what the resolution said, the Special Adviser replied. Paragraph 9, sub-paragraphs c, d and h were very clear about KFOR's initial responsibilities.

Was there a separate fund for carrying out the peacekeeping mission or was the money being borrowed from elsewhere? another correspondent asked.

Mr. Ruggie said an assessment would be made in accordance with the peacekeeping scale and bills would be sent out in accordance with the normal procedure. The difference here was that troops were paid by the Member States and if they were not reimbursed, the troops were still getting paid.

The situation with police was different, he added. Their salaries were taken care of, but their expenses on the ground had to be paid by the United Nations as they were incurred. The United Nations was counting on all Member States to pay the bill very quickly, and in full, when it was sent out for the assessment.

[Emma Shitakha of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, who accompanied Mr. Ruggie, added that the Department had obtained a commitment of $50 million from the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary

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Questions (ACABQ). Currently, the General Assembly's Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) was considering an additional $150 million. A full budget would not be presented until September, at which point the assessments would kick in. Hopefully Member States would pay in full and on time.]

A correspondent asked if there would be an official United Nations reaction to criticism of the Mission.

Mr. Ruggie said he could not speak for the Secretary-General, who had just returned from a long and arduous journey.

How were civilian police supposed to keep law and order if the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) could not do it? another journalist asked. Would it not have been logical for each of the KFOR troop contributors to bring their own police, since they came from different countries and police traditions?

Mr. Ruggie said the assumption was that a secure environment would exist before UNMIK took on full responsibility for policing; this had been programmed into the resolution. The Mission's assumption of those responsibilities was determined by the facts on the ground.

How could police function other than as advisers when they were from different countries and did not understand the local population? the same correspondent asked.

Mr. Ruggie replied that apart from performing law enforcement functions, rather than simply monitoring, international police in a number of missions had overcome those kinds of obstacles. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was beginning a training programme for indigenous police. UNMIK's was an interim police force.

How long would the Mission's initial phase last? another journalist asked.

The Mission was not dealing with a strict time-line, Mr. Ruggie said. It was operating in response to local conditions, which could make the situation better or worse.

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