KOSOVO -- GUIDANCE FOR UNSC MEETING ON JUNE 20

UNCLAS STATE 066064

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: UNSC PREL UNMIK KO YI EU
SUBJECT: KOSOVO -- GUIDANCE FOR UNSC MEETING ON JUNE 20



1. (U) The Department requests that USUN draw on the
following points in making our statement during the June
20, 2008, UN Security Council session to discuss the
recent report by UN SYG Ban Ki-moon regarding the
reconfiguration of the UN presence in Kosovo.


2. Begin Points

-- The United States welcomes the report of the Secretary
General on the reconfiguration of the UN presence in
Kosovo. The issue at stake is whether the UN presence in
Kosovo should remain static or should rather adapt and
respond appropriately to recent events.

-- In response to the Secretary-General's report, I would
like to make four points.

-- First, the United States supports in principle the
Secretary-General's initiative to reconfigure the UN
presence in Kosovo.

-- The Secretary-General's report to this Council rightly
notes that the UN must adapt to the evolving situation on
the ground. This conclusion is neither new nor radical.
As far back as 2005, then UN Envoy Kai Eide reported that
the UN's leverage in Kosovo was declining and that new
international actors, particularly the EU, would need to
play a leading international role.

-- The UN administered Kosovo for nine years, much longer
than anyone imagined when the Council adopted resolution
1244 in June 1999. As the years have passed, the UN
Secretary-General has continually adjusted the UN presence
in Kosovo and its relationship to other international
organizations. The fact that Kosovo's democratic,
multi-ethnic government is now ready to govern is a
testament to the UN's success in institution-building.

-- The Secretary General's continued cooperation with
other international organizations, particularly the
European Union, will ensure that there is appropriate
oversight by the international community and that Kosovo
continues its progress in building a more stable society.

-- My second point today is that the United States finds
certain elements in the Secretary-General's report to be
troubling.

-- The Secretary General has proposed a new round of UN
dialogue with Belgrade to discuss institutional
arrangements within the state of Kosovo. We believe that
such dialogue should always be encouraged, particularly if
UN officials can facilitate the government in Belgrade's
support of multi-ethnic institutions in Kosovo.
Nevertheless, any institutional arrangements for Kosovo
must be discussed with and agreed to by the government in
Pristina.

-- This dialogue must be transparent regarding both its
agenda and objectives and must be thoroughly coordinated
with the major international stakeholders who will assume
responsibility for security and stability in Kosovo.

-- I also note with concern language in the Secretary
General's report that could be construed as proposing a
more robust and long-term UN role in Kosovo than is
warranted. Our view is that the Secretary General should
have acknowledged more explicitly that the UN can no
longer play such a major role in Kosovo under the present
circumstances.

-- Third, I would note that the Council should be
encouraged by the rapid progress Kosovo has achieved since
independence -- this progress justifies the Secretary
General's decision to reconfigure the UN presence.

-- We are pleased to see that Kosovo's transition to
independence has gone more smoothly than many had
expected. Kosovo's multi-ethnic government -- which
includes Kosovo Serbs, Turks, Bosniaks and Roma -- has
enthusiastically begun to implement the minority rights
framework proposed by UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari.
The Kosovo Assembly has adopted key laws to implement the
Ahtisaari Plan in areas such as decentralization of local
government, protection of cultural heritage and the rights
of ethnic communities and their members. Kosovo's new
constitution meets the highest international human rights
standards and incorporates rights protections contemplated
in the Ahtisaari Plan. Nevertheless, serious problems
remain and Kosovo has much work to do to fight corruption,
implement market reforms, and build better institutions.
But the political maturity its leaders have shown,
particularly through their words and actions to reach out
to Kosovo's minorities, suggests Kosovo has a bright
future.

-- My fourth and final point is that Belgrade's efforts to
promote ethnic separation in Kosovo threaten to reverse
the progress the UN and the people of Kosovo have
achieved.

-- The Secretary General's report correctly notes that
Belgrade will continue to have a relationship with Kosovo
Serbs. Indeed, even the Ahtisaari Plan provided for this
relationship to continue and proposed transparent
mechanisms for Belgrade to support Kosovo Serb
communities. But Belgrade has recently decided to use
this relationship to discourage Kosovo Serbs from
cooperating or even talking with their Kosovo Albanian
neighbors. On March 22, Serbia's Minister for Kosovo
Slobodan Samardzic (sah-MAR-jitch) publicly characterized
Belgrade's plan as the "functional division of Serbs and
Kosovo Albanians" in Kosovo. To implement this plan,
Belgrade sponsored parallel municipal elections in Kosovo,
which the UN correctly declared illegal and contrary to
Security Council resolution 1244. Belgrade also and
pressured Serbs to withdraw from Kosovo's multi-ethnic
institutions that were established under UN auspices.
Belgrade is now supporting a Serb parliamentary assembly
in Kosovo, an attempt to solidify parallel institutions.
Belgrade has also reinforced its control over northern
Kosovo, where Serb-instigated violence resulted in the
death of a UN police officer in March.

-- Such policies of ethnic partition and separation run
contrary to the principles of the UN Charter and threaten
to undermine nine years of international community efforts
to promote multi-ethnic governance in Kosovo. The United
States has long believed that Serbia, a great nation and
regional leader, has a bright and prosperous future in
Euro-Atlantic institutions. We therefore encourage
Belgrade's new government to encourage Kosovo Serbs to
participate in multi-ethnic institutions in Kosovo.

-- In conclusion, Kosovo seems to be moving in the right
direction, especially when compared to many of the
troubled regions of the world that demand the Council's
attention. As the period of UN administration over Kosovo
comes to a close, we look forward to working with the
Secretary General to protect the UN's positive legacy in
Kosovo of peace and democracy.
End Points
RICE