INSTRUCTION ON KOSOVO WORLD HERITAGE SITE, 33RD

UNCLAS STATE 063696 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: IO PREL UNESCO KV SUBJECT: INSTRUCTION ON KOSOVO WORLD HERITAGE SITE, 33RD SESSION OF THE WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE ¶1. (U) Mission is instructed to take action as follows regarding World Heritage Committee Agenda Item 7A - Addendum - Medieval Monuments in Kosovo (Serbia) (C724 bis). ¶2. (U) During the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Seville, Spain, from June 22-30, 2009, Mission is instructed to join consensus on Item 7A - Addendum - Medieval Monuments in Kosovo (Serbia) (C 724 bis) using the following Explanation of Position: --In light of Decision 32 COM 7A.27 taken by the 32nd Session of the World Heritage Committee, the United States wishes to make a statement about the draft decision and the accompanying report on the Medieval Monuments in Kosovo (WHC-09/33.COm/7A.Add). --Specifically, our concern involves inclusion of the term "Serbia" in the title or text of this declaration. Using the name "Serbia" in this context is inconsistent with the "status-neutral framework of the United Nations" with respect to Kosovo that the UN Secretary-General has reiterated as recently as two weeks ago. We are aware of no legal requirement to associate the name of a State Party with the name of a site; if the Committee nonetheless desires to do so, a factual and status neutral formulation would be: "(site proposed by Serbia and Montenegro)." --Moreover, Serbia is in practice unable to take actions to preserve the sites called for under the World Heritage Convention, contrary to the implication of including its name in the title of the resolution, or of the reference in the accompanying report to "short-term corrective measures to be taken by the State Party...". By contrast, although it is not yet a party to the Convention, Kosovo has in fact taken significant and effective action to protect and preserve the referenced sites and others in Kosovo. --In addition to the preceding comments, the United States considers a number of the descriptions and references in the report accompanying the resolution, Document WHC-09/33.COM/7A, to be inaccurate or objectionable. These concerns, along with those just mentioned, will be reflected in a statement to be provided to the Chair. We ask that this statement be included in the written record of proceedings. --My government has been actively engaged in and remains committed to efforts to preserve and reconstruct Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries in Kosovo, as well as other important cultural sites. The United States has been a strong supporter of the Reconstruction Implementation Commission, created to direct the reconstruction of 35 Serbian Orthodox religious sites destroyed in the March 2004 riots, and has frequently advocated on behalf of this process. --The U.S. government has also donated $1 million to UNESCO for the restoration and preservation of several cultural heritage sites in Kosovo, including four Serbian Orthodox sites. In addition to overall preservation efforts, the U.S. Embassy in Pristina has directly funded almost $100,000 in two additional projects, one to repair the Church of St. Nicholas (Tutic) in Prizren, augmenting a project undertaken by the Council of Europe, and a second to rebuild the iconostasis of the Church of St. Nicolas in Pristina. ¶3. (U) Mission is instructed to provide the following text, which incorporates the preceding points above as well as additional detail, as a written statement. --In light of Decision 32 COM 7A.27 taken by the 32nd Session of the World Heritage Committee, the United States wishes to make a statement about the draft decision and the accompanying report on the Medieval Monuments in Kosovo (WHC-09/33.COm/7A.Add). --As we noted during the 32nd Session of the World Heritage Committee in July 2008, we do not believe that draft declarations of this nature must or should express a position with respect to whether a given "State Party" should be linked to a site when there is a significant and manifest dispute about sovereignty over a particular region. --Specifically, our concern involves any inclusion of the term "Serbia" in the title or text of this declaration. Even if the World Heritage Committee is reluctant to use the name Kosovo as the State Party, in light of the fact that Kosovo is not yet universally recognized and is not a party to the World Heritage Convention, using the name Serbia in this context is inconsistent with the "status-neutral framework of the United Nations" with respect to Kosovo that the UN Secretary-General enunciated in June 2008 and has reiterated since, including most recently in the Secretary General's report of June 10, 2009 (S/2009/300). We are not aware of any legal requirement to associate any State Party name with the name of a site, despite World Heritage Committee practice of doing so, and to the extent it is necessary to reflect in the title the name of the state that proposed a site, we reiterate our view that a factual, preferable and more status-neutral solution would be "(site proposed by Serbia and Montenegro)." --Additionally, Serbia does not have the authority or practical ability to take certain actions to preserve the sites called for under the World Heritage Convention that are implied by including its name in the title of the resolution, or by the reference in the accompanying report to "short-term corrective measures to be taken by the State Party...", such as putting in place appropriate guarding and security arrangements for the Church of the Virgin of Ljevisa. By contrast, Kosovo has taken several actions to protect and preserve these sites. Kosovo's constitution and legislation to implement the Ahtisaari Plan provide legal protection for the sites, including the creation of Special Protective Zones which strictly regulate development in areas surrounding them. Kosovo Police and NATO's KFOR, with support from the EU Rule of Law Mission as needed, provide security for these sites. --The United States has been actively engaged in and remains committed to efforts to preserve and reconstruct Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries in Kosovo, as well as other important cultural sites. The Reconstruction Implementation Commission, or RIC, was created to direct the reconstruction of 35 Serbian Orthodox religious sites destroyed in the March 2004 riots. The United States has been a strong supporter of the RIC and has frequently advocated on behalf of this process. Additionally, the United States has been a strong ally of the Religious and Cultural Heritage Forum supported by the International Civilian Office. --The U.S. government has donated $1 million to UNESCO for the restoration and preservation of several cultural heritage sites in Kosovo, including four Serbian Orthodox sites: the Church of the Presentation of the Virgin in Lipljan, the St. Sava church in Mitrovica, the Church of St. Archangel Michael in Stimlje, and the Budisavci Monastery in Klina. Work is under way on these projects. In addition to overall preservation efforts, the US Embassy in Pristina has directly funded almost $100,000 in two additional projects, one to repair the Church of St. Nicholas (Tutic) in Prizren, augmenting a project undertaken by the Council of Europe, and a second to rebuild the iconostasis of the Church of St. Nicolas in Pristina. --Having examined Document WHC-09/33.COM/7A, the United States also wishes to register its objection to a number of the descriptions and references in that report, including: --Under the heading "Threats for which the property was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger": the terms "Lack of legal status" and "lack of legislative protection of buffer zones" disregard the constitutional and legislative actions of the Government of Kosovo to preserve and protect cultural and religious heritage in Kosovo. A more status-neutral description - accepting of the fact that Kosovo's statehood is not yet universally recognized and that Kosovo has accordingly not yet been able to become a party to the World Heritage Convention - would be to say that there is "dispute over" legal status and legislative protection, rather than "lack of." --Under the headings "Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger" and "Corrective measures identified": It is the understanding of the United States that NATO's KFOR and the Republic of Kosovo, with support from the EU Rule of Law Mission, as needed, provides full protection of the property, and thus that appropriate guarding and security arrangements for the Church of the Virgin of Ljevisa, as with other sites, are already in place on an enduring basis. Additionally, the Government of Kosovo has provided for the legal protection of boundaries and Special Protective Zones. --Under the heading "Timeframe for the implementation of the corrective measures": The references to the 'Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo' are out of date following the declaration of independence of February 17, 2008, and the subsequent recognitions of Kosovo's independence by 60 countries worldwide, including seven on this Committee. To illustrate one status-neutral alternative, recent reports by the UN Secretary-General have referred to "Kosovo's authorities" or "Kosovo's institutions." Furthermore, the juxtaposition of "State Party" with "Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo" implies a judgment on status and sovereignty that is inconsistent with the status-neutral framework of the United Nations. --Under the heading "Current conservation issues," the United States agrees with the position conveyed in the "Note" that Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) continues to apply in Kosovo, but notes that the Resolution continues to apply regardless of whether or not a "final settlement" has been achieved, a matter that is subject to differing interpretations. End written statement. ¶4. (SBU) Mission should immediately consult those permanent delegations to UNESCO that both are members of the World Heritage Committee and have recognized the independence of Kosovo to determine their views on this item. In particular, Canada has expressed interest in coordinating its approach with ours. In addition to the United States, the following members of the World Heritage Committee have recognized the independence of Kosovo: Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Peru, South Korea, and Sweden. Mission should also consult with Mauritius and Jordan, which are believed to be considering recognizing Kosovo, and Israel, which could potentially be persuaded to approach the issue pragmatically despite not having recognized Kosovo. Mission should inquire if these delegations will support the U.S. Explanation of Position above either by making a similar statement during plenary session or by voicing support for the U.S. statement during plenary session. ¶5. (U) Point of contact for this action is IO/UNESCO, Laura Gritz, email: GritzLJ@state.gov, phone: 202-663-0025. CLINTON