2 juillet 1999

Communiqué de Presse SG/SM/7057

------------------------------------------------------------------------

LE SECRETAIRE GENERAL NOMME A LA TETE DE LA MISSION DE L'ONU AU KOSOVO, M. BERNARD KOUCHNER, SECRETAIRE D'ETAT A LA SANTE ET A L'ACTION SOCIALE DE LA FRANCE

------------------------------------------------------------------------

La déclaration suivante a été faite ce matin par le porte-parole du Secrétaire général, M. Kofi Annan :

Le Secrétaire général a informé le Président du Conseil de sécurité de son intention de nommer M. Bernard Kouchner (France) comme son Représentant spécial chargé de diriger la Mission d'administration intérimaire des Nations Unies au Kosovo (République fédérale de Yougoslavie).

Le Secrétaire général a nommé M. Jock Covey (Etats-Unis) comme adjoint principal de son Représentant spécial.

Les quatre composantes principales de la Mission seront chacune dirigées par les Représentants spéciaux adjoints suivants :

M. Dominique Vian (France), à l'administration civile intérimaire; M. Dennis McNamara (Nouvelle-Zélande), aux affaires humanitaires; M. Daan Everts (Pays-Bas), à la création d'institutions; et M. Jolly Dixon (Royaume-Uni), à la reconstruction.

__________________________________________________________

Spokesman for the Secretary-General

------------------------------------------------------------------------
UN INTERIM ADMINISTRATION MISSION IN KOSOVO (UNMIK)
Developments today, 2 July 1999
Updated 4:30pm EST
------------------------------------------------------------------------

In New York today - After thorough consultation with Member States, the Secretary-General today appointed Bernard Kouchner as his Special Representative in Kosovo.

The Special Representative will oversee the four legs of the civilian component of the Kosovo Mission -- the interim civilian administration, return of refugees, institution building and reconstruction -- and will be the senior-most civilian authority in Kosovo.

He also appointed today James P. Covey of the United States to the newly created post of Deputy Special Representative. He will assist Kouchner in whatever aspects of his job Kouchner sees fit, but will not be a layer of bureaucracy between the heads of the four legs of the mission and the Special Representative. His position is analogous to that of the Deputy Secretary-General.

In addition, the Secretary-General appointed Daan Everts of the Netherlands as the Deputy Special Representative for Institution Building.

Asked to comment on Kouchner’s qualities, the Spokesman for the Secretary-General said he was well-known as a proponent of humanitarian issues. "He was extremely outspoken during the Bosnia war in support of humanitarian objectives." Kouchner had the qualities, which the Secretary-General had said he was looking for: vision, the ability to manage and knowledge of the region. The two would meet this afternoon.

"The team is now complete at the top, and we’re pleased that we can move on to the next phase," the spokesman said.

Also in New York, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Bernard Miyet briefed the Security Council on UN operation in Kosovo.

Following a second meeting Miyet convened with potential police contributors at UN headquarters, the number of police pledged for Kosovo has now reached 2,486.

Civil Administration - In Pristina, the Secretary-General’s acting Special Representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello, called together leaders of the Albanian and Serbian communities to focus exclusively on the pressing issue of security for all people in Kosovo. This is the first time that Albanian and Serb leaders of Kosovo have sat down to discuss concrete issues. They issued a joint statement calling for restraint and respect for human life, which was broadcast on radio and television by the United Nations mission in Kosovo.

The text of the statement is as follows:

"Today, we have met at the headquarters of the UN Mission in Kosovo to urgently address a problem that affects all the people of Kosovo: people who want to return to their homes here, people who want to stay here, people who have returned in the past few weeks, people who have remained here throughout recent tragic months.

"We have met to discuss security and human rights; in order for the human rights of all people to be exercised they must be free of fear. They must feel safe staying in their homes, going to their jobs, going to their places of worship, visiting friends and family, taking their exams at university, and going about all the other tasks of everyday life.

"We know that we have to urgently address this problem if we want to realise our joint goal of a civil society in Kosovo, a society where no one has to have fear for his lie, his family, his job, or his home just because of his ethnicity or belief. We are determined not to look back but to look forward. In this respect we reach out to all national communities living in Kosovo. In particular, we want to stop the exodus of Serb, Montenegrin and other civilians from Kosovo and encourage the return of those who have already left.

"We have a rich common heritage. We want to preserve it. We therefore call on everyone: stay in and come back to Kosovo. K-FOR and UNMIK have promised us that they would do their utmost to secure your safety and to guarantee your future in your homeland. We trust them and we urge you to do likewise.

"Both sides condemn the crimes of the Milosevic regime in Kosovo. Persons suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity shall be brought to justice. We support the role of ICTY. Peace can only be built on justice, not on revenge.

"We urge all Kosovo inhabitants, whether of civilian or military status, to refrain and to actively discourage others from any acts of violence against their neighbours. Such actions are unacceptable. Those responsible will be brought to justice.

"We insist that the identity of all prisoners that have been transferred to prisons outside Kosovo be made public and that they are immediately returned to Kosovo to be handed over to UNMIK to be tried or released as appropriate. We insist that political proceedings now being held in Serbian courts cease. We insist that all political proceedings now being held in Serbian courts cease. We insist that all political prisoners be released immediately. We also insist that all People that are missing be also immediately handed over to UNMIK. We support the joint efforts already undertaken by human rights activists in the Albanian, Serb and other communities, together with UNMIK and other international organizations, to realise these demands.

"The road to reconciliation will be long and difficult. There is no such thing as natural hatred among people in Kosovo.

"We have to work together. As first steps we have agreed today: to establish a joint immediate line of communication among ourselves, UNMIK and K-FOR and to hold regular meetings such as today's; to issue joint messages of cooperation and reconciliation on TV and radio; to establish a joint crisis task force, together with UNMIK and K-FOR, to be able to quickly address security problems whenever they occur including in and around historical and religious sites and to organize an early meeting among religious and spiritual leaders to call for tolerance and respect for religious sites; and to establish, with the help of UNMIK and K-FOR, local joint committees involving different national communities to devise concrete pilot projects to promote the gradual return of all people to their homes, starting with Mitrovica and Gnijlane which can then be extended to other areas".

The statement was signed on the Albanian Kosovar side by Kol Berisha (L), Rexhep Qosja (LBD), Blerim Shala (Independent) and Hashim Thaci (UCK), and for the Kosovo Serbs by Bishop Artemije and Father Sava of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo, along with Dushan Ristic and Momcilo Trajkovic for the Serbian Resistance Movement.

De Mello said earlier today that despite efforts of the international security force, it was felt that the security situation was deteriorating and the spiral of violence was widening, affecting greater numbers of people, and Serbs in particular.

In addition to issuing the joint public statement, the two sides also agreed to form a "crisis group" to respond rapidly to security emergencies and a "hotline" linking all parties.

Humanitarian - As the number of refugees returning to Kosovo topped 530,000 today, the UN Mine Action Programme set up in Pristina said it has received thousands of requests from returning refugees who want mine experts to inspect their homes which they suspect have been mined or booby trapped.

In Pristina today, Lt. Col. John Flanagan of the UN’s Mine Action Programme also said that it had received 425 reports of minefields so far.

The Mine Action Programme is currently undertaking a rapid assessment of the threat of mines and booby traps. "We hope to know the extent of the threat within three to four weeks," the spokesman said, noting that the program has deployed 13 organizations and dozens of teams from as far away as Mozambique and Cambodia, which include dog teams from the group Handicap International.

"We hope to have cleared key areas before the first snow falls, the ground freezes and winter sets in, as those conditions would making de-mining an even more difficult task," he added.

The High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, will travel Sunday to Skopje and proceed the next day to Kosovo with an organized repatriation convoy.

The Food and Agriculture Organization has highlighted the need to bring fuel into the province to allow for the July harvest.

Institution Building - According to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which is charged with institution building for Kosovo, recruitment of local police is a top priority and it hopes to have a police academy in place by the end of the month.