STATEMENT

BY H.E. AMBASSADOR BUI THE GIANG,

AT THE SECURITY COUNCIL DEBATE ON UNMIK

New York, 15 October 2009

 

I thank Mr. Lamberto Zannier, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) for his briefing and for his leadership of UNMIK.  I also wish to thank Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić of Serbia for participating in the Council’s meeting today and sharing his perspectives on the situation on the ground. I acknowledge the presence of Mr. Skender Hyseni at this meeting of the Council.

Viet Nam continues to support the critical role of UNMIK in maintaining security and stability in Kosovo. We applaud UNMIK’s efforts to engage with all communities in Kosovo and facilitate the cooperation between Belgrade and Pristina. We are encouraged to note that the Mission has successfully completed its reconfiguration and moved into a new phase with a strong focus on providing mediation services to both local communities and international organizations operating in northern Kosovo. We commend the strengthened cooperation between UNMIK and EULEX under the overall authority and within the status-neutral framework of the United Nations. Such cooperation should be further enhanced so as to create an enabling atmosphere for dialogue among all Kosovo’s communities and between Belgrade and Pristina with a view to finding durable solutions to the ongoing challenges in the region.

We take a positive note of the progress made in such areas as the rule of law, justice and customs during the reporting period, as well as the demonstrated interest of Belgrade in finding solutions to some of the pending matters. We remain concerned about the fragile security situation in Kosovo, marked by a series of security-related incidents and confrontations between Kosovo Serb and Kosovo Albanian communities in the north. We are also concerned about ethnic tensions in the north and the situation of refugees and internally displaced persons, including thousands displaced from Kosovo. We urge the local authorities in Kosovo to reserve due attention and undertake appropriate actions to  ease tensions related to these sensitive inter-ethnic issues. We call upon the authorities in Pristina and Belgrade to continue to work closely with all relevant international stakeholders towards negotiated solutions to differences through peaceful means.

As a comprehensive and long-term solution to the situation in Kosovo has yet to be achieved, Viet Nam consistently believes that the continued engagement of UNMIK with all sides remains crucial at this juncture, for it could facilitate the attainment of concrete progress and fruitful implementation of arrangements that can be acceptable and beneficial to both Belgrade and Pristina. The increasing contribution of EULEX to the areas of police, courts, customs, transportation and infrastructure, boundary management and protection of Serbian patrimony has already shown positive results and should be encouraged. We urge all sides to reinforce their constructive engagement and cooperation with UNMIK within the framework of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) in working towards the achievement of solutions to long-standing impasses and of peace and security in the Balkans as a whole.

I thank you./.