Last month, the Security Council had the opportunity to be briefed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Mr. Bernard Kouchner, and to hear his assessment of the progress made by UNMIK since its establishment by the Security Council in June 1999. My delegation shared Mr. Kouchner's assessment regarding the magnitude of the unique undertaking entrusted by the international community to UNMIK and the mission's critical role in promoting peace, reconciliation and stability, in creating viable and democratic structures and in establishing a framework for sustainable development in Kosovo.

As many of the issues of concern to my delegation have been raised by other speakers, I will limit my statement to a few brief remarks. It is evident from today's briefing by Assistant Secretary-General Annabi that the advances made in the area of the civil administration of Kosovo are being hampered by continued ethnic violence. The gains made are not sustainable in an environment of violence and fear. Equal importance must therefore continue to be given to the promotion of reconciliation and tolerance. It is in this context that the reports of the discovery of caches of weapons are deeply disturbing to my delegation, and we look forward to being informed of the results of the investigations being carried out by UNMIK and the Kosovo Force (KFOR) and to the prosecution of those responsible.

We have noted the special measures being put in place to better protect the Serb communities, and we join other members of the Council in welcoming the signing of the Joint Understanding between UNMIK and the Serb National Council of Gracanica on additional measures to protect the freedom, security and fundamental rights of the Serb community. We were therefore very disappointed at the announced withdrawal of the Kosovo Democratic Party Leader Thaci from the Joint Interim Administrative Structures, and hope that this decision will be reversed.

We wish to reiterate our concern about the attacks on humanitarian agencies and personnel, and we hope that, with the resumption of humanitarian activities, more focus will be given to the protection of these personnel. We wish to underline our support for the efforts being undertaken by UNMIK and KFOR to deal with the security of international personnel.

With regard to the operation of the media in Kosovo, my delegation is of the view that there must be responsible, unbiased reporting, as misrepresentation of facts in this volatile environment can have lethal consequences.
We note that the municipal election law that was signed on July 10 has been implemented and that the civil registration period will close on July 15. We are disappointed to learn about the limited number of Serbs who have registered to participate, as we believe that it is necessary to ensure, as far as possible, the participation of all ethnic groups in these elections in order to encourage a sense of ownership of the democratic process.

On other issues, my delegation shares the views expressed by the representatives of Bangladesh and Malaysia on the staffing of UNMIK and the need to resolve the situation of missing persons and detainees.

In conclusion, I again wish to thank Mr. Annabi for his briefing and reiterate Jamaica's support for UNMIK as it seeks to fulfill the mandate entrusted to it by the Security Council.













Permanent Mission of Jamaica to the
United Nations
NEW YORK
July 13, 2000