Mr. President,
My delegation is thankful to you for convening this meeting. It affords the Council another opportunity to have a further assessment on progress made in the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) in Kosovo. We are grateful to the Secretary-General for his detailed Report. We are pleased to welcome Dr. Bernard Kouchner, back to the Council. We are grateful for his comprehensive and extremely useful update. We are impressed by the very strong commitment he has demonstrated in carrying out his numerous tasks. We continue to be impressed by his undiminished enthusiasm which we witness every time he addressed this Council as he has just done this afternoon. We appreciate his openness and candour in addressing the issues and problems he and UNMIK have had to face. He does not duck these difficult issues. He openly admitted mistakes that have been made – but in admitting them remedial actions have been taken. We welcome this candour, this transparency, which augurs well for further progressive implementation of Resolution 1244.
2. My delegation has already articulated its views on a number of the issues raised by Dr. Kouchner in his briefing and those contained in the Secretary-General's report during previous meetings of the Council on Kosovo. We nevertheless wish to take this opportunity to reaffirm once again Malaysia's strong support for Dr. Kouchner's leadership of UNMIK and his efforts in the implementation of Resolution 1244 in Kosovo.
3. Clearly, UNMIK has made significant progress in the implementation of Resolution 1244. We welcome the achievements that have been made so far. We note with satisfaction that the Mission has consolidated those achievements and continued with a whole range of further efforts to lay concrete foundations for peace, democracy and self-government as well as for long-term development and reconstruction in Kosovo.
4. We now see a relatively smooth functioning of the Joint Interim Administrative Structures (JIAS), the Interim Administrative Council (IAC), and the Kosovo Transitional Council (KTC). The representation of Kosovar ethnic minorities in these administrative and consultative organs is also being enhanced, while efforts are being made to further strengthen the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) and Kosovo Police Service (KPS). We further note that a number of important administrative regulations have been signed into law.
5. UNMIK is therefore on the right track towards the full implementation of Resolution 1244. We are greatly encouraged by what Dr. Kouchner had told us and encourage him and UNMIK to press ahead. Of course, success would depend on two factors of crucial importance, namely, the continued strong support of the international community and the support, commitment and full cooperation of all leaders and people of Kosovo.
6. In the context of today's consideration of the subject, my delegation wishes to highlight the following five points:-
First, we fully support Dr. Kouchner's decision and the actions that he had taken with regard to the conduct of the FRY's elections in Kosovo last Sunday (24 September 2000). Considering the mandate of UNMIK and the complexity of the situation on the ground, those decision and actions are entirely appropriate. We are relieved that the event passed without serious incidents. We hope that the outcome of those elections would have a positive impact on the overall situation in Kosovo.
Second, we welcome the successful conduct of the civil registration process in Kosovo. This is certainly one of UNMIK's major achievements, and in the words of the Secretary-General "an important milestone on the province's path to self-government". The focus is now on the preparatory work for the municipal elections and the actual conduct of the elections itself on 28 October 2000. We look forward to these elections. However, its success can only be guaranteed by the active support of the international community as well as the support and cooperation of all Kosovar political forces, and ultimately the full participation of all registered voters.
We have repeatedly urged for the participation of all communities in the registration process and in the upcoming municipal elections. We trust that the efforts of Dr. Kouchner and UNMIK in this regard will bear fruit.
Third, the continuing precarious security situation in Kosovo is completely unacceptable. The recurrence of ethnically motivated violence and the apparent increase in politically motivated violence and acts of harassment overshadows the substantial progress made in the implementation of Resolution 1244.
There also exist some irresponsible elements that are out to sabotage the process. Their actions should not be tolerated. We therefore support the continued efforts by UNMIK and KFOR to tackle the security problem effectively, including the recent measures to improve the overall security situation and protection given to members of political parties. While the two missions work to enhance their capacity to deal with the security problem effectively, success would ultimately depend on the strong commitment, political will and full cooperation of all leaders of Kosovo's different ethnic communities. We therefore urge all Kosovars - leaders and people at every level - to play their part in fighting extremism and promoting inter-ethnic harmony. In the context of UNMIK’s efforts to curb crimes, we are impressed with the success attained by UNMIK so far as graphically presented by Dr. Kouchner today – from a high of 300 major offences a week in June this year down to less than 20 in September.
Fourth, Mitrovica undoubtedly remains a potential flashpoint in Kosovo. We fully support the efforts by UNMIK and KFOR to enhance security in this area. It is imperative that UNMIK asserts its authority throughout the northern part of Kosovo as it has done elsewhere in the territory.
Finally, the twin issues of missing persons and continued detention of Kosovar Albanians in jails in Serbia remain a major concern that requires an early solution. We warmly welcome the appointment of Ambassador Henrik Amneus as the Special Envoy responsible for this matter. We earnestly hope that this appointment will greatly contribute to finding a comprehensive solution to this important human rights and humanitarian problem, which should have a positive impact on the overall reconciliation process in Kosovo. We agree with Dr. Kouchner on the need for the international community and this Council to assert pressure on the FRY government so as to change its uncompromising stand on this issue. Without the necessary pressure the Special Envoy’s efforts will be thwarted by Belgrade and the missing persons will remain missing. This is completely unacceptable especially in the light of what Dr. Kouchner had just told us about the torture that those in detention are being subjected to. This is an outrageous conduct on the part of the FRY prison authorities for which they should be made accountable.
Thank you, Mr. President.