Global Policy Forum

By Edith Lederer

The U.N. administrator in Kosovo has given the Security Council benchmarks that the Yugoslav province must reach before discussing the sensitive issue of its final relationship with Belgrade.

In his first briefing to the council since taking over the job in February, Michael Steiner on Wednesday laid out an "exit strategy" for the United Nations, which has been administering Kosovo since a 78-day NATO bombing campaign forced Yugoslav troops to withdraw from the province in June 1999.

"We have a vision on how to finish our job," the former foreign policy adviser to German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said. "We need to transfer authority within Kosovo to the provisional government. We also need to convince the Kosovans to look beyond Kosovo to Belgrade and to the region." At the heart of the strategy is the creation of a democratic, multi-ethnic society in which the majority Kosovo Albanians encourage Kosovo Serbs and other minorities to stay in the country, and make the return of refugees possible.

The NATO bombing campaign ended then-President Slobodan Milosevic's attacks against ethnic Albanians. But the end of the war unleashed a spate of revenge attacks against Kosovo Serbs and many fled. Kosovo is still plagued by ethnic intolerance pitting the independence-minded ethnic Albanians against Serbs who want the province to remain under the rule of the central government in Belgrade. Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic told the council that "Serbia and Yugoslavia will do everything possible to help the inter-ethnic reconciliation process in Kosovo ... succeed."

However, he also warned against "granting any kind of independence to Kosovo."

Steiner said there have been achievements since 1999. Roads, schools and hospitals have replaced piles of rubble. A functioning police and justice system have been established and the crime rate has steadily decreased. Elections were held in November, and a president and an assembly have started to take the reins of government.

The United Nations also plans to gradually transfer policing responsibilities to the new multi-ethnic Kosovo Police Force which will remain under U.N. supervision, he said. Other benchmarks that Steiner said must be achieved before a discussion on Kosovo's future relationship with Yugoslavia include a normalized dialogue with Belgrade and a reduction and transformation of the Kosovo Protection Corps.

The corps was created to deal with civilian emergencies after the U.N. takeover and comprises former members of the now-disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army, the rebel force that fought for independence for the Yugoslav province.

At the end of Wednesday's open meeting, the Security Council issued a statement calling on the provisional government's new leaders to actively demonstrate their support for human rights, economic development, the return of refugees, and a multiethnic and fair society that lives peacefullly with it neighbors.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C íŸ 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.