UNSC to hold session on Kosovo on Tuesday

The UN Security Council will hold a session in New York on Tuesday when Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will present his latest report on the situation in Kosovo.

The report of the UN security general sums up the situation in the period from July 16 to October 15 and points to the success of the local elections, especially in northern Kosovo, noting that this will influence the future consolidation and peace and stability in Kosovo.

Ban noted that the overall security situation in Kosovo remained generally calm, with occasional incidents reported in ethnically mixed areas, adding that all sides appeared to demonstrate an increased commitment to prevent tensions on the ground to enable the high level dialogue and implementation process to move forward.

The implementation of the Brussels agreement continues to move forward, but there is still a strong campaign in northern Kosovo against participation in the local elections although the Serbian leadership has committed its strong support for Kosovo Serb participation in the upcoming elections, reads the report.

Ban commended Belgrade and Priština for their continued efforts in the EU-facilitated dialogue and said that the leaders of both sides responded to the numerous challenges in the process with vision and persistence. He also thanked High EU Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, whose personal role also continues to be essential.

“The progress on the ground toward peace and stability will also remain crucial in light of Serbia’s and Kosovo’s aspirations toward the European integration, he said, adding that both sides carried out impressive steps to approach the goal. Further progress in the normalisation of relations according to the EU criteria will bear crucial importance,” he wrote, and added:

“The preparations for the elections brought up a number of political and procedural challenges, starting with the registration of voters with place of residence outside Kosovo, the appearance of the electoral materials and the issue of Serb representatives in the Kosovo Central Election Commission, the UN secretary general said and added that the problems were resolved through permanent dialogue between the two sides.”