Serbian Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ivica Dacic said Friday that Serbia will continue to fight against Kosovo’s joining the UNESCO, stressing that this would be hypocrisy at its worst.
Dacic said that the final decision on this matter will be made by the organization in November.
The next session of the UNESCO Executive Board will be held in October, and based on its proposal, the General Conference of UNESCO, scheduled to meet in November, will make the decision on Kosovo’s membership in this international organization, he specified addressing reporters at the Foreign Ministry.
Dacic stressed that this is a matter of utmost importance for the country, which must be addressed by the government, the entire society of Serbia, the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences, and other institutions.
Kosovo has sent its application directly to the UNESCO, after the United Nations refused to forward it, said Dacic, adding that it is now up to Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova to decide on a further course of action.
“If the UNESCO requests an opinion from the UN, it can only be that Kosovo does not meet either formal or essential conditions for the membership, meaning that Kosovo is not a state but rather a UN protectorate,” said Dacic.
He added that the four Orthodox monasteries under UN protection Visoki Decani, Gracanica, the Patriarchate of Pec and the Church of the Holy Virgin of Ljevisa, which are part of the Serbian cultural heritage, are in danger because of the actions of “those who now want to be members of the UNESCO”.
“This would be hypocrisy at its worst,” said Dacic.
