UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, January 4, 2022

Stoltenberg: Tensions increased in Kosovo and B&H; NATO promotes stability (Telegrafi)
Kosovo declares UNMIK staff a “persona non grata” (media)
UN: "Persona non grata" doctrine not applicable to UN personnel (media)
Hasani: UNMIK personnel cannot be declared "persona non grata" (Koha)
Kosovo has high expectations of Albania joining UN Security Council (Klan)
Serwer: I do not expect a Kosovo-Serbia agreement this year (Kosovo Online, media)
Kosovo Surveillance Build-up Raises Privacy Concerns (BIRN)
Serbia praises another arms shipment from Russia (AP)
World Athletics confident Kosovo will participate in Serbian event with no issues (Exit.al)
COVID-19: 38 new cases, no deaths (media)
New COVID-19 restrictions come into force in Kosovo (Exit.al)
Pandemic forces 3,000 firms out of business, additional relief packages needed (euronews.al)

Stoltenberg: Tensions increased in Kosovo and B&H; NATO promotes stability (Telegrafi)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke to Montenegro-based paper Pobjeda about the situation in the Western Balkans and noted that there has been an increase of tensions in Kosovo and in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"The Western Balkans has come a long way since the wars of the 1990s, but we have recently seen rising tensions in Kosovo as well as in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with aggressive rhetoric - stalled reforms and foreign actors working for hinder the progress made. NATO will continue to promote stability, security and cooperation in the region, including the day-to-day work of the KFOR mission in Kosovo and our offices in Sarajevo and Belgrade," he said.

Kosovo declares UNMIK staff a “persona non grata” (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Donika Gervalla, issued a decision on 31 December declaring a Russian national working for the UN Mission in Kosovo a “persona non grata”. She said the decision was taken on the request of Prime Minister Albin Kurti and that the person in question was involved in “harmful activity which has violated the national security of the Republic of Kosovo”.

“The institutions of the Republic of Kosovo remain committed to the battle against the malignant influence of the Russian Federation and its satellite representatives in the region, which aim to undermine the achievements of Kosovo and our partners, primarily the US, NATO and the EU. The Republic of Kosovo will continue to cooperate even more closely with its international allies, especially with the Americans, Europeans and NATO, to thwart any destabilizing efforts of the Russian Federation in our region. The determination and the path of the Republic of Kosovo towards membership in NATO, the EU and then in the UN are irreversible,” Gervalla wrote on Facebook.

UN: "Persona non grata" doctrine not applicable to UN personnel (media)

The United Nations issued a statement following the decision of Kosovo authorities to declare one of its staff, accused of harmful activity undermining Kosovo's national security, a 'persona non grata'.

The statement, issued by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General notes: "We have been made aware of the Kosovo authorities’ declaration as “persona non grata” of a staff member of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK. No official communication has been received by the Mission from the Kosovo authorities with respect to this announcement. The doctrine of “persona non grata” is not applicable to United Nations personnel and is not contemplated under UNMIK regulation 2000/47 (on the status, privileges and immunities of KFOR and UNMIK and their personnel in Kosovo). Any concerns regarding a member of UNMIK personnel should be addressed to the mission leadership so that UNMIK can address the matter in line with the status, privileges and immunities of UNMIK and its personnel. UNMIK and UN headquarters are taking appropriate measures to ensure the safety of the staff member concerned and following up with relevant authorities on this matter.

Hasani: UNMIK personnel cannot be declared "persona non grata" (Koha)

Enver Hasani, former president of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, said that any time a sovereign country declares a diplomat a "persona non grata", the country or the international organisation this diplomat represents should be notified. He said that organisations where Kosovo is not a member of operate through a different set of rules, namely KFOR, UNMIK, and OSCE work under the UN Security Council resolution 1244.

Hasani said that UNMIK's reaction to the decision of Kosovo authorities to declare one of its staff members a "persona non grata" is justified because first, the mission should have been duly informed and second, “declaring a 'persona non grata' is ineffective because it operates under Resolution 1244. Presence of KFOR and UNMIK is 100 percent on this basis. This decision puts Kosovo in a bad light internationally for not being familiar with basic rules of diplomatic communication.”

Kosovo has high expectations of Albania joining UN Security Council (Klan)

With Albania taking on the position of a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for a period of two years, expectations in Kosovo run high as Albania's Foreign Minister Olta Xhacka said this momentum will be used to advance the Kosovo issue, "the recognition process and membership in international organisations".

Kosovo's former ambassador to the U.S. and now deputy leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Vlora Citaku said she expects Albania would play a role in having the UNMIK reporting on Kosovo to the Security Council be reduced during its term. "The first thing Albania should do is to, alongside permanent members of the Security Council that are allies of Kosovo, request reduction of UNMIK's frequency in reporting on Kosovo," she said. Citaku also said Albania should also call for the closing of UNMIK.

Serwer: I do not expect a Kosovo-Serbia agreement this year (Kosovo Online, media)

Johns Hopkins University professor Daniel Server said in a New Year's interview for Kosovo Online that 2021 was an unsuccessful year when it comes to the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, that it is unlikely that there will be a new meeting between Kurti and Vucic before the elections in Serbia and that he hopes for visa liberalisation for Kosovo in 2022.

He also points out that, in addition to Belgrade, Pristina also has a responsibility in the search for missing persons. He does not expect progress in the dialogue, at least until the Serbian elections in 2022.

Asked if after the appointment of the British special envoy, along with two U.S. envoys for the Western Balkans, Washington and London would take the lead in the dialogue, Serwer said the United States still wants the EU to lead, “but I think that both the United Kingdom and the United States will be more willing to work in tandem with the EU than it has been the case in the past.”

Serwer also said he expects more names on the U.S. sanctions list.

He said that Pristina should also be held accountable for any information on the missing persons and that his should include any victims of the KLA or other Albanian armed groups.

Asked if he sees a possibility for an agreement and a new meeting between Kurti and Vucic during 2022, Serwer said there is always a possibility, but that he doubts that it will happen before the Serbian elections.

Serwer said it would be foolish to expect visa liberalisation for Kosovo in 2022, but he added that he hopes it will happen. “The French and the Dutch should tell Pristina why they are hesitant and give Pristina a chance to please them,” Serwer said.

Asked if he expects a bigger role of the USA in the Western Balkans during 2022 when it comes to dialogue, but also BiH Serwer said that “The United States is already more focused on Bosnia and Herzegovina than in the past and will probably continue its diplomatic efforts there in 2022. But to be clear - the right direction for the United States should be more respect for individual rights there. Nothing the United States is doing should strengthen the hold of ethnic nationalist political parties in power. They are the problem, not the solution. A civil state would be a more functional state in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Kosovo Surveillance Build-up Raises Privacy Concerns (BIRN)

As the government increases its capacities for surveillance in the interest of national security, experts are concerned that people’s right to privacy risks being violated.

As it builds up its national surveillance system, Kosovo should be alert to concerns about the risk to people’s privacy, cyber security experts warn.

The country adopted a law on the interception of electronic communications in 2015, to regulate the procedures and conditions for surveillance of electronic communications carried out for criminal procedures and security needs.

The law determines the rules for Network Operators and Service Providers in relation to processing of data as well as the obligations of state institutions to respect human rights and freedoms in terms of lawful surveillance.

Institutions lawfully permitted to perform surveillance in Kosovo include the police and the intelligence agency, acting on requests from the prosecution office.

Institutions allowed to propose such requests to the State Prosecution are the police, the Police Inspectorate, customs office and tax administration.

A court warrant is needed before surveillance of a person in Kosovo can be conducted.

But Nuredin Ibishi, a security expert in Kosovo, told BIRN that human rights are routinely violated when it comes to surveillance of persons suspected of being a national security threat, or of committing terrorism, for example – especially if no cases has been initiated by the prosecution, or the suspect has been acquitted by the court.

The prosecution and-or court “provide the content of the surveillance to the lawyer [of the suspect] who often publishes it in the media, violating their privacy”, Ibishi told BIRN, referring to several wiretaps leaked to the public that went viral over the years.