Ivica Dacic says UNMIK’s presence in Kosovo and Metohija in an undiminished scope is of vital importance for stability and security in the province.

The following is the Serbian first deputy PM and foreign minister's full speech delivered at the United Nations Security Council session in New York on Tuesday dedicated to the work of UNMIK, as published by the Serbian government.

“I would like to thank Secretary-General Guterres and his Special Representative Tanin also on this occasion for the submission of the Report and the overall engagement in the realization of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), carried out under UNSCR 1244 (1999). I also thank the President and the Members of the Security Council for recognizing the importance of a continued review and consideration of this issue.

UNMIK’s presence in Kosovo and Metohija in an undiminished scope and an unchanged mandate as a guarantor of the status neutrality of the international presence is of paramount importance for promoting security and stability and for building trust between Kosovo and Metohija communities. Strengthening its financial and personnel capacities will enable the international community to assess and address, in a comprehensive and sustainable way, the problems and challenges facing the Serbian and non-Albanian populations every day.

The political situation, sensitive as it is in Kosovo and Metohija, has a major impact on building trust and confidence among its communities; UNMIK’s undiminished presence, therefore, ensures necessary security and provides guarantees, as well as impetus, to Serbs and non-Albanians to involve in the processes initiated by the Brussels agreements without fear for the future of themselves and their families. The fact that today, eighteen years after the arrival of the international presence in the Province, 200 000 internally displaced persons (IDP), forced to flee Kosovo and Metohija, continue to live in Serbia outside the Province, is a powerful argument that UNMIK’s scope should not be changed. Sustainable return has been achieved only by 1.9 per cent of them and, I am sure the Secretary-General will agree, is one of the key questions that UNMIK should accentuate in the future. But, let me point out also on this occasion, the IDP numbers in Kosovo and Metohija given in the Report do not reflect adequately the magnitude of this problem and do not call for attention to be accorded it by the Mission.

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