UNMIK/PR/735
Tuesday 14 May 2002
UNMIK reacts to alleged remarks on returns by Kosovo Ombudsman
Media coverage of remarks apparently made by the Kosovo Ombudsman, Marek Nowicki, in Serbia has created a distorted picture of the environment for return of Serbs to Kosovo.
Mr. Nowicki is free to reach his own conclusions. However, the view from UNMIK as well as UNHCR is that he is not in a position to determine whether conditions in Kosovo are appropriate, and safe, for the return of displaced Serbs.
Conditions, as Mr. Nowicki stated during his visits to IDP centers in Serbia, are not ideal in Kosovo for minorities. They vary from place to place. But, in several locations Serbs and other minorities are already returning home.
Some 3,500 have returned spontaneously over the past year and a half. More are expected this year and next, to all parts of the territory.
UNMIK, KFOR and UNHCR are committed to fostering a climate conducive not only to returns, but also to a stable – and brighter - future for all Kosovo Serbs.
Creating adequate conditions for return is a work in progress. But all observers agree that, in most fields, life is improving. This was the conclusion of the latest OSCE/UNHCR minority assessment report. Indeed, no international organizations would encourage returns to any area of Kosovo should they believe that lives would be endangered, or basic conditions of life unsustainable.
Each week, Kosovo Serbs return briefly to those sites where they have said they wish to come back. These ‘go and see visits’ are a means of encouraging displaced people to find out for themselves the right moment to return. Donors are being encouraged to follow these activities. A recent briefing for donor representatives in Pristina showed high interest in supporting returns.
Regarding the security situation, crime levels are down in general in Kosovo although still disproportionately high when it comes to crimes against ethnic minorities. In 2001, 30 of the 136 murder victims were Serbs (11 were killed in the February terrorist attack on a bus coming from Nis). So far in 2002, of 25 confirmed murders, one victim was a Serb, according to police records.
While crime continues to go down, convictions of and trials against the perpetrators of past crimes against Serbs are increasing. The Bartezko sentencing last Friday is a dramatic case in point. Then on 13 May, the Prizren district court sentenced a young Kosovo Albanian man to 15 years in prison for murdering an elderly Serb woman in March 2000. Hundreds of other arrests have been made.
All Serbs can get primary and secondary education in their own language, and since early this year, a Slavic language university located in Mitrovica offers various faculties in higher education.
One of the most outstanding concerns of displaced Serbs is property rights. The Housing and Property Directorate is making progress in processing claims and restoring properties to their rightful owners; but it needs a larger injection of donor funds if it is to meet the immediate challenge.
The other main challenge to Kosovo Serbs wishing to return is economic prospects. This is a concern not limited to one ethnic group. SRSG Michael Steiner’s privatization initiatives are designed to help create an economy where there is practically none.
A one-day workshop in Pristina recently came up with a series of concrete proposals on ways to stimulate income and jobs for minorities. The new Senior Advisor on Returns in the SRSG’s Office – himself a Serb - will be charged with handling precisely this task.
The positions of Senior Advisor on Returns as well as the Intra-ministerial coordinator on returns in the Prime Minister’s cabinet remain vacant, as Povratak has yet to name candidates for the posts. SRSG Michael Steiner has urged Povratak to fill these positions as soon as possible so that more concrete progress on returns can begin.
Finally UNMIK notes the priority placed on returns by the institutions of provisional self-government of Kosovo. The Assembly is presently considering a resolution on means to encourage returns, and the Prime Minister has repeatedly voiced his commitment to bringing home all those who wish to return.