Kosovo’s acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donika Gërvalla, in her speech to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, criticized UNMIK for, as she said, distorting the facts and losing credibility as a UN mission.
She began her speech by recalling NATO’s intervention on March 24, 1999, in response to Serbia’s genocide in Kosovo, emphasizing that Kosovo today is a functional democracy, committed to Western values and respect for human rights.
“Kosovo is the best example of how intervention against genocide has enabled the flourishing of a Western democracy. Today we are a sovereign state, anchored towards the West,” declared Gërvalla.
The minister attacked Serbia’s rhetoric and actions, citing the September 24, 2023 attack by a paramilitary group linked to Belgrade that resulted in the killing of Kosovo police officer Afrim Bunjaku. She stressed that Serbia has politically and militarily supported this group, reiterating the demand for the surrender of the “leader” of this attack, Milan Radoicic. Gërvalla stressed that Radoicic is known for his connections to Serbian state leaders.
“Calling this a ‘security incident’, as UNMIK does in its report, is a distortion of the facts. This was an act of war, an act of terrorism. The organizer of the Banjska attack, Radoićić, is known for his connection to the Serbian Foreign Minister who is here today, Đurić, and President Vučić. Radoićić has public photos in cafes in Belgrade with Đurić,” she added.
Gërvalla also mentioned the act of sabotage on November 29, 2024, when the Ibër-Lepenc canal was hit with explosives, endangering the lives and well-being of thousands of citizens.
“Vučić had said that they would investigate him, but he had refused to cooperate in the international investigation that was conducted into this attack. We ask Serbia to cooperate fully with the international investigation,” Gërvalla emphasized.
She accused UNMIK of echoing Serbian propaganda, while other international organizations such as the EU, OSCE and the Council of Europe have provided balanced and objective assessments of developments in the country. According to her, UNMIK no longer fulfills any function that would justify its continued presence.
“UNMIK is not hindering Kosovo, but it is damaging the credibility of the UN itself. Its reports distort our efforts for the rule of law and the fight against crime. Kosovo continues to work closely with other UN agencies, but UNMIK does not fulfill any function that would justify its continued presence, while other organizations such as the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the EU constantly offer balanced assessments of developments in Kosovo. UNMIK continues to distort the facts, misleading this Council itself. It is evident how the report presents Kosovo’s legitimate effort to strengthen the rule of law, to fight organized crime… Kosovo has achieved significant successes in dismantling illegal structures in the four northern municipalities. 13 drug laboratories, supported by the Serbian state that have produced drugs for millions of victims throughout Europe, worth hundreds of millions of euros, have all been dismantled. Means of terrorist acts have also been found. This is the protection of our citizens, but UNMIK echoes Serbian propaganda,” Gërvalla declared.
Meanwhile, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in Kosovo, the head of UNMIK, Caroline Ziadeh, has stated that the new government of Kosovo is important for taking concrete steps for the well-being of the people of Kosovo, as well as implementing the commitments made in the EU-facilitated dialogue.
She said at the Security Council meeting that she hopes that the new government will be formed after the elections held on February 9.
“Once the new government is formed, it is important to take concrete steps for the well-being of the people of Kosovo, as well as the implementation of the commitments that have been made through the EU-facilitated dialogue,” he said.
Ziadeh encouraged the working group on missing persons to work together to resolve the fate of missing persons, for whom families are seeking answers.
She said that she has visited the north and the citizens there hope that the dialogue in Brussels continues and that Serbs will have some kind of competence in terms of self-management within the framework of the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities.
During the speech, Ziadeh condemned the attack on the Ibër-Lepenc Canal on November 29 of last year.
Also mentioned was the detention of 16 Serbian “pilgrims” over the weekend in Gjakova and Prizren. Most of them have been released.
And Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric has spoken of “persecution of Serbs” in Kosovo. He said that “the consequences of the precedent set in 2008 with the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo are being observed.”
It complained about “violations” during the February 9 elections, saying that a seat was taken from the Serbian List.
He said that “new energies” are needed in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.
And the Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebeznya, has said that he hopes that the Special Court “will exemplarily punish the leaders of the former Kosovo Liberation Army for crimes committed during the 1998-1999 war.”
Përfaqësuesi i SHBA-së: Normalizimi Kosovë-Serbi është qenësor për gjithë Ballkanin
Përfaqësuesi i Shteteve të Bashkuara të Amerikës në Këshillin e Sigurimit të Kombeve të Bashkuara ka përsëritur se misionit të UNMIK-ut i ka kaluar qysh moti afati i tranzicionit dhe se duhet të përfundojë tashmë. Ai u ka bërë thirrje Kosovës dhe Serbisë që punojnë për normalizim të marrëdhënieve.
“Kosova dhe Serbia duhet të punojnë në zbutje të tensioneve, të përmbahen nga retorikat eskaluese mes tyre dhe në rajonin e tyre. Qëllimi përfundimtar duhet të jetë njohja e ndërsjellë, normalizimi i marrëdhënieves mes Kosovës dhe Serbisë është qenësor për gjithë Ballkanin Perëndimor”, ka thënë ai.
Ai ka shtuar më tej se SHBA-ja kërkon që të zbusë shpenzimet e panevojshme, derisa ka përmendur se 89% e buxhetit të UNMIK-ut shkon për paga të punëtorëve.
Bajram Çerkini remembered at the UN Security Council: Embodiment of humanity
UNMIK Chief Caroline Ziadeh, during her address, remembered the chairman of the Missing Persons Association, Bajram Çerkini, who died on February 24.
On this occasion, she invited the parties to utilize the Joint Commission on Missing Persons created through the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue in Brussels.
“I encourage all parties to use this joint commission together with the existing group on missing persons to move forward to clarify the fate of their loved ones. In this context, I would like to remember the death of Bajram Çerkini, the father of a forcibly disappeared son who dedicated decades of his life to advocating for the right to know, whose efforts have touched many communities and ethnicities and have been the embodiment of humanity,” said Ziadeh.