By APP
United Nations : UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon said Monday that the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), approved by the Security Council in 1999, would continue to run Kosovo until a formal transition could be arranged.
Speaking in the open session of the 15-member council, Ban said that recent developments—obviously the declaration of independence by the former Serbian province—were likely to have “significant operational implications” for UNMIK.
Kosovo’s two million people is 90 per cent ethnic Albanian, mostly Muslims, who do not want to be part of Serbia, a predominately Christian Orthodox country.
The council members remain split on Pristina’s unilateral move.
Meanwhile, Kosovo won the recognition of the United States and its biggest Western European allies on Monday, while earning rebukes and rejections from Serbia, Russia and a disparate mix of states the world over who face their own separatist movements at home.
Serbian President Boris Tadic told the Security Council that the declaration of independence “annuls international law, tramples upon justice and enthrones injustice.”
He asked that the UN secretary-general to direct the United Nations mission chief in Kosovo to declare the action “null and void” and to dissolve the Kosovo Assembly, which adopted the declaration on Sunday.
But Ban Ki-moon said, “Pending guidance from the Security Council, UNMIK will continue to consider Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) as the legal framework for its mandate and will continue to implement its mandate in light of the evolving circumstances.
“It is my intention to act in an effective, realistic and concrete manner,” he said. “In doing so, pending Security Council guidance, I might have to adjust to developments and changes on the ground,” he added.
Efforts were aimed at ensuring that the political and security situation in Kosovo and in the wider region remained stable, and that the population of Kosovo and, in particular, the minority communities were protected, he said.
Noting the EU’s decision to deploy a judicial mission and an EU special representative to Kosovo, Ban said he would consider that “an enhanced role of the EU in Kosovo would be assessed in the context of the overall concept of operations of UNMIK, the objectives of the UN in Kosovo and the objectives of protecting the UN legacy in Kosovo and the Balkans.”
He urged all to reaffirm and act upon their commitments to refrain from any actions or statements that could endanger peace, incite violence or jeopardize security in Kosovo and the region.
The UN chief said his overriding objectives in addressing the situation in Kosovo were to uphold international peace and security, while ensuring Kosovo’s overall stability and the security of its population.
At the request of Russia and Serbia, the Security Council met Monday afternoon to discuss the situation after Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia.