Government: until U NMIC is still in Kosovo, we expect when they request an appointment

The role of the United Nations mission in Kosovo, UNMIK faded after Kosovo's declaration of independence and the establishment of the European Union's Mission for Ending Law (EULEX) in 2008.

But since then, UNMIK continues to operate throughout the territory of Kosovo.

UNMIK leaders met and reunited prime ministers, as well as other key Kosovo politicians.

A former great opponent of UNMIK, Prime Minister Albin Kurti, on October 11, 2021, received current mission chief Zahir tan into his office.

In the communiqué after the meeting, the prime minister said the Kurti-Ahren meeting took place on the eve of the UN Security Council meeting, where the chief of state UNMIK would present the regular report of developments in Kosovo.

But such high-level meetings between the prime minister and UNMIK chief would not have to happen in reality, former Free Europe Free Minister Edita Tahiri tells Radio.

Tahiri considers mission UNMIK in Kosovo, for years, is a fossil structure that should not be allowed to justify existence.

“It is not good on the part of the government and the prime minister to hold meetings with UNMIK, because holding high-level meetings gives the signal that (the government) still supports UNMIK's existence in Kosovo”, Tahiri estimates.

Former Minister Tahiri says this mission should not be completely ignored, but according to her, communication and co-operation should be decided only at the technical level.

“Contact can be taken because they are in Kosovo, but those levels should be technical levels, levels of administrative officials, and not meetings of political levels, so as is the job of the prime minister and UNMIK chief”, Tahiri says.

The meeting between Prime Minister Kurti and UNMIK chief Tanin sparked criticism in Kosovo after it was said that this mission's role, which legally has no executive competence since 2008.

“as long as they're here we expect them when they're asking for a”

Kosovo prime minister's office says opinion mission UNMIK is unnecessary since declaring independence. But, according to the government, since this mission is still in Kosovo, they will wait whenever they ask for a meeting.

“U n The NMIC is here because the UN refuses to suspend their mandate, though it is a UN body which since Kosovo's declaration of independence is unnecessary and has no executive competence. As long as they are here, we expect them when they are asking for a” meeting, it says in a written response to the Government of Kosovo.

In the government, Prime Minister Kurti has always made clear his position towards the UNMIK mission, which, according to the executive, has had to be removed since the weather.

The prime minister has always made his position clear U n NMICs ago and as no other leaders in post-war Kosovo. Presence and UNMIK activity is unnecessary. After declaring independence and confirming its legitimacy by the International Court of Justice, this body of the United Nations, the mandate of the UNMIK mission is now triple over”, reportedly in response to the office of Prime Minister Kurti.

Despite the lack of executive competencies, U n NMIC repeatedly reports the situation in Kosovo at the UN Security Council meetings.

From 1999, based on Resolution 1244, U n NMIC has reported on the situation in Kosovo in regular quarterly periods.

Recently, after the request of Kosovo diplomats in the United States and the support of this state as well as the United Kingdom, reports now take place twice a year.

The UN Security Council's latest meeting took place on 15 October, and there was chief UNMIK, Zahir Tanin, was criticised for accusing Kosovo institutions of causing tensions in northern Kosovo municipalities where the majority living there are Kosovo Serbs.

Tanin said in his address that Kosovo took action separately for the deployment of the reciprocity measure -- that, according to him, caused a nearly two-week crisis in municipalities in the north, inhabited by Serb majority. On September 30th in Brussels, parties from Kosovo and Serbia reached agreement on license plates, under which state symbols on the license plates would be covered with sticky paper.

U n NMIC: We'll be here until the Security Council makes no other decision

Free Europe Radio has asked UNMIK's mission if it considers its presence in Kosovo still necessary.

In response to this mission, they are said to be here until the UN Security Council makes no other decision.

The UN Security Council's “Resolution 1244 (1999) determines the mandate of the international civilian and security presence in Kosovo. Any overhaul of this mandate requires a decision by the Security Council”, UNMIK's response reported.

UNMIK has explained that it currently co-operates in various fields with Kosovo institutions, as well as civil society. U n NMIK says that given the mandate it has in the past five years, among other things, it has allocated about nine million euros for empowering the rule and law, respecting human rights and co-operation among communities.

In the UNMIK mission, the chief of this mission “develops continued consultations with the leadership of Pristina and Belgrade”, adding that such meetings are held with other international missions in Kosovo, including KFOR, the OSCE and EULEX.

Miftarian: UNMIK required fair reporting

Kosovo Institute for Justice Director Ehat Miftaraj tells Radio Free Europe that any meeting Kosovo officials may have with UNMIK representatives should be required to have fair reporting at the UN Security Council.

Miftaraj says it should insist on that, since the UN does not abolish Resolution 1244.

“Such meetings would have to contribute to Kosovo's request that UNMIK report in the Security Council reports, be told the truth, and that, in the last case, unfortunately, this did not happen because we can say after an extremely long time, Mr. Zahir Tan, who is his latest report as secretary general's representative, we can say that he did not stress reality, but was unilaterally”, Miftaraj says.

Miftaraj estimates that in his latest report to the UN Security Council session, the chief UNMIK, Zahir Tan, has come out of the frameworks and practices that, according to him, this mission has applied to reporting since Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence.

Despite the way you report U. NMIC for the situation in Kosovo, former Minister for Dialogue Edita Tahiri thinks Kosovo should engage more diplomatically on the requirement for abolishing Resolution 1244.

This, according to her, Kosovo could do it using the help of the United States.

“What I mean is that it is the power and diplomatic influence of the US, which can cause UN Security Council Resolution 1244 to be annulled because it is the legal basis for functioning of the current UNMIK. Of course Kosovo can also develop diplomacy in this direction”, Tahiri says.

What was it, and what is left of UNMIK?

The United Nations Mission, U n NMIC, settled in Kosovo for the first time in June 1999.

This mission was meant to serve as international civilian and military presence following the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

The UN had brought this mission to help rebuild Kosovo's institutions, as during the war the judicial system in Kosovo was “set at” and had an urgent “need to build real rule of law, including through the immediate reconstruction of an independent, impartial and multiethnic judiciary. ”

UNMIK suffered a deep restructuring in 2008 when Kosovo declared independence and another international mission arrived in Kosovo, the European Union's Mission for Ending Law (EULEX), to which the competencies held the U. NMIC.

Actually, U n NMIC has very limited presence in Kosovo.

At the recent meeting of the UN Security Council, the US reiterated the mission's call for closure.