Thank you, Mr Chair.
Firstly, I would like to welcome Ambassador McGurk – dear Gerard – back to the Permanent Council. Thank you for the comprehensive written report on the recent work of the Mission, and for your informative presentation this morning.
The United Kingdom welcomes last weekend’s municipal elections in Kosovo, and the positive assessment by international observers. The return of Kosovo-Serb mayors to the northern municipalities is a vital first-step in ensuring representative local governance. We encourage all parties to ensure that the transitions of the newly elected mayors are made with full respect to Kosovo’s rule of law and ensure a calm and safe environment for all communities.
The UK particularly welcomes the convening of the new Kosovo Assembly and sees this as an important step towards the formation of a new government.
Mr Chair, the United Kingdom shares the concerns highlighted in the Mission report around security and political developments which have impacted on intercommunity relations in Kosovo, including the closures of institutions and facilities which provide vital services to Kosovo-Serbs and other non-majority communities. We echo the comments in the Report that sustainable peace and legitimacy flow from institutions that deliver fairly and equitably for all people of Kosovo. The UK will continue to encourage the Government of Kosovo to uphold Kosovo’s constitutional obligations as a multi-ethnic society, to engage with the international community and consult constructively with the Kosovo-Serb community ahead of any actions that impact their community.
We urge both Kosovo and Serbia to engage constructively in the EU-facilitated Dialogue and to deliver on their respective obligations, including the establishment of the Association of Serb Majority Municipalities. Failure by either side to meet existing commitments has negative implications for the daily lives of ordinary citizens and for wider stability in the Western Balkans.
The UK also underlines the importance of ensuring justice and accountability for the 2023 attacks on KFOR troops and in Banjska, and calls on Serbia to fully cooperate in bringing those responsible to account, and to fulfil its pledge to cooperate in the investigation of the attack on the Ibar-Lepenc Canal.
The UK particularly appreciates the unique role of the Mission in monitoring and early warning functions, through its extensive network of regional centres. We continue to value the Mission’s support on human rights and inter-community relations, including on interfaith dialogue and assistance to non-majority communities on language rights and the preservation of cultural heritage. We also appreciate the Mission’s ongoing support to the UK and Swiss funded diploma verification process.
We welcome the continued focus on gender equality, including work of the Dialogue Academy and support to implementation of the 2024 Action Plan. We share the Mission’s concerns around the lack of women’s participation in elections, and welcome the work of the EmPOWER programme to increase numbers of women candidates.
Mr Chair, the United Kingdom is a longstanding and strong supporter of Kosovo as an independent, sovereign and multiethnic state. The UK will continue to support stability, security and economic cooperation in the Western Balkans, including through our hosting of the Berlin Process Leaders’ Summit in London on 22 October and the work of our Special Envoy, Dame Karen Pierce.
Finally, I wanted to again thank you, Gerard, for your leadership of the Mission at this critical time. We sincerely appreciate the hard work of your team under challenging circumstances, and will continue to make the case in this Council for field operations to receive the funding necessary to effectively deliver the mandates tasked to them by participating States.
Thank you, Mr Chair.
