OSCE plays indispensable role in Kosovo, says UN's Kosovo administrator

VIENNA, 15 November 2007 - Clarity on Kosovo's future is critical for the communities in Kosovo and to ensuring stability in the region, said Joachim Ruecker, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and Head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), addressing the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna today.

In his speech Ruecker also highlighted the OSCE's work in Kosovo. "Its comparative advantage, the extensive field presence, is now, more than ever, an indispensable tool through which the rest of the international community remains well informed on what is happening throughout Kosovo," he said.

On status talks, Ruecker said: "I continue to have faith in a positive outcome. An agreed solution will be optimal outcome, and the easiest to implement. Still, even if no agreement is reached, clarity on Kosovo's future, key to ensuring stability in the region, will have to be forthcoming."

He added: "I echo the words of the UN Secretary-General, when I say that we have to consider how to address a situation in which the sides are unable to reach agreement by the end of the current period of engagement."

On the general elections scheduled to take place this Saturday, 17 November, Ruecker said that preparations were fully on track, and that UNMIK, through the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, was ready to deploy back-up teams to serve as polling stations in case voters in certain areas were refused access to public buildings to cast their votes.

Ruecker said he was confident that the OSCE participating States remained committed to providing "the required continuity to the international presence in Kosovo".

"All the communities in Kosovo, and other international organizations, rely on the presence and contribution of the OSCE Mission in many ways, during this crucial period and in the longer run. I am confident that the 56 participating States of the OSCE are aware of the necessity for the Mission to remain on the ground, and continue its contribution," he said.

The OSCE leads the so-called third pillar under the operational framework of UNMIK, dealing with democratization and institution building.

The Permanent Council is the OSCE's main, regular decision-making body. It meets weekly in Vienna to discuss developments in the 56-country OSCE area and to make appropriate decisions.