OSCE Chairman-in-Office designates head of new OSCE Mission in Kosovo

OSLO, 24 June 1999 - The Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, Foreign Minister Knut Vollebæk of Norway, has today designated Ambassador Daan Everts as Head of the new OSCE Mission to Kosovo. As agreed between the United Nations Secretary-General and the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Everts will also be appointed Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Institution Building.

As part of the international civil presence in Kosovo, the OSCE Mission will be responsible for institution-building; democratisation; the training of judges, police and civil administrators; the monitoring of human rights as well as the conduct and monitoring of elections in Kosovo. The Mission will be the OSCE's largest. When established, it will employ between 500 and 700 international staff members.

Ambassador Everts, a Dutch national, has been serving as Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania since December 1997. The work of the OSCE in Albania has been considered pivotal in fostering democracy and greater stability in the country. Previous to that, from January to December 1997, he was Head of the European Community Monitoring Mission in the former Yugoslavia. Amb. Everts has also held various senior positions at United Nations Agencies, including at the World Food Program and the UN Development Programme.

In designating Ambassador Everts, the Chairman-in-Office emphasised the need for both the OSCE and other international organisations to become operational as soon as possible in order to help assure all parts of the population a secure future in Kosovo.