OSCE increases assistance to refugees from Kosovo

VIENNA, 1 April 1999 - The Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, Norwegian Foreign Minister Knut Vollebæk, has decided to use personnel and equipment from the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission (KVM) to alleviate the situation for refugees who have fled from Kosovo. Following consultations with UNHCR, the OSCE will immediately transfer more than 50 personnel, 20 - 25 vehicles as well as communication equipment to Albania in support of the international humanitarian relief effort in that country. 20 - 30 personnel are also being allocated to assist UNCHR and other humanitarian organizations in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The Chairman-in-Office says he is extremely concerned with the mounting humanitarian catastrophe in the region. He stresses that the OSCE must do its utmost to support humanitarian relief efforts, which is part of the mandate of KVM.

Foreign Minister Knut Vollebæk hopes that the OSCE efforts can contribute to meeting some of the refugees' most urgent needs. The scale of the humanitarian disaster is, however, of such a magnitude that further efforts must be made and the OSCE will continue to look into possibilities for further assistance. To this end, he has called a meeting of OSCE Heads of Missions from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Albania and fYROM on 9 April in Oslo.