Markovic: UNMIK report will not bring changes, the UN is losing importance

Historian Vukan Markovic expressed hope that the new head of United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, Peter Due, will in his report to the United Nations Security Council draw attention to the consequences of the Law on Foreigners for Serbs in Kosovo and the violation of their basic human rights, but added that he does not expect the conclusions of that report to bring changes. Markovic pointed to the diminished influence of the United Nations, stressing that it still remains a guarantor of international law and legitimacy through which UNMIK operates.

“First, it should be said that these reports are six-month excursions to New York, where the UN, to our great regret and misfortune, has lost the role it had over the past decades. This is not necessarily related to the shift of negotiations from the UN to the EU, but to the overall influence and importance of the UN in the contemporary world. Whatever the focus of the report may be, it will not have significant consequences,” Markovic told Kosovo Online.

He reminded that this will be Peter Due's first report as head of UNMIK, noting that he expects one of the focuses to be the agreement on the Law on Foreigners, as well as its consequences for Serbs in Kosovo.

“I assume that the Serbian side will raise the issue of the stability of institutions and the regime in Pristina, that is, the political crisis that has been ongoing for years,” he added.

He states that he expects statements and positions from previous years to be repeated at the session, including the American demand for the abolition of UNMIK and Russian opposition to that proposal. In addition, Markovic believes that the failure to implement the most important provisions of the Brussels Agreement will be mentioned, while the Kosovo side will once again accuse Serbia of being the “aggressor side”.

“Every six months, we see the same story, with additions of the latest topics, such as the highly problematic Law on Foreigners. Unfortunately, the UN has lost the mediating role they once had, but it suits Serbia and Serbs in Kosovo that the UN remain at least formally where they are, because that is still a pledge and guarantee of international law and legitimacy through which UNMIK operates in Kosovo,” Markovic notes.

Speaking about possible conclusions of the head of UNMIK, Markovic expressed hope that Due will rationally assess the situation in which the most basic human rights of Serbs in Kosovo are endangered.

“That he will recognize the significance of the deep political crisis Kosovo has been in for the past two years. But I am not sure how important his conclusions will be, nor how much effect they will have on relations between Belgrade and Pristina, as well as on the regime in Pristina, and above all on the position of Serbs in Kosovo,” Markovic concluded.