OSCE Chairman urges Kosovo provisional authorities to maintain reform momentum

LJUBLJANA, 2 June 2005 - OSCE Chairman-in-Office Dimitrij Rupel urged Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi on Thursday to maintain the momentum of reform in the province and ensure strict implementation of standards, especially in the area of minority protection.

At a meeting with the head of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Ljubljana, he stressed OSCE support for the position of the UN Secretary General, the Contact Group and the Security Council that standards implementation must continue in the coming months.

"The outcome of the comprehensive review process and the initiation of any further steps thereafter are not a foregone conclusion," the Chairman-in-Office, who is also Slovenian Foreign Minister, said. "Standards implementation is expected to continue throughout the evaluation process and beyond."

"Therefore, I encourage you to interpret the UN Secretary-General's recommendation to initiate a comprehensive review of standards implementation as a powerful incentive to maintain the momentum of ongoing reforms."

Minister Rupel said further tangible progress was necessary, particularly in the key areas of minority protection - freedom of movement and sustainable returns - and decentralization.

"The international community, including the OSCE, attaches great importance to the establishment of a direct and sustained high-level dialogue between all Kosovo communities as well as between Belgrade and Pristina," he added. The Slovenian OSCE Chairmanship would do all it could to promote such dialogue.

The Chairman-in-Office said the OSCE was committed to remaining engaged in Kosovo and strengthening its activities in police matters, rule of law and public administration.