The key facts

  • UNMIK head Peter Due told the UN Security Council of 'increased tensions' in Kosovo and the region over the past six months.
  • Just after midnight on 6 October, Justina Shiroka-Pula was elected President of Kosovo — the third woman in the post; Due called it a sign of the deadlock being overcome.
  • Kosovo's Foreign Minister Glauk Konjufca rejected the report's claims as disinformation; Serbia's minister Marko Djuric said UNMIK remains necessary.

UNMIK Report to the Security Council

The head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Peter Due, presented the latest report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council on Tuesday. He warned of 'increased tensions in Kosovo and the region' over the past six months, while welcoming signs that the country's political deadlock is being overcome. Due noted that the reporting period ended on 15 September, so he also briefed the Council on subsequent developments.

Elections and Overcoming the Deadlock

Due recalled that on 7 June the residents of Kosovo voted in elections for the third time in 16 months. According to him, the elections were held peacefully and inclusively, but were followed by political uncertainty and heightened rhetoric. Just after midnight on 6 October, Justina Shiroka-Pula was elected President of Kosovo — the third woman in this post, which Due warmly welcomed. 'Political differences are part of the fabric of democratic life, but a prolonged institutional deadlock carries consequences,' he said, adding that the formation of institutions is encouraging and the deadlock 'appears to have been overcome'.

Call for Accountability and Dialogue

Due stated that 'accountability remains essential for building trust' and repeated the call for 'full cooperation by the authorities of Belgrade and Pristina' in holding accountable those responsible for the 2023 Banjska attack and the 2024 attack on the Ibar-Lepenac canal. He stressed that tangible progress in the EU-facilitated Belgrade-Pristina dialogue requires 'a sincere commitment from both sides'. According to him, the shared responsibility is to work for reconciliation and normalization so that all communities of Kosovo can fully participate in public life with respect for the rule of law, human rights and the multi-ethnic character of the region.

Positions of Kosovo and Serbia

Kosovo's Foreign Minister Glauk Konjufca told the Council that Kosovo 'remains one of the most stable democracies in south-eastern Europe' with one of the fastest improvements in democratic indicators. Rejecting the claims of the reports, he said that, in addition to 'the abuse of ethnic connotations and fabrications', the described cases contain disinformation and deliberately distort law-enforcement actions or public order violations, misrepresenting them as ethnically motivated or as human rights violations. Serbia's Foreign Minister Marko Djuric, in turn, stated: 'UNMIK remains necessary precisely because its staff can listen to people whose experience is too often reduced to a few cautious lines in international reports.'