U.N. Security Council to Discuss Kosovo on April 20

United Nations Security Council (Photo:UN/Loey Felipe)

On April 20, the United Nations Security Council will be discussing the latest six-month report on the operation of the U.N. Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), submitted by U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres. At the meeting, Serbia will be represented by its foreign affairs minister, Nikola Selakovic.

In his report for the period between Sept. 16, 2021 and March 15, 2022, Guterres stated that the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue mediated by the EU remains the key format for normalizing relations between the two sides, but he also expressed his regret over the “limited progress” that has been achieved in this process so far.

“I encourage both sides to constructively work on achieving concrete results that would benefit everyone. The dialogue process and efforts to normalize relations have the full and unequivocal support of the United Nations. The continuation of an open, transparent and inclusive process is essential to the achievement of sustainable agreements,” Guterres wrote.

The secretary general again called on Pristina and Belgrade to continue cooperation within the existing Work Group for Missing Persons, which – he recalled – has already achieved concrete results.

The U.N. Security Council session on UNMIK will commence at 9 p.m. CET. Since the adoption of its Resolution 1244, on June 10, 1999, through the year 2018, the Council has discussed Kosovo four times a year. In 2019, three sessions on Kosovo were held, while, as of 2020, the Council has discussed Kosovo twice a year.