Minister Djuric: UNMIK Remains a Guarantor of Peace and Stability

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric (BETAPHOTO/MINISTARSTVO SPOLJNIH POSLOVA SRBIJE)

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric said on April 10 that the presence of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) continued to serve as a key guarantor of peace and stability and of the protection of the fundamental human rights of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija.

"At a time when there are calls to reduce UNMIK’s budget and alter its mandate, Serbia is sending a clear and unequivocal message: the presence and role of this mission should not be weakened, but strengthened," Djuric said at a United Nations Security Council session on the latest UNMIK report.

The Serbian official noted that UNMIK’s mandate had not been fully implemented, which affected the daily lives of people on the ground, and that Serbia remained committed to the mission’s role, adding that discussions on the future of UNMIK had to be guided by realities on the ground, rather than by assumptions that do not reflect the lived experience of communities. Djuric also stressed that, at a time of growing global uncertainty and multiple crises across different regions, it is particularly important for the U.N. Security Council to act in accordance with facts and the law, and that, in this context, UNMIK continued to play a stabilizing role, not only through its reporting, but also through its presence.

The Serbian foreign minister added that Serbia remained committed to the EU-mediated dialogue on the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, but that, without the implementation of existing obligations, this did not constitute dialogue but rather stagnation. KFOR forces must remain the only legitimate and credible security presence on the ground, Djuric stated.