Vol. 512 No. 2
79 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on the OSCE mis sion in Kosovo; the number of Irish and other personnel involved; if more personnel will be required; and the duration of the mission. [25468/99]
As part of the international civil presence in Kosovo, established under UN Security Council Resolution 1244, the OSCE has been charged by the special representative of the UN Secretary General with the task of institution building; democratisation; the training of judges, police and civil administrators; the monitoring of human rights as well as the conduct and monitoring of elections. The mission is the OSCE's largest and when fully deployed will have between six and seven hundred personnel, including both local employees and international staff stationed in various centres throughout Kosovo. The mission is headed by a Dutch national, Ambassador Daan Everts, who was previously Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania.
At the beginning of November the mission had 460 personnel deployed. As its operation expands it will gradually take on more staff until it reaches full deployment. Currently Ireland has eight staff with the mission. Four are members of the Defence Forces and the others are civilians either on secondment by the Government or specialists on contract to the mission. As the mission gets larger more personnel will be required and it is my intention to continue to respond positively to requests for seconded staff from the OSCE.
No specific duration is envisaged for the mission at present. It is likely that the OSCE will be involved as long as an international presence is required in Kosovo.
