Bernard J. Durkan
Question:95 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the efforts he has made to secure the release of Albanians detained without trial following the war in Kosovo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17026/00]
Written Answers. - Foreign Conflicts.
The Government is extremely concerned about the situation of Kosovo Albanians detained in Serbia since the end of the Kosovo conflict last year. I have received a number of representations about the issue of missing Kosovo Albanians and am following the issue closely.
Estimates vary on the number of missing persons detained in Serbia. The Serbian authorities have published two lists of 2,300 being held. International bodies such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and several key human rights groups believe that the overwhelming majority of those missing beyond that number are dead. Investigators from the International Court of Justice for the former Yugoslavia are currently trying to identify remains of bodies found in mass graves. This may account for a large number of cases of missing persons.
Given the lack of cooperation from the Serbian authorities the most effective way for Ireland and other EU countries without diplomatic representation in Belgrade is to work towards the release of Kosovo Albanians detained in Serbia through international agencies such as the ICRC or the UN High Commission for Human Rights. Ireland has directly supported the work of the ICRC in Serbia. There is also a handful of courageous Belgrade – based lawyers from the Humanitarian Law Centre, the Yugoslav Lawyers Committee for Human Rights and other organisations concerned with human rights violations by the Belgrade regime who have defended Kosovo Albanians brought before the Serbian courts. These deserve international, and particularly EU support.
Recently the Head of UNMIK – United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo – Mr. Bernard Kouchner, has proposed a number of initiatives on the prisoner issue and has appealed for support from EU Foreign Ministers. These initiatives included: organising a hearing of the associations of the families of those detained at the EU Council; promoting the establishment of an independent committee, including well known international personalities, to monitor the trials of those detained in Serbia; and support cooperation projects targeted at providing psychological and economic support to the families of prisoners and missing persons.
I am certainly willing to look at these initiatives and support them in any way possible.
The issue of missing persons and prisoners rep resents a huge emotional strain for the Kosovo Albanian population and carries political implications for the relationship between ethnic groups inside Kosovo. Members of the Albanian community will not tolerate the return of Serb refugees to their homes inside the province, as long as the issue of prisoners inside Serbia remains unresolved. For the sake of promoting social cohesion and stability inside Kosovo, as well as for a concern for the cause of human rights generally, this is an issue which the international community must resolve.
Bernard J. Durkan
Question:96 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the efforts he is making along with the international community to assist the homeless and the dispossessed in Kosovo following the war; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17027/00]
The humanitarian situation in Kosovo has improved dramatically in the past six months for the Kosovar Albanian population. Rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts have made tremendous progress under the supervision and coordination of the United Nations Administration in Kosovo. There are still, however, significant needs to be met in Kosovo and in the Balkans as a whole. The government is aware of these needs and is committed to working with the rest of the international community toward addressing humanitarian issues as they currently stand and meeting the needs of the region as a whole with regard to economic growth and political stability.
However, the continuing political instability and the pervasiveness of ethnic division in the province has meant that the dispossessed of Kosovo are now members of the non-Albanian population who are leaving the province, often as a direct consequence of intimidation. It is in this context that political stability in the region can be seen as the crucial factor in creating an environment where rehabilitation assistance is sustainable in the long-term.
The Government has pledged to provide a minimum of IR£1 million in rehabilitation assistance to Kosovo in 2000. This is in addition to the IR£6 million spent in 1999 in humanitarian assistance to Kosovo and Kosovar refugees. These funds are being directed at the areas of greatest need within Kosovo such as housing, infrastructure rehabilitation and education. The level of international assistance directed at the province should ensure that these needs will be definitively met in the short-term.
The Government, through the EU, has also contributed to the European Agency for Reconstruction in Kosovo, the organisation with primary responsibility for reconstruction efforts in the province. The establishment of the agency has brought advantages in terms of efficiency, speed, visibility-transparency and decentralisation. The agency has already begun programmes which will assist the effort to rebuild and improve the quality of life in Kosovo.