13 February 2003
Serbia and Montenegro Urged to Work with OSCE on Democratization
(Minikes statement to OSCE Permanent Council) (760)
The governments of Serbia and Montenegro "seem to be on the right
track toward building a stable, democratic Union," and they should
take full advantage of the OSCE's assistance and capabilities in
implementing democratic institutions and processes, U.S. Ambassador
Stephan M. Minikes told the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna February
13.
Minikes urged OSCE missions to do more to coordinate efforts to deal
with regional problems such as trafficking in persons, refugee
returns, organized crime, and border management. He also noted that
many war crimes indictees remain at large in Serbia and Montenegro,
and he called again for "full and unconditional compliance" with the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Following is Minikes' statement, which he made after a presentation by
Ambassador Maurizio Massari, head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia:
(begin transcript)
United States Mission to the OSCE
Vienna
February 13, 2003
STATEMENT OF RESPONSE TO REPORT BY HEAD OF MISSION TO SERBIA AND
MONTENEGRO
Delivered by Ambassador Stephan M. Minikes to the Permanent Council
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
We would like to join others in warmly welcoming Ambassador Massari to
the Permanent Council for the first time. Thank you, Ambassador, for
your very informative presentation today and for the very detailed
report you gave at the Informal Briefing yesterday.
Your appearance at the Permanent Council comes at a very historic time
for the OSCE region. Last week we welcomed the new State Union of
Serbia and Montenegro. It is clear that the Mission, under your
leadership, has been planning for this event and is prepared to offer
its expertise in implementing the Constitutional Charter.
The task of creating new Constitutions and developing joint Ministries
will be challenging, and we encourage the governments of Serbia and
Montenegro to take full advantage of OSCE assistance and capabilities
in this area. While much remains to be done, the governments of Serbia
and Montenegro seem to be on the right track toward building a stable,
democratic Union. We will look forward to hearing more from the
Mission on the progress of implementation activities in the months
ahead.
We are pleased that anti-trafficking programs will remain a Mission
priority in 2003. We support the Mission's inter-departmental strategy
to address the symptoms of trafficking and to identify ways to
recognize and prevent it.
Regarding the recent trafficking case in Montenegro, we recall our
statement to the Permanent Council last week, and again urge
Montenegrin authorities to follow through on their commitment to bring
to justice all those involved in the case.
Trafficking is just one of many regional problems that can best be
addressed through increased cooperation among all OSCE states. On a
regional level, we encourage increased collaboration among OSCE
Presences. We support Ambassador Massari's goal to build confidence
and increase dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade by working through
the respective OSCE Missions.
Other issues that would benefit from a regional response include
facilitating refugee returns, combating organized crime, and
developing effective border management programs. In that regard, we
support efforts to share information, coordinate programs, and build
networks between OSCE Presences throughout the region.
On the issue of cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), we commend the Mission's efforts to
support domestic war crimes trials and increase public awareness of
the need for full ICTY compliance. There have been a few areas of
improved cooperation, but many war crimes indictees remain at large in
Serbia and Montenegro. We reiterate our call for full and
unconditional compliance with ICTY obligations.
We have been carefully monitoring recent events in South Serbia and
will continue to keep a watchful eye on the situation there. We
commend those in South Serbia who have chosen to make democracy work
by participating in government institutions and engaging in dialogue
rather than resorting to violence. We support the Mission's plan to
broaden its focus in South Serbia to include economic development and
the further integration of minorities into democratic institutions.
In conclusion, we would like to reiterate our support for these goals
and priorities of the OSCE Mission in Serbia and Montenegro. We again
thank Ambassador Massari for your presentation and look forward to
further progress and reports from the Mission in the months ahead. We
hope that the excellent cooperation between the OSCE and the
government of Serbia and Montenegro continues, as we pursue our mutual
goals through the Mission's mandates.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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