§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the support given by the Kosovo Liberation Army to Albanian protesters in Mitrovica on 21 February. [112111]
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§ Mr. VazThe Kosovo Liberation Army was demilitarised in September 1999, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244. We are aware of press reports of Kosovo Albanian extremists being involved in disturbances in Mitrovica.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what assessment he has made of the progress that the European Union has made in its economic and infrastructure efforts in Kosovo; [112094]
(2) what recent assessment he has made of the progress that has been achieved in the civil implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 in Kosovo; [112091]
(3) what assessment he has made of the progress made in establishing and overseeing the development of the first stage of provisional democratic self-governing institutions in Kosovo. [112092]
§ Mr. VazI refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) on 28 February 2000,Official Report, column 133W.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the security situation in(a) Prizren, (b) Pec and (c) Gnjilane; and if he will make a statement. [112112]
§ Mr. VazAlthough we keep the security situation across the province under review, we have not made specific assessments of the situation in Prizren, Pec or Gnjilane, which are respectively in the German, Italian and US-led KFOR sectors. We understand, however, that the situation in Gnjilane is currently tense, with isolated incidents of violence.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement concerning recent Serbian protests in Kosovska Mitrovica at KFOR troop activity. [112102]
§ Mr. VazWe condemn any attacks on KFOR, whose mission is to provide security for all people in Kosovo.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the policing requirement for(a) Pristina, (b) Kosovska Mitrovica and (c) Kosovo. [112109]
§ Mr. HainThe UN Secretary-General has estimated the international policing requirement for Kosovo as 4,718 officers. We accept this. We have agreed to double our own contribution as part of the international effort to meet this requirement.
Within Kosovo, UNMIK are best placed to decide on the day-to-day operational requirements for the various regions, including Pristina and Mitrovica. These requirements are kept under continuous review, and adjustments made as necessary. For example additional police officers, as well as KFOR troops, were sent recently to Mitrovica.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British troops were involved in activity in Kosovska Mitrovica between 15 and 22 February. [112106]
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§ Mr. VazTwo hundred and thirty troops from the Royal Green Jackets were involved in security operations in Kosovska Mitrovica between 15 and 22 February.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the support given by the Government of President Milosevic to Serbian protesters in Kosovska Mitrovica. [112110]
§ Mr. VazWe have no evidence of any direct support given by the Government of President Milosovic to stirring up trouble in Mitrovica.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department was informed of the mass protests by ethnic Kosovo Albanians which began on 21 February in Kosovska Mitrovica. [112105]
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the progress made in the re-establishment of an independent, impartial and multi-ethnic judiciary in Kosovo. [112096]
§ Mr. VazI am satisfied with the progress being made on the re-establishment of an independent, impartial, multi-ethnic and effective judiciary in Kosovo and that it is being given a very high priority. The UN Mission in Kosovo has changed the basis of applicable law to that which applied in 1989, before Milosevic removed Kosovo's autonomy, as the Kosovo Albanians and others were reluctant to accept the discriminatory Yugoslav and Serbian laws. This helps recruit local multi-ethnic judges and prosecutors and 130 were appointed in January alone. Council of Europe legal experts are reviewing Kosovo's laws to establish whether they are in conformity with internationally recognised standards. The OSCE's Judicial Training Unit is providing intensive training to local judicial personnel.
§ Mr. MaudeTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what assessment he has made of progress made by UNMIK in setting up the administration of social services, utilities and the consolidation of the rule of law in Kosovo; [112058]
(2) what assessment he has made of progress made by UNMIK in the establishment and consolidation of its authority and the creation of interim UNMIK-managed structures in Kosovo. [112061]
§ Mr. Vaz[holding answer 28 February 2000]: UNMIK inherited a massive challenge in June 1999: nothing less than the rebuilding of society in Kosovo. The UK has made a substantial contribution, including to emergency repair of utilities. We gave US$1 million to pay the salaries of utilities workers for the UN Mission last summer.
The Kosovo Albanians and Serbs have now both agreed to join the UN Mission in the new Joint Interim Administrative Structure (JIAS). This will involve joint departments, each headed jointly by a member of UNMIK and by a Kosovar. One of these, which is already being 401W established, deals with Health and Social Welfare. UNMIK have recently recruited more than 300 judges and prosecutors to put in place an effective legal system.