§ Lord Moynihanasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many of the 2,000 Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe verification monitors are now in place in Kosovo and when the British contingent will be fully deployed. [HL112]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanAt the OSCE Ministerial Council in Oslo on 3 December, the OSCE Chairman in Office stated that there were 500 verifiers in place in Kosovo. This figure is expected to increase by approximately 250 each week until the projected level of 2,000 Verifiers, including the full British contingent, is reached in mid-January.
§ Lord Moynihanasked Her Majesty's Government:
Given the logistical problems that have been identified by Major-General John Drewienkiewicz, who is leading the British contingent in Kosovo, what action they are taking to assist the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe monitors in their tasks in Kosovo and to ensure that they are able to perform effectively. [HL113]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanThe Government are unaware of the logistical problems referred to by the noble Lord, and will pursue the matter with Major-General Drewienkiewicz. I shall write to the noble Lord in due course.
§ Lord Moynihanasked Her Majesty's Government:
What assessment they have made of comments by the Norwegian spokesman for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, who said that it will be very difficult for the OSCE mission to Kosovo to have any success without a political settlement in that region. [HL114]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanThe primary task of the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission (KVM) is to monitor and report on compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1199. The contact group is working to secure early agreement to an interim political settlement. The mission will also have an important role to play in implementing this.
§ Lord Moynihanasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether there are sufficient guarantees for the safety of the international monitors in Kosovo, given that they will be unarmed and that air surveillance will be carried out by non-combat aircraft. [HL111]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanThe safety and security of all members of the OSCE Verification Mission in Kosovo is of paramount concern to Her Majesty's Government. UN Security Council Resolution 1203 places a mandatory obligation on the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) to ensure the security of all international personnel in the FRY, including Kosovo. We shall hold President Milosevic to his obligations. Meanwhile, NATO is preparing to deploy a multinational force in Macedonia to be usedin extremis to extract the verifiers.
106WAThe tasks of the NATO Air Verification Mission, as defined in the NATO agreement with the FRY Government, are not related to the safety of the verifiers.
§ Lord Moynihanasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the chain of command of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe monitoring mission in Kosovo; and whether the civilian monitoring mission will have effective power to ensure Serbian compliance, given that the OSCE has never carried out a monitoring mission of this scale. [HL115]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanUK Ambassador William Walker has been appointed Mission Director for the Kosovo Verification Mission (KVM). He will be supported by six Deputy Directors in the following areas:
Senior Deputy Director Mr. Keller (France) Chief of Operations Major-General Drewienkiewicz (UK) Human Rights Mr. Borchardt (Germany) Police Matters Mr. Perugini (Italy) Political Affairs Mr. Ivanovsky (Russia) Chief of Staff General Nygaard (Norway) Ambassador Walker has already made it clear that he expects the mission to play an intrusive role in verifying Serbian compliance with UNSCRs 1199 and 1203. Various agreements have been signed with the FRY Government to ensure that the KVM is able to perform its tasks satisfactorily. Though the KVM is the largest undertaking by the OSCE to date, the organisation has gained wide experience in the Balkans from running its other missions there since the Dayton Peace Agreement. The UK will do all that it can to ensure the KVM achieves its objectives.