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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Answer

Mrs. Mahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken to prevent acts of violence against members of the Serb community in Kosovo. [124421] Mr. MacShane: A key priority for United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the Kosovo Force (KFOR), embodied in their mandates from UN Security Council Resolution 1244, is to create a safe and secure environment for all Kosovo's citizens. Overall, statistics for the first five months of 2003 showed a continuous decrease of serious crime in Kosovo. This includes a reduction in ethnically motivated attacks, though any such crime continues to be a cause for concern. KFOR continues to use its troop presence to prevent attacks on minorities. For example, in Multinational Brigade East 190 security patrols are mounted every day, 65 checkpoints are manned and 64 facilities, such as Serb patrimonial sites, are guarded. KFOR also conducts air surveillance, response to emergency calls, search operations, border control, escorts for Serbs, and support to UNMIK Police in investigation of criminal activities and arrest or detention of suspected criminals. The Kosovo Police Service (KPS) has also been established as a genuinely multi-ethnic force working alongside international police to help deter violence and build confidence. A key step in Kosovo's progress is to ensure that ethnically motivated violence is considered unacceptable. In building a tolerant society that can provide security for all its minorities, Kosovo Albanian leaders and political parties are publicly condemning acts of violence that appear to be ethnically motivated.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

124421; 408 c1055-6W;408 c1053-4W

Session

2002-03

Subjects

Crimes of violence Ethnic groups Minority groups Serbia Kosovo

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk