Serbia, 2011

The rapid changes in our

political and economic environment show, once again,

the necessity of this annual gathering of the General

Assembly of the United Nations. We have a difficult

task ahead of us. I wish the President of the General

Assembly every success. He can rest assured that he

has our fullest support. I also wish to congratulate

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on his reappointment.

His steady hand has helped to steer the United Nations

through challenging times. To him, too, we offer all our

support.

It has been a year of momentous change. An

economic crisis pervades most liberal economies. A

wave of political change is sweeping through much of

the Middle East. Climatic turbulence leaves loss and

tragedy in its wake. Famine stalks the Horn of Africa.

New choices confront political leaders. New priorities

are presented to citizens. The worst that we could do

now is to allow fear and indecision to govern us.

These are also times that call for a deep

commitment to international cooperation and

multilateralism. Every crisis that we address reaches

beyond our national frontiers. There is no way that we

can resolve such matters without the framework of the

international laws and rules to which we are all bound.

The financial crisis has had a profound and

negative effect on all our aspirations. While each

country must adjust its expectations, we cannot allow

ourselves to be guided only by our national concerns.

In fact, they are best supported by greater commitment

to a deeper solidarity among nations and far more

intense cooperation. The great economic and political

unions have achieved success by balancing sacrifice

with gain for all. The same challenge now confronts

the European Union (EU).

In North Africa and the Middle East, we have

seen a wave of protest that has convulsed the region.

The Republic of Serbia and the Serbian people have

had a long relationship with all the peoples of that

region. We stand by them. We know what is involved

in such changes.

In a time of such uncertainty, crises call for

United Nations-sanctioned involvement to save lives

and to keep the peace. There will be more such

missions. I am very pleased that the Republic of Serbia

is now actively engaged in several such missions, and

we will continue our commitment. In that spirit, the

Republic of Serbia is a signatory to the evolving

climate change commitments and conventions. We also

enthusiastically support the United Nations Global

Counter-Terrorism Strategy.

In times as complex as these, our objective must

be to manage real crises well and to avoid creating

unnecessary ones. There are problems that can be

resolved through patient discussion and the building of

trust. Unilateral action in such circumstances simply

creates crisis for no good reason.

That is why, in our regional issues of South

Eastern Europe, we always promote the principles and

the presence of the United Nations. As a founding

member of the Non-Aligned Movement, we were able

to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of its founding in

Belgrade. Such networks create layers of

communication and trust at a time of globalization.

Our bid to join the European Union is the

platform on which we intend to build and contribute to

our shared objectives. Regional cooperation is a

cornerstone of our diplomacy, and we believe that it is

only to the benefit of the entire region. That is reflected

in our chairmanships of the Central European Initiative

and the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative. Most important, it is

also reflected in Serbia’s chairmanship of the South-

East European Cooperation Process, our region’s most

important initiative. Next year, my country will follow

7 11-51191

that up by taking over responsibilities to lead the Black

Sea Economic Cooperation Organization.

Serbia has established an entirely new level of

confidence in relations with Croatia. That has been of

strategic significance in securing stability in Bosnia

and Herzegovina. We welcome Croatia’s imminent

accession to the European Union.

All of that has set the stage for Serbia to actively

consider seeking the chairmanship-in-office of the

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

(OSCE) for the year 2014 - the centenary of the start

of the First World War. The unifying symbolism of

2014 would not only help catalyse efforts to resolve the

unfinished business on the old continent’s shared

agenda. It would also help to close the book on an era

that did not witness the enduring stability that the

nations of the OSCE space deserve.

We have devoted extraordinary levels of

resources to capture war criminals. Finally, the

Republic of Serbia has completed its obligations to

itself and to the international community. We believe

that, after the tragedies of the 1990s, that exercise is a

very necessary catharsis for our nation. That action was

also taken to demonstrate that Serbia wishes to move to

a climate of total reconciliation throughout the region.

We feel that we have done our part.

Equally, we insist that everyone else does their

part as well. As in all previous instances involving war

crimes and crimes against humanity in the Balkans, the

Security Council has given a mandate to investigate.

That has greatly contributed to the process of regional

reconciliation. This is the standard that must be applied

in uncovering the full truth about allegations made in a

deeply disturbing report by the Council of Europe,

entitled “Inhuman treatment of people and illicit

trafficking in human organs in Kosovo”. Only the

Security Council can make sure a comprehensive

investigation takes place. Only it can give a universal

mandate and jurisdiction to ensure that all perpetrators

of war crimes in the Balkans are brought to justice,

including those responsible for trafficking in human

organs in Kosovo. I strongly believe that ending the

culture of impunity in some parts of the Balkans is a

common goal shared by every member of the

international community.

There is a certain irony to our proceedings today.

This year we have welcomed a new member to the

United Nations family, the Republic of South Sudan.

The Republic of Serbia welcomes its membership in

the United Nations. We welcome them because they

and the Republic of the Sudan, after many years of

conflict, arrived at a settlement that was achieved as a

result of long, difficult negotiations between the two

parties.

The fundamental principle that the best

settlements occur when two parties agree, each making

compromises, surely is universal. I subscribe

enthusiastically to the comments by the President of

the United States, made from this rostrum, on that very

subject of negotiations. I agree that there is no shortcut

to ending a conflict that has endured for a long time,

and that peace depends on compromise among people,

who must live together long after our speeches are

over.

However, this rule is not being applied to Serbia

on the matter of its province of Kosovo and Metohija.

On 17 February 2008, Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian

authorities attempted unilateral secession, a violation

of the basic principles of the United Nations Charter,

the Helsinki Final Act and Security Council resolution

1244 (1999). A majority of Member States have

refrained from recognizing Kosovo’s unilateral

declaration of independence. They have continued to

abide by their United Nations Charter obligations to

respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of my

country. On behalf of the Republic of Serbia, allow me

to once again sincerely thank those countries for their

support and solidarity.

Earlier this week, we heard from this rostrum a

dangerous appeal for countries to recognize Kosovo.

That appeal does not contribute to regional stability.

Rather, it lessens our chances of finding a solution we

can all accept. The appeal we heard is not an appeal for

peace but an appeal to endorse unilateralism and would

create a deeply disturbing precedent, namely,

encouragement for secessionists everywhere.

In July, talks between Belgrade and Pristina,

facilitated by the European Union, were briefly

suspended by the facilitator. At that time, there was an

attempt to impose customs officers on the

administrative boundary line between Serbia proper

and North Kosovo. Violence erupted. My Government

did all it could to prevent violence from spreading, but

was this necessary? The effect was to remind Serbs that

they are negotiating with a gun to their heads and with

the constant threat of international isolation. It reminds

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Serbs that the excuse of violence by others is a tool

used irresponsibly to threaten Serbs. It reminds Serbs

of the anti-Serb pogroms in Kosovo in March of 2004.

It reminds Serbs of the failed negotiations and the

imposition of a unilaterally declared independence.

I want to remind the Assembly and all Members

of the United Nations that on 5 October 2000 the

Republic of Serbia voluntarily and peacefully

overthrew its past and entered a new phase in its

history, in which it placed the fate of the Serbian nation

under the protection of democracy, civility, peace and

dialogue.

For this reason, we take grave offence at this

climate of threat emanating from countries that we

would otherwise consider our most natural partners. In

the case of Serbia, the dialogue between two parties

was initiated in March 2011, following a delay of

several months to accommodate the electoral schedule

in Pristina.

We have made very significant progress during

those negotiations. The Republic of Serbia, I assure the

Assembly, will remain a very active party to this

dialogue. There are numerous issues that must be

addressed in the months ahead. I appeal to all involved

to remain engaged in this process in a constructive

spirit. To that end, we expect the International Security

Force in Kosovo and the European Union Rule of Law

Mission in Kosovo to fully observe the United Nations

doctrine of status neutrality, in accordance with their

mandates under Security Council resolution 1244

(1999), the source of their universal legitimacy, both

on the ground and in the international arena.

Progress needs trust. Negotiations and

reconciliation are not achieved through concessions

from one side only. Success does not occur when

threats of violence are issued and coercive action takes

place in the course of negotiations. Our response to this

is to say that, just as we will never accept unilateral

action, we will also not abandon the negotiation

process.

This is why we have stated that we cannot and

will not recognize the unilaterally declared

independence of Kosovo. It is also why we believe that

we must settle all other issues with Pristina, because

our region needs to have a stable environment.

The Republic of Serbia has always sought

tangible assurances, bound by international agreement

and guarantees, that Serbian communities inhabiting

Kosovo, Serbian interests and Serbia’s cultural heritage

will be protected and allowed to flourish.

Many of these issues have been discussed over

the past few years in different formats. Occasionally,

there have been agreements reached, but never

implemented. It is time that matters were clarified. Any

form of understanding on the matter of Kosovo has as a

conditio sine qua non the explicit negotiated and

guaranteed agreement on the following matters

essential to the protection of Serbs in Kosovo.

The first concerns the status of the Serbian

population in North Kosovo. All acknowledge that this

is an issue that must be addressed on the basis of the

current realities. Attempts to change the current

realities would not be conducive to constructive

solutions.

The second issue involves the proper

implementation of decentralization in Kosovo. All

those enclaves that are isolated from other Serbs must

have a political, judicial and economic life providing

the standards that allow them to prosper where they

are. Serbia remains ready to continue to provide the

necessary support to these threatened populations.

The third issue is that of the status of the Serbian

Orthodox Church and of some of its key holy sites. The

protection of those sites and the special status that must

be given to them to preserve their unique identity and

their livelihoods is a matter of fundamental concern. It

comes as a matter of surprise to me that an offer that

would be acceptable to the Republic of Serbia and the

Serbian Orthodox Church has not been volunteered by

the other side. That issue is one of the most basic, and

its denial should be considered a total embarrassment

to the authorities in Pristina and the supervisory

institutions and nations present in Kosovo.

Finally, the question of property must be

resolved. Thousands of private claims remain pending,

making hostages of those internally displaced in 1999.

Commercial property claims are unresolved, as well.

The failure to advance with goodwill on the very

issue that is at the core of our concerns — the rights of

the Serbian communities in Kosovo — is very

disturbing. For us, those four issues are the litmus test.

There is so much to say about the progress in my

country that is positive that it always saddens me that I

must repeat my concerns about the way in which the

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issue of Kosovo is being handled. Let us all recall that

Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) placed

Kosovo under the interim administration of the United

Nations, pending a comprehensive settlement endorsed

by the Security Council. There is a limit to what and

for how long Serbia must be held accountable for

developments where it is asked to assume responsibility,

but without the necessary authority.

I look forward to the day when I can stand at this

rostrum and report that we have resolved that issue and

that we have found a mutually acceptable compromise,

not an imposed outcome where one side gets

everything that it has ever wanted and the other side

gets nothing. A maximalist zero-sum approach is a

solution with no future. We are ready. We are

committed. It is for others to provide grounds for

optimism.

The Republic of Serbia has two immediate

parallel objectives: to secure a mutually acceptable

arrangement in Kosovo that provides iron-clad

guarantees for the Serbian communities and to

accelerate our progress to membership of the European

Union. Both those objectives are achievable. It would

be foolish for anyone to think that one objective will be

sacrificed on the altar of the other. It is for others to

decide whether they think that the achievement of

those two objectives is for the good of the region and

for stability. We are convinced that it is in everyone’s

interest.

I believe that Serbia has met the criteria to be

invited to be a candidate for membership of the

European Union. I also believe that my country is

ready to start accession negotiations. I believe that if

that were to occur, Serbia would, for the first time in

20 years, begin to believe that the EU actually sees

Serbia as an integral part of a complete European

Union.

I fervently believe that my country has set an

example in the region in matters related to

reconciliation, the establishment of the rule of law and

the fight against organized crime, as well as in building

the administrative capacity to handle European norms.

Our battle against organized crime is a global

one. We know that international organized crime wants

to use the region of South-East Europe as a base to

penetrate the EU. The Republic of Serbia has decided

that it is a strategic priority and a national security

priority that Serbia will help prevent that. Serbia is

therefore fighting a battle to protect citizens of the

European Union. It is actively engaged in a wider

strategy to destroy the links between organized crime

and international terrorism. We cooperate with all

nations that share those objectives. We appeal to the

entire region to join us in that battle.

I am therefore convinced that the presence of

Serbia as a candidate, actively negotiating its

accession, is an important asset for the European

Union.

In that way, Serbia can continue to be an even

more effective member of the United Nations,

contributing fully and enthusiastically to the issues that

touch common humanity.