OSCE high commissioner voices concern over situation in Kosovo-Metohija

BELGRADE - At a meeting with Serbian Parliament Speaker Vladimir Orlic, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Kairat Abdrakhmanov voiced concerns over the situation in Kosovo-Metohija and noted that OSCE advocated peace and continued dialogue.

Orlic noted the particularly difficult position of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija and said their human rights were "fundamentally jeopardised by Pristina on a daily basis."

"In Kosovo-Metohija, besides a violation of all agreements, an intentional avoidance of establishment of a Community of Serb Municipalities and implementation of what was agreed and signed a long time ago, shots are fired at Serb children, supplies of food and medicines are blocked, people are unlawfully detained and their property is taken away from them without any legal consequences whatsoever for the perpetrators, and we know who the perpetrators are," Orlic said.

The parties confirmed a joint commitment to cooperation, which they said was excellent both at parliamentary level and through the activities of a National Assembly of Serbia delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, as well as at other levels, the Serbian parliament said in a statement.

Orlic noted that excellent cooperation had been established with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and that it had resulted in adoption of a large number of ODIHR recommendations for improvement of electoral conditions over the past several years.

The parties agreed that electoral conditions in Serbia were on a democratic level that was higher than ever before.

Orlic said elections for the national councils of national minorities had been held successfully in Serbia and that all aspects of the position of Serbia's ethnic minorities had been improved further.

Abdrakhmanov noted that OSCE advocated peace and the importance of advancement of educational programmes, especially in the field of language learning as the best way of establishing communication between different communities.

The parties confirmed a joint commitment to cooperation on all important issues for security and human and minority rights in OSCE member states, the statement also said.