Mr. President,

The Chinese Delegation thanks Under-Secretary-General Guehenno for his analysis just now. We also want to thank Ambassador Chowdhury for his briefing on June 19 about the Report of the Security Council Mission on the Implementation of Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999). Under his outstanding leadership, the Mission has fulfilled its task with high efficiency, conveying to all sides in Kosovo the important messages about the need to reject violence and terrorism and to respect the rights of minority communities. The report is well-balanced and straightforward, identifying specific requirements as well as the orientation for the next stage of the work of UNMIK and KFOR. Whether or not these requirements are met will be a criterion for the success of the work of UNMIK and KFOR in the next stage. From this perspective, the visit by this Mission has its positive meanings.

As the report points out, since taking office, Mr. Has Haekkerup and his UNMIK, together with KFOR, have made great efforts and achieved some positive results under difficult circumstances. We express our appreciation to their hard work. However, the security situation in Kosovo still calls for further improvement. We have noted that safety for the minorities, Serbs in particular, are still not ensured and as a result there have been very few returnees, not to mention their reintegration into the society and participation in the UNMIK-led political process. The Chinese Delegation has always emphasized that, without the full participation of all ethnic groups, the result of the elections cannot be fair. Rather, it will only lead to the intensification of ethnic conflicts. That is why the report, as we have noted, indicates that the overriding priority for the moment is to encourage all ethnic groups in Kosovo, especially Serbs, to participate in this process. At the same time, the report emphasizes that it is also a crucial step to establish dialogue and cooperation with the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which is critically important. We encourage UNMIK to continue and further strengthen its cooperation in all fields and establish a mechanism for regular dialogue with the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, so as to ensure that the views of the latter are given full consideration and its good suggestions are accepted, in an effort to promote the establishment in Kosovo of a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and diversified society featuring equality and mutual assistance. At the same time, we also hope that the minority ethnic groups in Kosovo will take an active part in the Kosovo-wide elections. A precondition for all this rests, of course, with the fundamental improvement of the security situation and a sound solution of issues such as the treatment of the minorities and their properties. In this regard, UNMIK and KFOR should take further measures, including fighting against extremism, encouraging moderates on all sides, building confidence among communities, help developing the economy for the sake of stability and so on, so as to translate into real action the outcome of the visit by the Security Council Mission and fully implement Resolution 1244.

Finally, I want to emphasize that ethnic reconciliation in Kosovo is a long process and needs the unremitting efforts by the international community. However, the international community cannot sit on its own hands to activities aiming at undermining this process. While we are making an effort to deal with the question of Kosovo, we should also keep in sight the situation of the whole region, especially the recent worrisome developments in Macedonia. The situation in Macedonia and the situation in Kosovo are closely inter-related and have a lot to do with each other. Attempts to lead Kosovo to independence and indulgence of extremist forces that try to exclude other ethnic groups are very dangerous, because they will give rise to new disturbances in the entire Balkans and ultimately victimize people of all countries in this region. The Security Council has on its shoulders the responsibility to, and it must, work together with the international community to stop these dangerous tendencies so as to avoid the repetition of the tragic past.

Thank you, Mr. President.