unvoice

It is difficult not to think about traveling on these promising sunny mornings, as you walk past people sitting in shadowed bars sipping strong Turkish coffee.

In the warmth of spring mornings, everything seems possible and fleeting images of places you’ve never seen, mixed with the feeling of total freedom, gets you dreaming about how precious life really is.

To travel around the world, to share, to learn, to become part of everywhere, to be transformed into a million pieces belonging to each culture and each way of thinking…. And spring makes you ready to discover even more than you can understand, ready to do more then you are actually capable of.

Fresh morning air makes you believe that many places wait to offer you the same spring mornings, and that many people all around the world are waiting to drink coffee with you.

INTERVIEW

Ms. Sharon Capeling-Alakija, could you explain to the UNV’s in Kosovo the place of the United Nations Volunteers Program within the United Nations system?

First of all, I think of the UNV’s as something like an NGO in the United Nations system and I believe that the human face of the UN is the best-kept secret of the UN. It came into existence through a resolution of the General Assembly and so, in fact, our first mandate is to the General Assembly, but within that resolution, they asked UNDP to administer us. So, we are administered within the UNDP’s administration and we get our administrative budget from UNDP, which is between 13 and 15 million US Dollars each year. But the cost of the UNV’s program in 1999 was 77 million Dollars, so there is a large gap and most of that money is paid by the people whose projects need the services of UNV’s.

We are very reliant on the people who ask for our services for funding, as the program exceeds the administrative budget by six times

The headquarters is in Bonn (Germany) and we also have an office in Geneva where the humanitarian operations have their main office. Then we have a small representational office in New York, which is our representational office for North America and in Cyprus we have an office where the applications of the volunteers are processed offshore from Europe. So, those are basically the physical locations for the headquarters. We have volunteers from about 148 countries serving in 141 countries and almost 4500 UNV’s have served some time during 1999.

What, in your opinion, would be the future place of the UNV’s, taking into account that there is an increasing number of volunteers--especi ally in peacekeeping missions which require h umanitarian relief, of UNV’s around the world?

Certainly, its significance grew in 1999, which is attributable to growth in humanitarian operations, peacekeeping missions and so on. There has been a real difference in our profile since the early nineties, when 90% of the volunteers were working in long-term development, and I think that this is just a reflection of what’s happening.

The UNV’s organization is adapting itself to respond to those needs. It is hard to have a crystal ball and know what the issues are going to be, even 5 years from now. One concrete example, is that the Volunteers might want to go to the internet and tap to the UN site where we have the Secretary General’s Millennium Document and in that document they announce a new initiative called UNITE (United Nations Information Technology Services) which is going to be coordinated by UNV’s. That is a new point of departure for us because, although we have at least 100 people in the field working, in some way or another, around the globe in information and communication technologies, this is a very large and different thing and will probably lead us into partnerships with the private sector both in terms of mobilizing corporate volunteers and supporting software and equipment.

This is a whole new group of net-core-type volunteers working to support and building capacity and access to information around the world.

You can see, as issues become important, I think it’s important for our organization to be responsive, agile and able to move into those areas and to support the developing countries by providing them with high-quality human resources as quickly as possible. Our people, who bring with them their skills, of course, bring also their commitment and the volunteer ethos of the UNV’s.

You are probably visiting a lot of missions where you meet a lot of UNV’s, so what is so specific about the UNV’s’ involvement in Kosovo?

Kosovo will, by the end of May, be the largest operation the UNV’s have ever been involved in as, I believe, their numbers will reach 700 people here in the country by 31^st of May. At least that’s what we are anticipating. That is, in and for itself, extremely significant.

I guess, what Kosovo represents also is a turning point in our relationship with the United Nations Peacekeeping Operation itself. At this point, I believe that we have really become essential to their capacity to be able to respond internationally in these kinds of situations and such a team, as a part of the UN system, does not have to know what ACABQ means and stands for but it is the watchdog of the United Nations budget. And now, when the operations budgets are going to the 5^th committee of the General Assembly, which is the budget committee, the first thing that the ACABQ will ask is, are there UNV’s involved and shouldn’t we be using UNV’s? And that is happening more and more. So, I see now that the system itself is increasingly anticipating that they will need UNV’s, and that’s the big difference, and I also think that Kosovo is, more-or-less, the turning point there

A question about the perception of the UNV’s in the UN system.

Well, that’s not such a nice question to have to answer, in the sense that, as I often say, that on a pyramid the volunteers are on the bottom of that pyramid. But I’m not completely pessimistic about that either because I have seen, during the time I have been here in Kosovo I’ve been meeting with very senior officials from Mr. Kouchner to the leadership of three of the pillars, I have heard nothing but praise and compliments about the UNV’s, the good work they are doing here, the commitment that they are bringing to their work and the way they connect with people.

I hope that you will take this message to all the volunteers because, as I have been immensely proud during the last 24 hours, have gone from office to office and heard that, so it makes me optimistic that people are coming to understand that the volunteers bring something special to every mission they participate in and that is becoming more and more appreciated.

With each new mission we start not from scratch because there are always, as you know, many people who have been in other missions which makes it a little bit easier for us because they know, for example, that there are a lot of people who have been to East Timor and they know how important the volunteers were in East Timor and there is awareness of that in the Kosovo mission. That helps to ensure that the volunteers are treated with more respect and support.

So, it’s uneven, depending on the individual with whom the volunteers happen to encounter and their knowledge and experience with working with the UNV’s. But I’m entirely confident that after any significant time of working with the UNV’s, even the most hard-bitten people get won over.

Finally, please say some words to the volunteers of UNMIK. What message would you like to convey now that your tour here is coming to an end?

The main thing I want to say is “Thank you” because I think that what the volunteers are doing is so important for the United Nations and for this country. But I also want to emphasize the thing that makes the UNV’s what they are and sets them apart from some of the people that are here, and that is that I hope all of them are here because they want to be here and they want to help fulfill the highest goal of the United Nations system, and that’s what makes an organization special, and I will call upon them to participate in their activities in this country and in this region in that way.

The Youth Department is the latest addition to the Joint Interim Administrative Structure (JIAS). It was originally part of the Sports and Youth Department. The two were split according to the political need to render the JIAS as pluralistic as possible. However, this political contingency must be turned into opportunity and the creation of the Youth Department must be welcomed as an advocate for the young men and women of Kosovo.

We are still at a nascent stage. We are still dealing with fairly tedious administrative issues and logistic matters. We are putting a lot of time and effort into securing adequate office space and equipment. Any reader who has spent more than 24 hours in the Mission knows what I am talking about. As most other JIAS outfits, we are operating on a shoestring budget. The department will hire a total of 12 staff under the Kosovo Consolidated Budget for the year 2000. There is little or no money left for projects. We will be knocking on donors' doors a lot in the months to come.

Budgetary constraints aside, there is a lot of work that needs to be done urgently. We are developing an overall Youth policy, and this will be done on the basis of a needs assessment study which we are preparing to commission. The study will be instrumental in getting through to the donors and making sure that their contributions are allocated appropriately. We are also looking to organize a summer program of events in view of the elections. This will be done in cooperation with the civil society: the NGOs run most of the youth activities in Kosovo today. A lot of their work is based on the Youth Center concept. These centers, which the Department is looking to support and complement, are springing up throughout Kosovo and are meant as multi-purpose recreational and educational facilities for young men and women.

For figures lovers, about 150,000 Tons have been transported by rail during the 7 past months. OK, passenger trains are not running right now, but they ran from December to March 1 and will restart soon. As we are only 2 working full time on Railways in UNMIK (Local Railways staff number 700, and used to be 2400 before the war), the range of our tasks metamorphosed in color scale looks like a very nice rainbow!

Procurement, budget planning and expenditure, project management (SIDA, GTZ are involved), salary payment, repairs of rolling stocks and tracks... are daily tasks. I have to prepare a job description for my replacement and I don’t know if I should focus it on engineering or procurement or accounting or management or just train driver?

Sometimes it gets frustrating to work in the UN. For instance I have to run 10 times a day to the Head of Transport’s office to make international phone calls and on top of that, with the cigar smoke I breath making these phone calls, I will probably end up with lung cancer by the end of the mission (the Head of Transport smokes some heavy duty Cuban cigars). Nevertheless the job is concrete and exciting, and Transport is an interesting department as it is filled with people having various previous experiences.

Katherine, permanently on the hotline to Jerome (5829 when 5691 is perpetually engaged mind you), primary mission is to ward off the distraction of all other productive male staff. She is assigned to the establishment of the KWECC (Kosovo War and Ethnic Crimes Court) and hasn’t as yet been indicted for crimes against humanity. Matthew usually finds an excuse to visit the above-mentioned office and compliment his gorgeous distracting colleagues, as he refers to them. He always finds the time for a nice word and listens to everyone’s trouble in order to forget his own… like how many times he had to move from one office to another –he is working on several issues from the nomination and appointment of judges and prosecutors, to the refurbishment of Courts, to the Kosovo War and Ethnic Crimes Courtprojects.The UNVs working for the Penal Management Section are involved in all the aspects related to the establishment of prisons or “correctional centers” as they call them (they think if you change the name the cells can be a nice place…), they are taking care of legal issues as well as the financial aspects and the set up of a database. Always say hi to them when you meet them in the street… you will recognize them!

The Department of Labour and Employment is in charge of developing the labour laws, the employment policies and the network of employment offices to assist Kosovars in their search for sustainable employment.

Currently, there are two UN volunteers working for the department in Pristina and Mitrovica. They have been in charge of designing and establishing policies, managing projects and participating in the delicate process of re-structuring the administrative aparatus of Kosovo.

My Job consists in floating amidst the bureaucratic turbulence of HQ. I occasionally help out in technical meetings in which I act as a secretary, taking minutes… I have recently, by accident, been streamlining the wage structure of a water and waste company. I hope in the future to work on the emergency plan in water supply.

I, for example, an not working in Civil Registration. I was paired with the Department of Education and Science Department on the wings of my experience in Teaching.English to Hungarian officers and old ladies as supplement experience in Administration at international Banking Software Company in Budapest.I graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in English ( Literature, writing) with a minor 1 Symbolic in Interaction Sociology. Last week, all the sites I created in February and March and April were shipped to the Exinkos Building where the UNMIK Department of Education I Science Resides. My files will prove that I have coordinated activity in almost all Areas the department is involved in reading from the Textbook Consortium 1m donors the coordinator of NGO’s the establishment of secretariat of the Desk process ( Design an Education System in Kosovo), the Establishment of the UNMIK school Building Cell, Teacher train workshops, English Editing and I make sure there is plenty of water to walk on at all meetings. If I were not a Part of Department, Education in Kosovo would still develop, but I would not.

Where is Civil & Voter Registration going?

We need to have the local elections this year, because the Kosovars that are recognized by the people as theirs representatives must take part in the process of administration.

We need to provide the basic administration services to Kosovars. In the previous system, the ID was the basic document without which one was not allowed to walk the streets. Without ID, it was not possible to get a passport, to enter University, to have access to pension fund, to sign any kind of contract.

We need to have Central Civil Registry including information on the residents. This registry is the most important file needed for those who decide on economic, political, social and security issues.

And, only registered persons will be able to apply for an UNMIK Travel Document.

But today, we face the boycott of the registration by the Serb community, not only the registration but also for all other UNMIK projects. Their aim is to discredit the UNMIK and to declare the registration invalid and illegitimate.

Can we really have the elections without the Serbs? Can we really have no Serbs in Civil registry? Can we really issue Travel Documents to Albanians while the Serbs continue to carry and cherish Yugoslav passport?

The more moderate Gracanica line, led by Bishop Artemije, has made the safe return of the Serbs the condition for participation. Otherwise they will not participate in the registration process.

What will happen if Serbs do not register? They won’t be able to vote? Or will they have some special opportunity to take part in the elections without registration? Or will we declare the registration a success and have some 120,000 Serbs will lose their rights in Kosovo?

The issue of the return of non-Albanian residents of Kosovo will be crucial for the success of the mission. Even if the Serbs do not register and vote, some places would be open for them on the municipal level. And even after the elections, UN Municipal Administrators will have the right of veto…

After the spectacular change in Croatia and the victories by the Social Democrat Party (a multiethnic party) in municipal elections in urban areas of Bosnia (which have a Muslim majority) it is evident that the era of national – chauvinist movements is coming to an end. Bosnian Serbs and Croats voted once again, however, for those who had organized the ethnic cleansing. Hopefully, they will change their minds before the coming general elections.

The citizens of Montenegro live in fear of the possible intervention of Yugoslav Army. Media in Podgorica for the first time published the story of the shameful involvement of Montenegrins within the Yugoslav Army during the last decade. A presentation of public apology to all victims, swallowing the pill of the past in the name of future…

In Serbia nothing new: hunger, political murders, and an economy run by criminals linked with Milosevic’s SPS is still the order of the day. Disoriented and desperate people, who do not believe in the sterile and divided Serbian opposition leaders, live in collective apathy. The catharsis of Serbia unfortunately does not look like it can be bloodless and must be led by new politicians.

The situation in Kosovo is going well, former KLA leader Ramush Haradinaj formed the Alliance For Kosovo party, a move that might seriously decrease the numbers of PPDK supporters. On a down note, another KLA commander who had successfully made the switch from soldier to civil administrator has been shot dead in Prizren. (((As the elections approach, strong-handed tactics may, unfortunately, be employed to sway public opinion…)))

Kosovo Serbs are showing a few signs of having a better understanding of Serbia. They are now ready to join Serbian opposition.

The entire population of Acronym-ville works round the clock to ensure that the UN has enough acronyms to keep its worldwide operations running along. We see these acronyms, use them in conversation and even work for them, but what exactly do they stand for? This month, we shed some light upon JIAS, the KTC (No relation to KFC, worldwide purveyors of fried chicken) and even the IAC. That’s the Joint Interim Administrative Structure, the Kosovo Transitional Council and the Interim Administrative Council and for the uninitiated.

JIAS is administering the FRY territory of Kosovo on a provisional basis until free and fair elections are held this autumn. On February 1, 1999, JIAS became operational when the first of the 20 interim departments proposed by UNMIK and IAC were established.

The KTC is the highest-level consultative body of the JIAS. A vital institute for the province’s evolving democracy, the KTC acts as the link between Kosovo society and all the components of the JIAS. There are 35 members on the Council which can be divided into five groups: the main political parties, members of the IAC (we’ll get to them in a minute), religious community leaders, representatives of national communities and independents together with representatives of civil society. In the beginning of April, the KTC was joined by members of the Serb community and is now able to discuss day-to-day issues of concern to all groups of Kosovars. The council meets once a week to discuss issues and make comments and suggestions for our big boss, SRSG (Special Representative of the Secretary General) Bernard Kouchner.

The IAC was established under the agreement of 15 December 1999, which was signed by the three Kosovo political leaders who had also been party to the Rambouillet Acccords. In its current form, the IAC consists of eight members—the three Kosovo Albanian leaders of the three major parties, an observer from the Kosovo Serb community and four UNMIK members, plus one observer for each side. SRSG Kouchner presides over the Council or, in his absence, the Principal Deputy SRSG takes his spot and delegates his place as a member to someone else. The presiding officer cannot vote. Decisions are reached by three quarters majority of those present and voting. The SRSG can accept the decision of the IAC or give reason in writing for rejecting a decision.

It all sounds terribly complicated, but the point is that the IAC acts as the tie between the major Kosovo political parties and UNMIK. The parties are (here come some more acronyms) the PPDK (Kosovo Democratic Progress Party) represented by Hashim Thaci, the LDK (Democratic League of Kosovo) represented by Ibrahim Rugova and the LBD (United Democratic Movement) represented by Rexhep Qosja. Rada Trajkovic represents the SNV (Serb National Council) as an observer. Together with their UNMIK partners, these representatives meet twice each week to discuss day-to-day substantive issues (such as ethnic tension, draft regulations for preparing municipal elections and how to deal with returning refugees), as well as to amend applicable laws and frame new regulations. The council also proposes policy guidelines for the 20 administrative departments of the JIAS.

Back to the JIAS acronym, the Joint Interim Administrative Structure basically gives a de facto cabinet structure to Kosovo with all the typical elements: Justice, Education, Central Fiscal Authority etc. Since Kosovo is not a sovereign state—these elements are called departments rather than ministries. Each department is co-chaired by a UN selected international and a local head. The Kosovo members are nominated by the IAC according to a formula that divides management of the departments among Kosovo IAC members, minority communities and Kosovo independents. UNMIK Regulation 2000/1, of 14 January 2000, established the role and functions of the JIAS and its various bodies. Sparing you all the legal mumbo-jumbo, it basically binds the Kosovo parties to participate in the JIAS, manage Kosovo together with UNMIK, to respect UN Security Council resolution 1244 and the authority of SRSG Kouchner and finally to facilitate the involvement of all communities of Kosovo in the provisional administrative council.

Hopefully, this Sorry EXcuse, Lame Explanation Still Shows United Nations Volunteers What Is the Situation Here…(SEXLESS UNVs WISH…). I’ll let you complete the acronym. Just be happy you weren’t on NATO’s Munitions Effectiveness Assessment Team after the war. MEAT.

Are you ready to read?

Last month’s UNVoice not as satisfying a read after the 23^rd time? Already started reading the labels of Nutella jars? Maybe thinking of learning Albanian just to read the books left by your landlord in the flat?

Don’t despair. A new bookstore has opened, conveniently located on Mother Theresa (the one road everyone knows the name of) Street 20 between the HQ and Government buildings. The shop, Dukagjini, carries the name of its parent publishing house and is run by author Eqrem Basha. French readers may know Mr Basha from his book Les ombres de la nuit et autres recits du Kosovo, but for the rest of you who don’t know him, just think of him as the man who wants to offer the works of English, French and some German (with Italian later on) writers in their original language here in Kosovo. A welcome idea indeed.

The shop, which also offers Albanian books, is hoping to draw locals and foreigners alike. For now, the English offerings include Penguin classics, some magazines, art books and perhaps not strangely—selections from the Wordsworth Military Library. Francophiles can dig into Le Livre de Poche selections as well as a smattering of other titles. For those who want to get a bit more insight into our adopted home, some works of local writer Ismail Kadare are available in English and French. For 20 marks, you can pick up an English-to-Albanian dictionary that can help when talking to your landlord or when trying to impress local friends. Art Taschen poster books are also available to brighten up your dreary flats.

For now, Stephen King fans will have to wait. Mr Basha is working to make the contracts to bring the kind of books you want to read when you don’t want to think, but for now—brush up on your Bronte and chill with Bill Shakespeare. The Dukagjini bookshop is open from 9 until two and then from two until seven during the week and will also be opened on Saturdays, but the hours have not yet been decided.

George Turnbull, Senior Core Supervisor of Prizren, died on the 30th of April 2000. He died in the German Military Hospital in Koblenz following a major heart attack. A memorial service was held for George in Prizren on Thursday the 4th of May.

We all remember George, the way he was easy going even when the going got tough, and. his ability to manage and function as a team member. There was once “the two George’s” team in the Joint Registration Taskforce in Prizren, one from UN and one from OSCE. Sadly, there is only one George left now.

George left behind a wife and children. We will miss him and remember him always.