Canadian Statement

Canada would like to begin by welcoming the elected leaders and senior officials of Kosovo's Provisional Institutions of Self-Government to this forum. Thanks to EC and WB.

A number of important achievements have been made in Kosovo over the past year, not the least being that Kosovars are assuming ever greater responsibility for Kosovo's future. Representative of this positive trend is that you, the democratically elected leaders of Kosovo are not only here with us today, but are playing a lead role in our discussions. Canada looks forward to continuing this dialogue in the future.

Other gains include a significant reduction in violence and increasing success in generating government revenue. Canada is optimistic that the administration will continue to create transparent, accountable and effective institutions that benefit and include all Kosovars.

Considerable challenges, however, remain. Some of the most pressing include developing a productive economy including the need to deepen Kosovo's economic integration with the rest of the region, creating an enabling environment for returns, and fostering a culture of human rights and tolerance premised on the rule of law.

The high levels of unemployment and continued marginalization, albeit at reduced levels, of minority communities cannot be allowed to continue. The people of Kosovo deserve better.

Canada regrets that Kosovo Serbs did not participate more fully in the recent municipal elections. This outcome points to the significant challenges of building an inclusive multi-ethnic society in Kosovo and suggests that we need to renew our efforts to achieve this critical goal.

Since 1999 Canada has committed approximately $120 million to programming in Kosovo. I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm Canada's strong commitment to continuing our cooperation program in Kosovo in the coming years.

To this end, Canada will maintain its focus in three key areas: education, health as well as building effective, transparent and accountable institutions. Canada is pleased to note that these have been identified as priority areas by the government of Kosovo, UNMIK, and the World Bank.

In the area of education, Canada would like to draw attention to the need for comprehensive curriculum reform, and for the ministry to prioritize teacher and administrator development.

In the health sector, the Canada has focused on reproductive health and strengthening public health institutions. We believe these continue to be priority areas for Kosovo.

With respect to institution building and security sector reform, Canada will continue to deploy police and correctional services officers to Kosovo as well as providing senior Canadian experts to the PISG and UNMIK.

In the area of rule of law, Canada has been a strong supporter of the establishment of the victim's advocacy and awareness unit within the department of justice. Canada is pleased to have deployed a trainer to develop the capacity of the first group of 12 victims advocates.

Canada is strongly committed to promoting the right to return for all Kosovars, including those living inside and outside of Kosovo. Canada's efforts are directed at creating the conditions for sustainable returns as well as responding quickly to spontaneous returns. We are active in this respect through our support to the housing and property directorate as well as through our local initiative program. The Canadian cooperation program will continue to provide flexible and timely support to communities and individuals that choose to return to their place of origin.

There is little doubt that the next few years will be a key period in Kosovo's socio-economic and political development. Canada applauds the SRSG's efforts particularly with reference to the benchmarks which have proven useful in focusing dialogue and scarce resources in achieving goals critical to Kosovo's development.

In this context, cooperation within the international community is of heightened importance to ensure that as stakeholders in Kosovo's future we work together to successfully meet the important challenges ahead. We encourage the PISG and UNMIK to continue their dialogue with Belgrade particularly in the area of energy.

Recognizing the need for continued donor support for Kosovo: Canada shares the concerns of the international community, expressed recently by the G8 working group, regarding securing concessional financing for Kosovo. We call upon IFIs to work with UNMIK in finding creative solutions.

Canada also encourages the government of Kosovo to take a more active role in donor coordination to ensure that progamming responses are locally-driven. As donors we are here to support you in your transition to democracy.

In closing, Canada would like to assure the people and leaders of Kosovo that it remains committed to supporting Kosovo throughout its transition to democracy.

Thank you.