PDSRSG Gary Matthews
UNMIK Police Commissioner Christopher Albiston
Judicial Affairs Acting Head Fernando
Castanon
Gary Matthews: I must say this is a very orderly and law abiding group of people here. I appreciate your being here for this. It is a very important initiative and I just want to say a few things at the outset and then we can get into your questions and discussion. I am pleased of course to have the commissioner and the acting head of the Department of Judicial Affairs with me today because they as heretofore, now and in the future represent our striking arms in dealing with these very, very important issues. This is a very important initiative by the SRSG Mr. Haekkerup. He just signed on Friday the regulation, which established the new Pillar in the UNMIK structure. It will be known as the Police and Justice Pillar, a name I think we can keep generally in our heads. It very much reflects the SRSG's strong emphasis throughout all of this mission and in all that we do, its emphasis on the central priority of strengthening the capabilities and functioning of the law enforcement and criminal justice systems in Kosovo.
This new separate pillar, which I shall head as part of my overall responsibilities as PDSRSG, in all respects will build on what already has been achieved in the police, security and justice functions. As you know, within UNMIK, heretofore these functions have heretofore been part of Pillar II (Civil Administration).
The SRSG's objective in bringing these police, security and justice functions now into the new, distinct pillar is to provide greater focus, centrality and coordination for our efforts. As before, the UNMIK Police and the Department of Judicial Affairs will be very much the major components of these efforts. Let me just underscore the leadership of Commissioner Albiston has brought great professionalism and effectiveness to the overall police structures, and most importantly seen including the growing capabilities of the Kosovo Police Service (KPS). The same is true of our Department of Judicial Affairs, most recently under the capable leadership of my colleague and friend Fernando Castanon, Acting Head of the Department. Of course, in this as in all other areas, we shall work very, very closely with KFOR and its dedicated commanders.
This past week, I must say, the timing and coincidence, the older I get the more I appreciate it in life. I don't necessarily appreciate getting older but then you can't have everything. This past week really was one of major significance for the people of Kosovo and it seems to me that the initiative that I am announcing today fits very well within it. Of course, I refer to the SRSG's promulgation of the Constitutional Framework for Provisional Self-Government and along with that the setting of elections for November 17 of this year. All of this has to do very much with democratic development and the rule of law in Kosovo.
It is therefore particularly appropriate that the new police and justice pillar be established at this time, even though the efforts behind this have been in the works. The people of Kosovo want a peaceful and productive life for themselves and for their children. They want an end to violence. They want to be part of a peaceful and prosperous region. They do NOT want fear and intimidation by organized crime, criminals and terrorists. They do NOT want bias and injustice in the judicial process.
Just a few of the priorities and programs under the new pillar include the following, again as I said, which builds on work long since underway and which we will give greater centrality to: First, a phased increase in the number of KPS officers and enhancing their capabilities; secondly, an increase in the number of judges and prosecutors throughout Kosovo; and thirdly, an expansion of detention and penal facilities to hold those convicted of crimes.
We will soon have much greater resources and legislative powers to deal with crime, terrorism and violence. Among these are the following: The coming into force as you know, on 4 June, of legislation to deal with illegal weapons possession, with especially heavy penalties for weapons trafficking; secondly we have pending legislation to deal with illegal border/boundary crossings; thirdly we will have legislation soon to deal with those who engage in terrorist-related activities; and finally we will have legislation and other measures to combat organized crime of which there is also much too much.
So let me be very clear about al of this as I sum up. This is all about improving the life of the people and children of Kosovo. They are highly able and motivated people. They want a future based on democratic values, peaceful circumstances, and the rule of law. Certainly the just promulgated Constitutional Framework and the elections in November will help light the way. So, too, will our highly concentrated efforts on police, security and justice issues as I now begin to implement initiatives and programs within the new Police and Justice Pillar, working of course very closely with my colleagues from the police and the judicial department and the many others concerned. So let me stop at this point to answer your questions and comments.
Questions:
Q: You said there would be phased increase in the numbers of officers, judges, prosecutors and facilities. What are your numbers, targets or timelines?
GM: Good question, in fact I wish I had highly specific answers on all of them. The general plan for the increase in KPS is to go from the present of about 4000 present levels to around 6000 by the end of calendar 2002. The very capable director of the police school, the Police Academy, has measures in place that will begin to produce that. On the judiciary, it is also very important to increase the number of individuals involved in that, the number of national judges, prosecutors, lay judges need to be raised significantly. Of course that is a function of bringing them funding to some extent. We will also be seeking to increase the number of international judges and prosecutors from the present level of 16 to a higher level so we can deal with some of these special cases that we get involved in. Now that we will have a greater capacity to create product, product in this case being convicted criminals, terrorists and others, we most defiantly have to have more room in which to provide them accommodation and those of you who know the situation here, we are severely stressed and there is not much room left at the inn now. So, a very high priority now and one that my colleagues and I will be taking up at some upcoming sessions with other governments is donor funding for expansion of detention facilities. I readily note that of course that this gets into construction and all the things that go behind that, this is one that will require a huge sustained effort, but we have commitments in principle and what we now need is actual governments and others to step up to provide the necessary funding.
Q: Will the new pillar have more cooperation between UNMIK Police and Judicial Affairs?
GM: We have, I think, very close and productive cooperation now. What this is not a question of creating something literally new "new," because the extremely important police and judicial matters were heretofore in a very large Pillar II with all the other very important concerns it addresses. We are combining this into the new pillar structure just give it a much more focused, less expanded environment in which to do that. So, as before, we will have some mechanisms on coordination that the two gentlemen sitting on either side of me will have a very close collaboration, especially on the resources side, I along with the SRSG will be able to bring those to bear in a prompter and more coordinated fashion.
CA: I think we already have a close working relationship. The new pillar structure will enable us to define the working relationship better. As you understand, there is a clear need for a coordinated approach to the criminal justice system from the police and the judicial and prosecutorial elements and that is why it is useful to have them in one pillar under one pillar head who will answer to the SRSG and his deputy on the way that the criminal justice strategy is going, but also because we operate in a rule of law system. Now with a full human rights based agenda, it is right that there should be two separate strands in the pillar so that the police are not trying to influence the judicial decisions or the prosecutorial decisions and the judges and prosecutors are not trying to influence police operational policy. So the new structure should ensure that the very high level of importance that the SRSG attaches to the issue of criminal law and the enforcement of criminal law as is reflected in the pillar structure. As you know the mission has many elements, international and local. It has the humanitarian aid, it has the institution building and democratization, it has economic reconstruction, and the mission in interested in the work of the health, school, culture and so on. But all those things depend on whether the Kosovo society can develop along peaceful lines as a rule of law society because then all the other things like democratization and economic reconstruction can follow reasonably smoothly. These things won't work if we don't have law and order in the first place and the police are there to provide civil law and order and KFOR is there to provide a safe and secure environment and along with the judicial process, that provides the foundation for all the other developments that everyone wants to see take place in Kosovo.
Q: Can we see this change as a result of the Constitutional Framework?
GM: It is certainly within that context, but the efforts and the initiatives go back some months on the creation of the pillar. It was recognized already, even toward the end of last year. Certainly it fits within the context of the post election provisional self-government so I think it is sort of a natural thing to do and it is very much with the matter that you just mentioned.
FC: I would like to emphasize what has already been said by the Principal Deputy Mr. Matthews and the Police Commissioner Mr. Albiston, in connection with this new structure and also I relate it to the other achievements that have already been made by the civilian police of UNMIK and also the Department of Judicial Affairs: I think both have really re-established the police system in Kosovo, and also the judicial system and penal system. I think that great achievements have been made but the creation of this new pillar is a unique opportunity to strengthen and to continue without close coordination and cooperation and I think this is more than welcome and it is to improve what was already in place.
Q: If more are arrested and there are more prosecutors, will there be more legal representation like public defenders?
GM: A good and very important question. It is something we will be putting more emphasis on.
FC: We are trying; we are doing our best to help defendants have fair legal assistance. In this connection I would refer to the specific responsibilities that OSCE as responsible for institution capacity building has, and they are working hard on this and always in close coordination with us.
GM: Within our mission now and there are portions of each pillar which have a piece of some program or something as important as this on public defenders, so we will again with the creation of the separate pillar we can bring everyone in a more consistent and coordinated manner. This will defiantly be one of the issues that needs to be addressed early on, because there will defiantly be more people needing defenders.
Q: Do you have figures on the number in detention now, how many have been convicted, how many prisons will be built? Also, please explain the illegal border crossing. Will this include the administrative border along Preshevo Valley and were any of you involved in drafting a KFOR document that has been handed to villages in the Preshevo Valley that says any man of military age will be detained if they don't accept the amnesty in the next few days?
GM: I can tell you I have been drafting many things of late and that is not one of them. On the other, good question about the numbers of prisoners and detainees. You may have it in your head, but if not we will get that to you right away. That information exists. It will defiantly be going up because several pieces of legislation I mention will defiantly provide grounds for more prosecutions and I anticipate more convictions. And for the other question, the title to the regulation is Border Boundaries, so it would pick up people coming across either.
Q: If you are stopping the crossing of boundaries, do you consider that a restriction in the freedom of movement? Is it a human rights violation?
GM: I am not at liberty to hand out or read you the provisions of the legislation but there are very specific criteria that you will see and it has been looked at most assuredly from the human rights and legal implications as well. So, we will have that soon enough once it is available for handout. Those considerations were addresses and as you will see in the wording will not pose a problem for human rights or otherwise.
Q: Are you happy with the first results in the weapons amnesty program?
CA: Yes there have been a number of people coming to collection points and surrendering a variety of weapons but I don't have the current up-to-date figure but there are somewhere in the order of 100 groups of weapons as a direct result of weapons that have been handed over. There are also large numbers of weapons which have been mysteriously found I think, not wishing to be too cynical about these things, I think that there has been a good deal of unofficial use of the amnesty period on this. So I am delighted to see a large number of rocket launchers, hand grenades, assault rifles, pistols and other things that have no place in a civil society handed over or left where they could be found. I would rather they be handed over than left where they could be found because in the past three days we have had several incidents of children bringing hand grenades to the police. While it is nice to get the hand grenades out of circulation but I would far rather the children weren't finding them and bringing them to the police. There was another classic incident at the beginning of last week, where a man who found an assault rifle in his mother-in law's loft - obviously Kosovar men have the same relationship with their mothers-in-law as other people from the international community - and he out it under the seat of his sofa intending to surrender it to police when he had the opportunity but he was a busy man and forgot all about it. When he was watching television and felt uncomfortable and reached his hand down into the sofa to see what was causing the discomfort, he triggered the rifle and out a bullet straight through his leg and out the other side. Now it is a funny story but he didn't think it was funny at the time. This is the sort of thing that we would like to avoid. I would like to invite everyone in Kosovo to use the remaining period of the amnesty to get rid of these awful things. I really don't realistically expect criminal who have weapons for use in armed robbery to come along to police stations and hand them in. It would be nice if they did, but I am realistic. There are a lot of other weapons to which people have access that we can get rid of without losing face, without losing prestige, simply in order to give our families and children a better chance and that is what I would encourage people to do. We still have another couple of weeks in the amnesty program. Let's make good use of that time.