Tuesday, 25 September 2018

Mr. Secretary-General, Ladies and Gentlemen, Excellencies,

    I would like to thank H.E. Mr. Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, for organizing this event.

    Serbia believes that peacekeeping operations are one of the key instruments as we strive to realize the pivotal role of the United Nations in safeguarding international peace and security.

    Serbia attaches great importance to the efforts made by UN in promoting and maintaining international peace and security. We take active part in the system of collective security and we continue tradition of participating in UN peacekeeping missions, begun by former Yugoslavia in 1956.

    Today, over 300 women and men from Serbia are deployed in 5 UN and 4 EU missions. Under the United Nations banner, they promote peace in Lebanon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Cyprus and the Middle East. We take great pride in the fact that Serbia is the leading country in the Western Balkans and 9th amongst the European troop- and police-contributing countries.

    On the other hand, Serbia’s position on United Nations peacekeeping missions is determined also by the fact that the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), established by the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 in 1999, is deployed on our territory.

    I have to emphasize today that this UN mission’s presence and activities in Kosovo and Metohija in unchanged mandate and undiminished number is of paramount importance for preserving stability in the Province.

    Unfortunately, many challenges continue to exist and the overall political and security situation in Kosovo and Metohija is still very complex. Thus, we believe, and this is what I wanted to emphasize today, that UNMIK must remain engaged in addressing all questions relative to a consistent implementation of UN security Council Resolution 1244.

Finally, I would like to thank you all for your support and c