Meeting Held with OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities

19. February 2009.

Knut Vollebaek, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, talked with Nenad Djurdjevic, Director of the Coordination Body’s Office, about the position of ethnic minorities in South Serbia. The meeting was attended by Hans Ola Urstad, Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, as well as by his associates.

The representatives of the OSCE and Coordination Body agreed that the most important topics in South Serbia included the establishment of multi-ethnic governments in Bujanovac and Presevo, a reform of the judiciary, the strengthening of the integration process of all ethnic communities and the solving of issues in the field of education.

It was pointed out at the meeting that the OSCE and Coordination Body had been successfully cooperating on resolving the issues in Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja and on raising the quality of life of the citizens of the three municipalities for a long time. At the same time, the representatives of the OSCE and Coordination Body agreed to continue their cooperation, particularly in the process of establishing multi-ethnic local self-governments and participation of Albanian representatives in the work of the Coordination Body.