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UNCLAS STATE 063696 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: IO PREL UNESCO KV
SUBJECT: INSTRUCTION ON KOSOVO WORLD HERITAGE SITE, 33RD 
SESSION OF THE WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE 
 
¶1. (U) Mission is instructed to take action as follows 
regarding World Heritage Committee Agenda Item 7A - Addendum 
- Medieval Monuments in Kosovo (Serbia) (C724 bis). 
 
¶2. (U) During the 33rd session of the World Heritage 
Committee meeting in Seville, Spain, from June 22-30, 2009, 
Mission is instructed to join consensus on Item 7A - Addendum 
- Medieval Monuments in Kosovo (Serbia) (C 724 bis) using the 
following Explanation of Position: 
 
     --In light of Decision 32 COM 7A.27 taken by the 32nd 
Session of the World Heritage Committee, the United States 
wishes to make a statement about the draft decision and the 
accompanying report on the Medieval Monuments in Kosovo 
(WHC-09/33.COm/7A.Add). 
 
     --Specifically, our concern involves inclusion of the 
term "Serbia" in the title or text of this declaration. 
Using the name "Serbia" in this context is inconsistent with 
the "status-neutral framework of the United Nations" with 
respect to Kosovo that the UN Secretary-General has 
reiterated as recently as two weeks ago.  We are aware of no 
legal requirement to associate the name of a State Party with 
the name of a site; if the Committee nonetheless desires to 
do so, a factual and status neutral formulation would be: 
"(site proposed by Serbia and Montenegro)." 
 
     --Moreover, Serbia is in practice unable to take actions 
to preserve the sites called for under the World Heritage 
Convention, contrary to the implication of including its name 
in the title of the resolution, or of the reference in the 
accompanying report to "short-term corrective measures to be 
taken by the State Party...".  By contrast, although it is 
not yet a party to the Convention, Kosovo has in fact taken 
significant and effective action to protect and preserve the 
referenced sites and others in Kosovo. 
 
     --In addition to the preceding comments, the United 
States considers a number of the descriptions and references 
in the report accompanying the resolution, Document 
WHC-09/33.COM/7A, to be inaccurate or objectionable. These 
concerns, along with those just mentioned, will be reflected 
in a statement to be provided to the Chair. We ask that this 
statement be included in the written record of proceedings. 
 
     --My government has been actively engaged in and remains 
committed to efforts to preserve and reconstruct Serbian 
Orthodox churches and monasteries in Kosovo, as well as other 
important cultural sites.  The United States has been a 
strong supporter of the Reconstruction Implementation 
Commission, created to direct the reconstruction of 35 
Serbian Orthodox religious sites destroyed in the March 2004 
riots, and has frequently advocated on behalf of this 
process. 
 
     --The U.S. government has also donated $1 million to 
UNESCO for the restoration and preservation of several 
cultural heritage sites in Kosovo, including four Serbian 
Orthodox sites. In addition to overall preservation efforts, 
the U.S. Embassy in Pristina has directly funded almost 
$100,000 in two additional projects, one to repair the Church 
of St. Nicholas (Tutic) in Prizren, augmenting a project 
undertaken by the Council of Europe, and a second to rebuild 
the iconostasis of the Church of St. Nicolas in Pristina. 
 
¶3.  (U) Mission is instructed to provide the following text, 
which incorporates the preceding points above as well as 
additional detail, as a written statement. 
 
     --In light of Decision 32 COM 7A.27 taken by the 32nd 
Session of the World Heritage Committee, the United States 
wishes to make a statement about the draft decision and the 
accompanying report on the Medieval Monuments in Kosovo 
(WHC-09/33.COm/7A.Add). 
 
     --As we noted during the 32nd Session of the World 
Heritage Committee in July 2008, we do not believe that draft 
declarations of this nature must or should express a position 
with respect to whether a given "State Party" should be 
linked to a site when there is a significant and manifest 
dispute about sovereignty over a particular region. 
 
     --Specifically, our concern involves any inclusion of 
the term "Serbia" in the title or text of this declaration. 
Even if the World Heritage Committee is reluctant to use the 
name Kosovo as the State Party, in light of the fact that 
Kosovo is not yet universally recognized and is not a party 
to the World Heritage Convention, using the name Serbia in 
this context is inconsistent with the "status-neutral 
framework of the United Nations" with respect to Kosovo that 
the UN Secretary-General enunciated in June 2008 and has 
reiterated since, including most recently in the Secretary 
General's report of June 10, 2009 (S/2009/300).  We are not 
aware of any legal requirement to associate any State Party 
name with the name of a site, despite World Heritage 
Committee practice of doing so, and to the extent it is 
necessary to reflect in the title the name of the state that 
proposed a site, we reiterate our view that a factual, 
preferable and more status-neutral solution would be "(site 
proposed by Serbia and Montenegro)." 
 
     --Additionally, Serbia does not have the authority or 
practical ability to take certain actions to preserve the 
sites called for under the World Heritage Convention that are 
implied by including its name in the title of the resolution, 
or by the reference in the accompanying report to "short-term 
corrective measures to be taken by the State Party...", such 
as putting in place appropriate guarding and security 
arrangements for the Church of the Virgin of Ljevisa.  By 
contrast, Kosovo has taken several actions to protect and 
preserve these sites. Kosovo's constitution and legislation 
to implement the Ahtisaari Plan provide legal protection for 
the sites, including the creation of Special Protective Zones 
which strictly regulate development in areas surrounding 
them. Kosovo Police and NATO's KFOR, with support from the EU 
Rule of Law Mission as needed, provide security for these 
sites. 
 
     --The United States has been actively engaged in and 
remains committed to efforts to preserve and reconstruct 
Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries in Kosovo, as well 
as other important cultural sites. The Reconstruction 
Implementation Commission, or RIC, was created to direct the 
reconstruction of 35 Serbian Orthodox religious sites 
destroyed in the March 2004 riots. The United States has been 
a strong supporter of the RIC and has frequently advocated on 
behalf of this process. Additionally, the United States has 
been a strong ally of the Religious and Cultural Heritage 
Forum supported by the International Civilian Office. 
 
     --The U.S. government has donated $1 million to UNESCO 
for the restoration and preservation of several cultural 
heritage sites in Kosovo, including four Serbian Orthodox 
sites: the Church of the Presentation of the Virgin in 
Lipljan, the St. Sava church in Mitrovica, the Church of St. 
Archangel Michael in Stimlje, and the Budisavci Monastery in 
Klina.  Work is under way on these projects.  In addition to 
overall preservation efforts, the US Embassy in Pristina has 
directly funded almost $100,000 in two additional projects, 
one to repair the Church of St. Nicholas (Tutic) in Prizren, 
augmenting a project undertaken by the Council of Europe, and 
a second to rebuild the iconostasis of the Church of St. 
Nicolas in Pristina. 
 
     --Having examined Document WHC-09/33.COM/7A, the United 
States also wishes to register its objection to a number of 
the descriptions and references in that report, including: 
 
          --Under the heading "Threats for which the property 
was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger":  the 
terms "Lack of legal status" and "lack of legislative 
protection of buffer zones" disregard the constitutional and 
legislative actions of the Government of Kosovo to preserve 
and protect cultural and religious heritage in Kosovo. A more 
status-neutral description - accepting of the fact that 
Kosovo's statehood is not yet universally recognized and that 
Kosovo has accordingly not yet been able to become a party to 
the World Heritage Convention - would be to say that there is 
"dispute over" legal status and legislative protection, 
rather than "lack of." 
 
          --Under the headings "Desired state of conservation 
for the removal of the property from the List of World 
Heritage in Danger" and "Corrective measures identified":  It 
is the understanding of the United States that NATO's KFOR 
and the Republic of Kosovo, with support from the EU Rule of 
Law Mission, as needed, provides full protection of the 
property, and thus that appropriate guarding and security 
arrangements for the Church of the Virgin of Ljevisa, as with 
other sites, are already in place on an enduring basis. 
Additionally, the Government of Kosovo has provided for the 
legal protection of boundaries and Special Protective Zones. 
 
          --Under the heading "Timeframe for the 
implementation of the corrective measures":  The references 
to the 'Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of 
Kosovo' are out of date following the declaration of 
independence of February 17, 2008, and the subsequent 
recognitions of Kosovo's independence by 60 countries 
worldwide, including seven on this Committee. To illustrate 
one status-neutral alternative, recent reports by the UN 
Secretary-General have referred to "Kosovo's authorities" or 
"Kosovo's institutions." Furthermore, the juxtaposition of 
"State Party" with "Provisional Institutions of 
Self-Government of Kosovo" implies a judgment on status and 
sovereignty that is inconsistent with the status-neutral 
framework of the United Nations. 
 
          --Under the heading "Current conservation issues," 
the United States agrees with the position conveyed in the 
"Note" that Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) continues 
to apply in Kosovo, but notes that the Resolution continues 
to apply regardless of whether or not a "final settlement" 
has been achieved, a matter that is subject to differing 
interpretations. 
 
     End written statement. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Mission should immediately consult those permanent 
delegations to UNESCO that both are members of the World 
Heritage Committee and have recognized the independence of 
Kosovo to determine their views on this item.  In particular, 
Canada has expressed interest in coordinating its approach 
with ours.  In addition to the United States, the following 
members of the World Heritage Committee have recognized the 
independence of Kosovo:  Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Peru, 
South Korea, and Sweden.  Mission should also consult with 
Mauritius and Jordan, which are believed to be considering 
recognizing Kosovo, and Israel, which could potentially be 
persuaded to approach the issue pragmatically despite not 
having recognized Kosovo.  Mission should inquire if these 
delegations will support the U.S. Explanation of Position 
above either by making a similar statement during plenary 
session or by voicing support for the U.S. statement during 
plenary session. 
 
¶5.  (U)  Point of contact for this action is IO/UNESCO, Laura 
Gritz, email:  GritzLJ@state.gov, phone:  202-663-0025. 
CLINTON