APPENDIX 24
Memorandum submitted by Local Government
International Bureau
KOSOVO INQUIRY
I am writing to you in advance of the visit by the
Foreign Affairs Committee to Kosovo next month to inform you of
the work that the Local Government International Bureau (LGIB)
is carrying out in Kosovo and in the surrounding area. I hope
you will find this useful as background information.
The Local Government International Bureau, a
company limited by guarantee, functions as the European and international
arm of the Local Government Association for England and Wales
(LGA).
The LGIB first became involved with Kosovo in
May this year when we were approached by the Congress of Local
and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (CLRAE) to identify
a UK participant for a Council of Europe Team of Local Government
Experts visiting Kosovo. The role of the Team, which went in just
a few days after NATO forces entered the province, was to report
on the state of local government and the ways and methods of restoring
and restructuring local government and democracy, The former Chief
Executive of Greenwich, Colin Roberts, represented the UK on this
delegation and has returned to Kosovo on a number of subsequent
occasions to further this effort.
In addition, Sue Charteris, former Chief Executive
of the London Borough of Merton, and Councillor Own Masters, Leader
of South Hams District Council have participated in similar joint
missions carried out by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation
in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe.
The next step for the LGIB was to respond to
a call for local government experts to be seconded to the United
Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). The LGIB issued a circular
publicising this call to all UK local authorities and in response
we have received 60 CVs from UK local authority staff interested
in such a secondment.
As a result of this exercise, four UK local
authority experts are now serving six month secondments with UNMIK
including:
— Iain MacDonald, former Chief Executive
of Belfast City Council who has been appointed Chief Civil Administrator
for Pristina, and
— Robert Symons, former Chief Executive
of Daventry District Council who is working directly for the Head
of UNMIK, Bernard Kouchner, liaising with the Serb population
in the Lipljan municipality.
In addition, a further 11 UK local government
officers have been invited for interviews relating to UNMIK posts
next week. If accepted it is expected that these officers would
take up nine month secondments with UNMIK in the New Year.
Most recently the LGIB has been approached by
the Eastern Adriatic Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office for assistance in developing UK local authority links with
municipalities in Kosovo. The LGIB has submitted a proposal to
the FCO which would involve the LGIB accompanying an outward FCO
funded mission of representatives from five UK local authorities
with a view to developing five UK/Kosovan local authority partnerships.
At the time of writing the FCO is to clarify which Kosovan municipalities
will be involved in this programme. Approximately a dozen UK local
authorities have expressed an interest in such partnerships and
the FCO and LGIB will select appropriate partners for the selected
Kosovan communities.
One point frequently made by the interested
UK local authorities is that they do not want an initial outward
visit being seen by potential partners as a token gesture of support.
All the UK local authorities have expressed their interest in
developing long term links that will encompass cross-community
partnerships and technical co-operation. There is an hope that
the UK Government will provide some financial support to facilitate
such activities since these activities will predominantly be co-ordinated
by local authority staff who will give their time for free.
It may also interest the Committee that the
LGIB has also been approached by the East Adriatic Department
to operate a similar programme to develop UK local authority links
with opposition-held municipalities in Serbia and Montenegro.
Preparation of this programme has proceeded further and it is
expected (subject to visas being granted) that the LGIB will lead
a delegation of officers from Norwich City Council, Wolverhampton
Metropolitan Borough Council, Bradford Metropolitan District Council,
Kent County Council, East Staffordshire District Council and the
London Borough of Lewisham to Kosovo in December to establish
partnerships with five Serbian cities and Podgorica, the capital
of Montenegro.
Again, the UK local authorities have similar
concerns related to continued Government support in the development
of links and technical partnerships although in this situation
the FCO are providing funding until April 2000 that will facilitate
a second outgoing visit in January and an inward mission from
Serbia in March.
Finally, the UK are continuing to work closely
with CLRAE on the development of UK links with Albania and the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and are keen to develop
UK links with Bosnia Hercegovina.
If you require any further information in relation
to the above please do not hesitate to contact me.
James Beadle
Principal International Links Officer
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