Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic stated before the UN Human Rights Council that Serbia has become a regional leader in the honoring of human rights, but that there is a place within the constitutional borders of the Republic of Serbia where human rights standards fall well below acceptable minimums: Kosovo and Metohija.

"My Government is proud of its record as a leader in human and minority rights protection in Southeast Europe. We have nearly accomplished our goal of total compliance with all relevant international standards," Jeremic said.

"Serbia is a place of tolerance, in which close to 30 ethnic communities live harmoniously together, not just side by side," he added.

"But there is a place within the constitutional borders of the Republic of Serbia where human rights standards fall well below acceptable minimums: Kosovo and Metohija. On the basis of SC resolution 1244 adopted in June 1999, our southern province falls outside of the direct jurisdiction of our Government institutions.

Standing in stark contrast to the rest of Serbia, the state of human rights there is dismal. In that respect, Kosovo is without a doubt the darkest corner of Europe," Jeremic pointed out.Jeremic recalled that in the last decade, the population of Kosovo Serbs, Roma, Bosniaks and other non-Albanians has been cut by half, and according to the UNHCR, more than 210,000 remain internally displaced.

"In addition, hundreds of others have been killed, and thousands more have disappeared without a trace-including many whose organs were subsequently harvested in camps located in northeastern Albania. Tens of thousands of homes and businesses have been destroyed, and tens of thousands more have been illegally occupied," he stressed.

The UN Committee on HR has harshly criticized the lack of human rights protection in Kosovo, concluding that "discrimination against Serbs and Roma is widespread." Amnesty International has echoed those words, Jeremic said.Jeremic pointed out that the UNHCR has even recommended against returning Kosovo Serbs and Roma to areas largely populated by ethnic Albanians-while the UN Special Rapporteur has concluded that "today's chief obstacles to sustainable returns are the entrenched patterns of discrimination, lack of access to employment and livelihoods and too few schools for minorities."

Jeremic recalled that HRW has reported that "Kosovo is a place where human rights are frequently violated, where political violence, impunity for common and political crimes, intimidation and discrimination, are commonplace."

Jeremic reiterated that Transparency International reported that the province ranks as one of the four most corrupt economies in the world and that Freedom House categorized Kosovo as "Not Free"-the worst possible classification this leading international watchdog organization can bestow.

Since June 1999, more than 150 Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches have been destroyed in wanton acts of cultural cleansing, including 35 in a blitz pogrom in March 2004, Jeremic underscored.

According to him, these assessments are central to understanding the dark reality of Kosovo today. It should shock the conscience of this Council, and is an integral part of the tragic context in which the Febr 17th, 2008, unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian authorities must be viewed.