Page:SECOND ANNUAL REPORT 2001 – 2002.pdf/34

There has been no response to this letter.

8 January 2002: Letter to the Deputy SRSG for Civil Administration describing difficulties faced by forcibly retired teachers and recommending that certain actions be taken to improve their economic circumstances. Follow-up letter sent to the SRSG on 19 March 2002.

In a letter of 7 May 2002, the SRSG clarified circumstances surrounding the loss of jobs by teachers during 2001 (including those characterising the actions as forced retirements). He also stated that UNMIK's roll in the education sector did not extend to accepting any legal or financial responsibility for obligations or liabilities owed to education employees by previous regimes.

9 January 2002: Letter to the Co-Head of the UNMIK Department of Justice asking him to ensure that over one hundred outstanding labour cases pending before the Municipal Court in Mitrovica could proceed, either by appointing a competent judge in the field of labour relations, or by transferring the cases to the nearest court with the necessary competence.

In a letter of 4 June 2002, the Director of the UNMIK Department of Justice informed the Ombudsperson that five judicial positions in the Municipal Court in Mitrovica were in the process of being filled. The Director also attributed part of the delay to periods of civil unrest that made it impossible for judges and/or parties to attend court sessions. Hearings for 91 outstanding cases were scheduled to take place by 27 June 2002.

29 January 2002: Letter to the SRSG concerning the lack of access of Kosovo Albanians to civil documents being held in Serbia proper.

There has been no response to this letter.

29 January 2002: Letter to the UNMIK Police Commissioner concerning the establishment of a local police station in Bardosh/Devet Jugovic. Similar letter sent to the Deputy SRSG for Police and Justice on 28 February 2002.

In a letter of 11 March 2002, the Deputy SRSG for Police and Justice informed the Ombudsperson that the budget for 2002 did not provide for the establishment of a police station in Bardosh/ Devet Jugovic, but that such a suggestion could be considered by the Police in the context of the 2003 budget cycle.

30 January 2002: Letter to the Co-Director of the UNMIK Department of Public Services concerning the continuing impossibility for individuals to obtain driver's licenses in Kosovo. Similar letter sent on 4 March 2002, noting also that Municipalities in Kosovo had begun to issue their own driving permits.

In a letter of 20 March 2002, the Principal International Officer of the Transitional Department of Public Services informed the Ombudsperson that a comprehensive system of training, examining licensing and certifying driving instructors and/or drivers was scheduled to be put in place during the second half of 2002 and that the public would be informed accordingly.

1 February 2002: Letter to the UNMIK Police Commissioner concerning the suspension of two individuals from the Kosovo Police School and the refusal to permit a third individual from attending the School.

In a letter of 14 February 2002, the Deputy Police Commissioner for Planning and Development informed the Ombudsperson that the two suspended individuals were to be reinstated, with no negative effects on their seniority, and that the third individual had been placed at the top of the list of candidates for the next class at the Police School.

5 February 2002: Letter to the UNMIK Department of Justice requesting that a detainee be transferred from the Pristina to the Mitrovica Detention Centre to enable his father to visit him, expressing concerns about difficulties faced by other members of ethnic minorities wishing to visit their relatives in detention and recommending that such detainees either be moved to detention facilities to which regular convoys had been arranged or that additional convoys be instituted to detention facilities not currently served.

32