Europa Nostra

The Hague, 10 January 2006: Europa Nostra, the pan-European federation for heritage, the European voice of over 230 heritage NGOs, sent an appeal to all stakeholders directly involved in the Kosovo status negotiations to place the cultural heritage at the very heart of this process. “Given the fact that cultural heritage became one of the key elements at stake during the conflict, Europa Nostra believes that it should also be central to the current efforts to find a lasting solution for a peaceful and prosperous European future of Kosovo” Otto von der Gablentz and Denis de Kergorlay, respectively Executive President and Vice President of Europa Nostra, insisted in their letter accompanying the appeal.

The recent message was sent to Martti Ahtisaari, Special Envoy of UN Secretary General Kofi Anan leading the political process to determine the future status of Kosovo, to the members of the negotiating teams of the Serbian Government and of the Provisional Institutions of Self Government (PISG, Kosovo), to the six nations contact group (Germany, France, Italy, Russia, UK, USA ) and to the EU.

While fully endorsing elements of Kai Eide’s Report directly or indirectly related to heritage protection, Europa Nostra expressed particular concern at:

the delays of the PISG in adopting appropriate heritage-related legal and policy instruments and the insufficient implementation of the spatial planning regulations;
the persistent security threats to Serb Orthodox monuments;
the persistent lack of trust and dialogue between the various communities living in Kosovo,
the insufficient legal action against the perpetrators of criminal acts resulting in the destruction of cultural heritage.

the programmes for the protection of the cultural heritage in Kosovo developed by the Council of Europe and the European Union;
the signing of a “Memorandum of Understanding on agreed general principles for the reconstruction of Serbian Orthodox religious sites”;
the inclusion of the Monastery of De c ani on the World Heritage List,
the start of a dialogue between the Ministers of Culture in Belgrade and Pristina,
the preparedness for inter-religious dialogue and cooperation;
the exemplary restoration and reconciliation work of some NGOs;
the recent setting up of an “International Experts Committee on the Rehabilitation and Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage in Kosovo” by UNESCO.

Europa Nostra concluded its message with some general recommendations to the participants in the negotiations:

to ensure a firm commitment by all parties concerned that the respect and full protection of the multi-cultural and multi-religious heritage in Kosovo shall be a fundamental constitutional principle, and also that the heritage of “one” is considered the heritage of “all”.
to make sure that appreciations of all aspects of the region’s cultural heritage should be included in all communities’ history and art education at all levels
to agree that each community will retain a predominating interest in the cultural heritage related especially to their own community for a substantial amount of time.
to allow European and International organisations like the Council of Europe, the European Union and UNESCO, as well as European and International NGOs, to play a key role in policy making, restoration and mediation
to ensure that KFOR should continue to be responsible for the highest possible degree of protection of the cultural heritage in Kosovo.

Finally, in its message, Europa Nostra drew the attention to two specific problem cases: 1) the protection of Serb Orthodox monuments and sites and 2) the town of Prizren with its religious and secular monuments and sites of importance not only to Kosovar Albanian and Serb communities but also to other minority communities. Europa Nostra offered possible solutions for the negotiators to consider.

Europa Nostra has shown a consistent interest in the protection of the endangered cultural heritage in Kosovo. It has adopted two relevant Resolutions, in May 1999 and June 2005, and has launched an Appeal to the international community, in April 2004. More recently, members of the Europa Nostra Council and Scientific Council have made a visit to Kosovo in late September 2005, followed by a visit to Belgrade in late November 2005. During these visits, Europa Nostra members met with all stakeholders concerned: governmental and non-governmental, local and international, religious communities as well as heritage experts. These visits were organised in close consultation with the Council of Europe, as a civil society contribution to the Council of Europe/European Union joint action with regard to Kosovo.

In early 2006, Europa Nostra will also submit a fuller report, with further reflections and recommendations to all stakeholders concerned with the protection of cultural heritage in Kosovo.

Click here for Europa Nostra's message to the Kosovo Status Negotiators (incl a full list of addressees)

Charlotte O’Connor, Communications Officer, +31 70 302 40 55, co@europanostra.org
Mark Snethlage, Policy and Campaigns Officer, +31 70 302 40 51, imo@europanostra.org

EUROPA NOSTRA SEES CULTURAL HERITAGE AT THE HEART OF KOSOVO STATUS NEGOTIATIONS