For information only - not an official document.
Press Release No: UNIS/SG/2627
Release Date: 7 August 2000
Secretary-General very Concerned over Detention of British OSCE Members 
And Canadian Citizens by Yugoslav Army in Montenegro

NEW YORK, 4 August (UN Headquarters) -- The following statement was issued today by the Office of the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General is very much concerned over the detention since Tuesday, 1 August, by the Yugoslav Army in Montenegro of two British members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) seconded to the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK).  He also expresses his concern over the detention of the two Canadian citizens who were arrested at the same time.

The Secretary-General notes that the seconded OSCE officials are members of the UNMIK mission and, as such, are entitled to the privileges and immunities of United Nations staff members.  He demands immediate access to the staff members by representatives of the Organization.

The Secretary-General also calls upon the Yugoslav authorities to honour their obligations under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and grant immediate access to those detained by representatives of the United Kingdom and Canada.  He calls for the earliest release by the Yugoslav authorities of the detained personnel.

* * * * *