Thank you, Mr. President.

After years of war, of post-communist transition and deep hardship and suffering, the people of the Balkans, including those in Serbia and Kosovo, have rejected the destructive nationalism that brought them such misery in the 1990s. They seek a future as integrated, prosperous citizens of Europe.

Under the leadership of a democratically-elected, multi-ethnic government, the Republic of Kosovo today is at peace. The government in Pristina has scrupulously followed the Comprehensive Proposal for the Kosovo Status settlement developed by the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy. Kosovo has adopted a far-reaching Constitution and enacted 41 pieces of legislation to implement the Comprehensive Proposal. These include specific provisions that protect the rights of all ethnic minorities as well as the religious and cultural heritage of the population. Kosovo’s government has also acted with vision in seeking strong relations with all its neighbors, including Serbia.

For its part, Serbia is on the path to European integration, having recently signed a Stabilization and Association agreement with the European Union.

The United States firmly believes that our common concern should be to focus our efforts to help shape this European future for Serbia and Kosovo. Specifically, we are extending economic and political support to both of these countries. We hope they will integrate further into international markets and structures that will guarantee peace and prosperity for all of the regions’ people.

We do not think the resolution proposed by the Republic of Serbia advances that goal.

Let me make clear that the United States offers its full support for the International Court of Justice and its role in providing advisory opinions in appropriate circumstances.

Now, in regard to the specific question before us on referring the declaration of independence of Kosovo Provisional Istitutions of Self-government to the International Court of Justice, we respectfully suggest that an advisory opinion on this question is unnecessary and unhelpful, and, therefore, the United States will vote against referral.

As a practical matter, Kosovo’s independence is irreversible. Forty-eight countries have recognized Kosovo as an independent state, including 22 of the 27 members of the European Union. We are confident that recognition of Kosovo’s independence by an ever-increasing number of states is consistent with international law.

We do not think it appropriate or fair to the Court to ask it to opine on what is essentially a matter that is reserved to the judgment of member states. We ask you to consider the consequences if other members or if separatist movements in their country were to seize upon language in any opinion the Court might render to bolster their own claims for or against independence.

Should this resolution go forward, the Court will have to understandably look at the referred question with extreme care, taking into account the particular context in which the events leading to Kosovo’s declaration occurred. Kosovo must be viewed within the context of the violent dissolution of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. The policies of this period led the UN Security Council to adopt Resolution 1244, which authorized the UN to administer Kosovo and called for a political process to determine Kosovo’s status. After intensive negotiations, the UN Special Envoy recommended to the Secretary General that Kosovo should become an independent state.

It is also important that the Court hear from the states most directly interested in this matter, Serbia and Kosovo, on an equal basis, as well as from the many other states that can be expected to make contributions to the Court’s consideration of the case.

The United States welcomes and supports the remarkable progress in the region toward building stable, multiethnic democracies and laying the groundwork for growth and development. Although we may disagree with Serbia on the issue before us today, the United States will work closely with Serbia and all the countries in Southeastern Europe to advance our shared vision of a Europe whole, free and at peace.

Thank you, Mr. President.