In view of the demands likely to arise as a result of Kosovo’s change of political status, OHCHR strengthened its presence in Kosovo from a small sub-office of the Serbia Field Office into a stand-alone office. At the time of writing, the office was in the final stages of expansion and was expected to reach full capacity at the end of 2007. Political developments have had an impact on OHCHR’s work in Kosovo. The collapse of negotiations within the Security Council (which put the Ahtisaari Proposals on hold, together with plans for the withdrawal of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and deployment of an EU-led presence) and uncertainty over the outcome of the new round of negotiations have made it difficult to address the human rights situation. The level of human rights protection in Kosovo is generally unsatisfactory. OHCHR will continue to work with the existing international presence and the Kosovo Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG) in order to address possible accountability concerns.
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