First Government finally formed. (Peacewatch: Kosovo).

Briefing an open meeting of the Security Council, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hedi Annabi on 27 March stressed that with the formation of the Government in Kosovo on 28 February, the transfer of authority from the UN Interim Administration Mission (UNMIK) had begun and the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government "must now get down to business". He reported on the efforts of UNMIK chief Michael Steiner to encourage Kosovo Serb's engagement in the new government and the improvement in security and freedom of movement in the province. Noting the start of the second weapons amnesty programme, progress against organized crime and the return of refugees, Mr. Annabi also highlighted the return of the last 146 Kosovo Albanians held in Serbian prisons since June 1999, when Yugoslav forces moved approximately 2,000 detainees from Kosovo to other facilities in Serbia following the North Atlantic Treaty Organization air strikes. On 26 March, UNMIK announced that all known detainees in Serb ian prisons had been returned to Kosovo.

The Kosovo Assembly on 4 March voted the province's first President and government just days after the main political parties had broken a three-month-long deadlock. In a single, open ballot, the Assembly overwhelmingly elected Ibrahim Rugova, head of the Democratic League of Kosovo, as President of Kosovo, and Bajram Rexhepi of the Democratic Party of Kosovo as Prime Minister. The Assembly meeting, a continuation of the inaugural session of 10 December 2001, was convened by Assembly President Nexhat Daci. Welcoming the "long-awaited" agreement, Mr. Steiner said he was convinced it could be "the foundation for a better future for Kosovo" (see report from Pristina on page 38).

RELATED ARTICLE: Radioactive Contamination Confirmed

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reported on 27 March that widespread but low-level radioactive contamination had been found at five sites in Serbia and Montenegro, struck by depleted uranium munitions during the 1999 Kosovo conflict. While the new UNEP study concluded that none of the six sites studied present immediate radioactive or toxic risks to the environment or human health, it recommended that authorities take precautionary measures.

UNEP warned about the potential for ammunition tips made out of depleted uranium to cause future groundwater contamination. Since 1999, the tips had decreased in mass by some 10 to 15 per cent due to rapid corrosion. The speed of the corrosion underlined the importance of monitoring water quality at the sites on an annual basis, UNEP said. Modern air sampling techniques revealed airborne depleted uranium particles at two of the five contaminated sites. While the levels were below international safety limits, they have implications for construction work, which could stir up radioactive dust from the ground surface. Depleted uranium dust was also widely dispersed into the environment when the ammunition exploded. The study was undertaken by a team of 14 international experts in October and November 2001.