Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 284: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to reports that Roma children living in a refugee camp near a toxic waste dump in Zitkovac, Kosovo are suffering brain damage caused by high levels of lead in their bloodstream; that these persons are being denied assistance by the UN administration in Kosovo on the grounds that they are internally displaced persons and therefore do not fall under the UNHCR mandate, while the local authorities say they have no access to the majority-Serb town; if he will raise the matter at EU and UN level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12225/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware of the recent disturbing reports on the conditions in which Roma families are living in the village of Zitkovac in northern Kosovo, and of concerns about the effect on their health of emissions from a toxic waste dump in the area. The OSCE reports that some 25% of the population of the wider municipality of Zvecan are internally displaced persons from the 1999 conflict. These include 300 Roma, who were forced from their homes in southern Mitrovica and, six years later, are still living in a temporary community shelter comprising prefabricated housing and an abandoned building in Zitkovac.

The issue of displaced persons from the conflict in Kosovo in 1999 must be resolved if there is to be a truly multi-ethnic society in Kosovo, as provided for under UN Security Council Resolution 1244. It is a top priority for the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo, UNMIK, and for the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, Mr. Soren Jessen-Petersen, who has expressed concern at the conditions in which many displaced families from minority Serb, Roma and other communities are still living in Kosovo and in neighbouring regions of Serbia. UNMIK, with the full support of the EU, will uphold the right of all internally displaced persons in Kosovo to return to their homes and, if necessary, to have their homes reconstructed. This applies equally to those who were forced to leave their homes in 1999 and to the Kosovo Serb families displaced during the ethnic violence in Kosovo in March last year.

In the specific case referred to, the EU has also taken action to address the danger to health and the environmental damage caused by the dumping of toxic waste, over many years, from the Trepca mines and processing plant in the municipality of Zvecan. The European Agency for Reconstruction has this year completed the rehabilitation of the abandoned site, which contained 8.5 million tonnes of lead and zinc waste material. The project involved sealing the site to stop the leaking of toxic residue into the soil, or nearby sources of drinking water, and the construction of a modern sanitary landfill in Zvecan. In response to the recent reports, the Government is in contact with UNMIK for an assessment of the current situation in the area and of any additional measures which might be taken to alleviate the plight of the Roma families in Zitkovac.

Progress on the return of internally displaced persons has been disappointingly slow in Kosovo. Realistically, it will not be fully achieved in the absence of substantial political progress. The coming months provide an opportunity to begin a process which could lead to agreement on the constitutional status of a multi-ethnic Kosovo, working along with its neighbours, and with EU support, towards the eventual integration of the countries of the Western Balkans into EU structures. It is now essential that the provisional institutions of self government in Pristina, the authorities in Belgrade and the representatives of all minority communities in Kosovo engage constructively in dialogue to ensure an outcome which addresses the serious political, security and economic problems facing all the people of Kosovo.