The UN mission in Kosovo has not received a notification declaring a member of its staff persona non grata

 

 The UN mission in Kosovo has not received official notification that a Russian staff member has been declared a persona non grata in Pristina. This was announced to reporters by the representative of the Secretary General of the organization Stefan Dujarric, reports TACC.

"The UN mission in Kosovo and the UN headquarters are taking appropriate measures to ensure the safety of the staff member in question and to keep in touch with the authorities concerned," he said.

 "We are familiar with the Kosovo authorities declaring an officer of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK, UNMIK) persona non grata. The mission has not received a formal notification from the Kosovo authorities regarding these statements. The doctrine of persona grata does not apply to UN personnel and is not covered by the UNMIK regulation. All questions about UNMIK staff must be addressed to the mission's management so that it can deal with them in accordance with the status, privileges and immunities of UNMIK and its staff, "the diplomat explained.

 On Friday, Kosovo Foreign Minister Donik Gervala, at the suggestion of Kosovo Prime Minister Albina Kurti, declared a Russian official of the UN Mission in Kosovo persona non grata "because of the harmful influence that has violated national security."

A similar situation developed in September last year in Ethiopia. Although the world body insisted that the doctrine did not apply to them, after some time the mission staff whose expulsion was requested by the authorities nevertheless left the country.