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Lord
Robertson in Switzerland
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| On 26 October, Lord Robertson travelled to one of NATO's 26 members
of Partnership for Peace, Switzerland, which is currently preparing
for a controversial referendum proposing the reduction of its defence
expenditure by 50% over a period of ten years. The referendum will
be held on 26 November.
During his visit, Lord Robertson met with the President of the
Swiss Confederation and Minister of Defence, Adolf Ogi, and with
the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Joseph Deiss. He also participated
in a symposium on "Security through Cooperation".
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Municipal
elections in Kosovo
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Final arrangements are in place for the municipal elections which
will be held in Kosovo on 28 October, the first since last year's
crisis. Preliminary results are expected by 1-2 November, and it is
planned to present the final results and seat allocations to Bernard
Kouchner, the Special Representative for Kosovo of the UN Secretary-General
, for certification by 6 November.
KFOR has worked in close co-ordination with the OSCE and UN Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK) on election planning and preparation and additional
forces have been deployed so as to ensure that KFOR continues to
provide a secure environment during the election period. Voting,
in fact, began on 10 October under the special needs programme set
up by the UNMIK. This programme was put into place for voters who
could not register (i.e., those homebound by disability) and those
who registered but could not vote on polling day (i.e., local police,
hospital staff, etc).
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NATO's
new Publications Centre
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Lord Robertson officially opens NATO's new Publications Centre
situated within the HQ in Brussels, 30 October. The Centre offers
access to NATO publications to visitors and members of staff. For
those who are not on the premises, publications can be ordered via
the internet, by phone (32 2 707 50 09), fax (32-2-707 12 52) or
e-mail (distribution@hq.nato.int).
Additional information:
- High
resolution photos of the official opening of the NATO Publications
Centre by Secretary General Lord Robertson
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Statement by Lord Robertson on the successful holding of local
elections in Kosovo on 28 October. The OSCE declares Ibrahim Rugova, leader
of the
Democratic League of Kosovo, winner of municipal elections. |
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Annual
Assembly of the ATA in Budapest
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For the first time since Hungary became a member of NATO, the Atlantic
Treaty Association (ATA) held its general assembly in Budapest, from
31 October to 3 November. The ATA brings together voluntary organisations
from NATO (ATA members) and partner countries (ATA associate members)
to promote the objectives of the Alliance by informing the public,
conducting research and developing cooperation.
On this occasion, senior government and parliamentary officials,
high-level civilian and military representatives from NATO and from
the private sector, as well as academics and ATA members discussed
the evolution of partnership in the Euro-Atlantic area, its defence
and economic implications and the role of education in explaining
democratic values and encouraging integration. Lord Robertson was
also invited to give a speech. He focused on partnership within
NATO and its need to be as broad and inclusive as possible, flexible,
targeted, practical, deep and fair.
After his participation in the ATA assembly, Lord Robertson met
with the President of Hungary, the Prime Minister and other high-level
government officials.
Additional information:
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