A/HRC/4/38 page 10 Self-Government of Kosovo, as well as the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the future status process for Kosovo, Marti Ahtisaari, in a memorandum submitted in October 2006. In his communications, the Representative underlined the importance of ensuring that IDPs were able to return to their homes in safety and dignity or to integrate locally and that their decisions be made freely on the basis of full information and consultation. He underscored the need to find the means for restitution of or compensation for both residential and non-residential properties in Kosovo, whose owners resided in Serbia and had been unable to reclaim them. He also highlighted the risk that significant numbers of non-registered IDPs in Serbia could become stateless, should the separation of Kosovo and Serbia be decided, and reminded the Government of Serbia and the Special Envoy of the many unsolved cases of pensioners and people with disabilities who had previously received State pensions in Serbia but were unable to reclaim their rights for lack of recognized documentation. 31. The Representative welcomes the Special Envoy’s commitment, as expressed in his response dated 12 October 2006, to take into strong consideration the points raised in the letter from the Representative as well as the conclusions he drew following his mission. He also welcomes the assurances expressed by the Serbian authorities that the Government is doing its utmost to address the needs of the displaced persons and is ready to continue his dialogue with them. D. Forthcoming missions 32. At the time of submission of the present report, the Representative is planning to carry out an official mission to Azerbaijan in April. He has received invitations from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Russian Federation and is in the process of agreeing on dates for these planned missions. In planning his activities for 2007, the Representative has also made official requests for visits to the Sudan and Sri Lanka. E. Other interventions on the issue of internal displacement 33. During the reporting period, the Representative issued two public statements calling for greater attention to a specific situation. On 26 June 2006, he called upon all actors to take immediate action to halt forced displacement in Eastern Chad, to assist those already displaced and to protect their rights. 34. On 21 July 2006, in a joint statement with the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, Miloon Kothari; the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Jean Ziegler; the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Ambeyi Ligabo; the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Paul Hunt; and the Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Vernor Muñoz, the Representative expressed grave concern that the armed conflict in Lebanon, Israel and Gaza posed serious human rights and humanitarian threats to the civilian population. The mandate-holders called upon the parties, inter alia, to refrain from indiscriminate attacks on civilians causing loss of life and mass displacement.

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