Case study: peace missions in Kosovo

In Kosovo, a part of the former Yugoslavia, the conflict between the Kosovar Albanians and the regime of Yugoslav President Milosevic came to a head in 1998. For a long time, the Kosovar Albanians, who make up 80 per cent of the population, had striven peacefully for the independence of the Kosovo. Beginning in 1997, the KLA (Underground organisation "Kosovo Liberation Army") began to use violence to advance their cause by attacking police and Kosovar Albanian "collaborators." After the Milosevic regime deployed special police forces and the army against the KLA in 1998, the clashes escalated into a civil war.

On 24 March 1999, after failed negotiations, NATO launched air strikes against Yugoslavia reasoning that they wanted to avoid a "humanitarian catastrophe" in Kosovo. But rather than appeasing the violence, the bombings resulted in the opposite: Serbian attacks and assaults escalated and, at worst, resulted in "ethnic cleansing" of Kosovar Albanians. Within a few days, around 800,000 people—about half of the population—had to flee from Kosovo or were expelled. Up to 10,000 Kosovar Albanians were killed.

This war by NATO was not mandated by the UN Security Council. Therefore, some states, many experts on international law as well as Germany's former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt described the war as a “violation of international law."

After three months of war, Yugoslavia yielded and agreed on a ceasefire with NATO. It also agreed to have the Kosovo governed by the United Nations for a transition period. The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1244 on 10 June 1999 according to which a peacekeeping mission was to establish an interim government led by the United Nations (UNMIK). At the same time, NATO was tasked to guarantee the ceasefire and a secure environment in Kosovo through its Kosovo Force (KFOR), which is not under the control of the United Nations. The OSCE and the European Union, too, were given specific civilian tasks in the framework of the UN mandate.

Objectives and tasks of the mission

The objective of the mission was to "establish a safe environment for all people in Kosovo and to facilitate the safe return to their homes of all displaced persons and refugees" (UN Resolution 1244, Annex 2(4)).With the transfer of all state functions to the UN, the UN embarked upon a unique project of "nation-building." Its tasks were to establish democratic institutions and to build up an economic, social and legal system from scratch. KFOR was to monitor the ceasefire, the withdrawal of the Yugoslav troops and the demilitarisation of the KLA, as well as to ensure public safety, particularly for the Serbian minority (approx. ten per cent of the population of Kosovo) in a country that is still divided along ethnic lines.

According to the compromise found in the UN Security Council resolution, UNMIK was tasked, in the medium-term, to develop the "substantial autonomy and self-governance" in Kosovo and to facilitate a "political process" designed to jointly determine Kosovo's “future status.” At the same time, the Resolution affirmed the "sovereignty and territorial integrity" of Yugoslavia, and thus Kosovo.

Actors

Initially, more than 3,600 police officers and more than 800 international civilians were part of UNMIK in Kosovo. UNMIK was the highest executive authority for all state activities and made up of citizens of more than 55 states. The United States, India and Jordan provided the largest deployments to the mission with more than 400 police officers each. With the development of autonomous Kosovar state structures and Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008, UNMIK reduced its size. In September 2011, UNMIK consisted of 174 international civilians and eight soldiers.

Initially, more than 50,000 soldiers made up KFOR in Kosovo. Due to the improved security situation, numbers were gradually reduced and, in October 2011—after 12 years—they amounted to 6,240 soldiers from 22 NATO states and eight non-NATO states.

Initially, the European Union was responsible for economic reconstruction. Since 2008, the European Union has taken over the task of supporting the Kosovar authorities in developing a police force, the justice system and the customs authority. The EU’s EULEX mission was formed for that task and is the largest peace mission ever led by the Union. In September 2011, it consisted of approx. 1,000 police officers and 1,600 international civilians from nearly all EU countries and some other states.

The OSCE mission in Kosovo has been responsible for the reconstruction of state institutions and for democratisation since 1999. In September 2011, 162 international civilians were part of that mission, which makes it the largest OSCE mission.

Balance of the Missions in Kosovo

The results of the manifold international peace missions in Kosovo, which began after the end of NATO air strikes against Yugoslavia, can at best be described as "mixed." The takeover of the administration in Kosovo by UNMIK and the security provided by NATO-led KFOR allowed for the repatriation of Kosovar Albanian refugees in 1999 and ended Serbian armed violence against them. Yet, in the first two years alone, about 1,000 Serbs and Roma were killed by relatively organised acts of revenge. More than 100,000 Serbs and members of other minorities had to flee during this time, even though Kosovo was under the auspices of the United Nations and the protection of the NATO forces.

State institutions were successfully rebuilt, and fair and democratic elections were held. Yet, a large part of the Serbian minority did not participate in these elections. It was impossible to solve the underlying problem of the ethnic conflict. It is true that a large majority of the population vehemently supported the declaration of independence by Kosovo in 2008 while the Serbian minority was just as fiercely against it as it continued to feel part of the Serbian state.

The new state, the Republic of Kosovo, was built without the consent of the United Nations. Meanwhile it has been recognised by 88 (as of February 2012) states of the world, amongst them the majority of EU members. Serbia and many other states, amongst them Spain, Romania and Greece, dismiss the declaration of independence as a secession violating international law.

Despite its declaration of independence, Kosovo has not yet reached the status of a sovereign state as its independence is being "observed" by the United Nations and the European Union. In the north of Kosovo in particular, where the majority of the population are Serbs, the new state has no sovereignty and repeated violent clashes have occurred. In 2004, militant Kosovar Albanians attacked not only the Serb minority but also UNMIK.

Further challenges are the high rate of unemployment (above 45 per cent), rampant corruption, and organised crime in which government officials are also allegedly involved. In this respect, Kosovo is an example of the protracted and difficult nature of external nation-building.

__Names of missions