Chapter 3. UN International Administrations, the ‘Light Footprint’
A. Th e United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo
Following NATO’s armed intervention in Kosovo in March 1999, the Security Council adopted Resolution 1244 establishing the ‘United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo’ (UNMIK).111 Resolution 1244 was adopted after the acceptance by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of the plan presented by Martti Ahtisaari and Victor Chernomyrdin,112 which contained the general principles of an agreement on the Kosovo crisis.113 In the post-confl ict peace- building context, the international administration of Kosovo is, at present, the
111 SC Res. 1244, UN Doc. S/RES/1244 (1999).
112 “Agreement on the principles (peace plan) to move towards a resolution of the Kosovo crisis presented to the leadership of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by the President of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari, representing the European Union, and Viktor Chernomyrdin, Special Repre- sentative of the President of the Russian Federation”, UN Doc. S/1999/649 (3 June 1999).
113 NATO’s intervention in Kosovo followed the refusal of Yugoslavia to sign the ‘Rambouillet Accords’ (Interim Agreement for Peace and Self-Government in Kosovo, UN Doc. S/1999/648 (7 June 1999). During the NATO air strikes, the G8 foreign ministers had a meeting in Petersberg, resulting in a “Statement by the Chairman on the conclusion of the meeting of the G-8 Foreign Ministers held at the Petersberg Centre on 6 May”, UN Doc. 1999S/1999/516
most comprehensive mission ever deployed by the UN. Th e powers granted to UNMIK and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General encompass a wide range of executive and legislative powers, the scope of which is unprec- edented in that context. A complementary and important aspect making UNMIK a historic case lies in the fact that the Security Council Resolution is adopted under Chapter VII, almost ‘imposing’ the mission onto the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,114 even if the latter had previously accepted the Ahtisaari-Cher- nomyrdin proposal.
Th e Security Council agreed to the deployment of an international civil and an international security presence under UN auspices. Th e Secretary-General was requested to appoint a Special Representative who was to lead the civil presence and co-ordinate closely with the security presence.115 Th e security presence was to operate independently of the civil presence, under the general authority of NATO. More specifi cally, Resolution 1244 called upon UNMIK to promote the establishment of substantial autonomy and self-government in Kosovo, perform basic civilian administrative functions, facilitate a political process to determine Kosovo’s future status, co-ordinate the humanitarian and disaster relief of all international agencies, support the reconstruction of key infrastruc- ture, maintain civil law and order, promote human rights, and assure the safe and unimpeded return of all refugees and displaced persons to their homes in Kosovo.116To implement its mandate, UNMIK initially brought together four ‘pillars’ under its leadership, as envisaged by the Secretary-General in his report following the adoption of Resolution 1244. Each of the four pillars was entrusted to international organisations working together as a sort of ‘federation’
under the general authority and co-ordination of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, the head of UNMIK. Initially, the responsibilities were divided as follows: ‘humanitarian assistance’ led by the Offi ce of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), ‘civil administration’
under the direct leadership of the UN, ‘democratisation and institution building’
led by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and
(6 May 1999), providing for a set of principles for a political solution for the Kosovo crisis.
Th ese principles are annexed to Resolution 1244.
114 Th e Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was a federal state consisting of the republics of Serbia and Montenegro, and was formed following the collapse of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In 2003, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was reinstated as the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, which was in turn dissolved following the independence of Montene- gro in 2006. We will nevertheless refer to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia when discussing issues occurred under the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, while we will refer to ‘Serbia’ when we discuss aspects of the state’s current involvement.
115 SC Res. 1244, UN Doc. S/RES/1244 (1999), paras. 5 and 6.
116 Ibid., para. 11 (a)–(k).
‘reconstruction and economic development’ led by the EU. At the end of the emergency stage, Pillar I was phased out, and replaced in May 2001 by a new Pillar I ‘police and justice’, formerly part of the civil administration pillar.
Th e competences of UNMIK and of the Special Representative included the power to regulate within the areas of responsibility laid down by Resolution 1244.
In doing so, the Special Representative was even granted the right to change, repeal or suspend existing laws to the extent necessary for the carrying out of his functions. Th e Special Representative also had the right, where existing laws were incompatible with his mandate conferred by Resolution 1244, or with the aims and purposes of the interim civil administration, to alter the existing laws.117 Th e Special Representative confi rmed these extensive powers by vesting UNMIK with all legislative and executive authority with respect to Kosovo, including the administration of the judiciary, in order to achieve its mandate.118
As long as no political solution was found for the future status of the territory, no defi nitive and global transfer of authority to the Kosovar Institutions could take place. It should however be remembered that an international administra- tion is by defi nition a temporary arrangement. Political negotiations under UN auspices led in March 2007 to a proposal by the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for a sort of ‘conditional’ independence. Th e Special Envoy equally requested the presence of an EU mission to oversee the implementation of the agreement.119 Russian opposition however prevented the formal adoption of the status settlement proposal by the Security Council. Soon afterwards, an agree- ment was reached by the members of the ‘Contact Group’ – the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and the Russian Federation – to have a troika composed of the European Union, the Russian Federation and the United States to lead further negotiations on the future status of Kosovo.120 Th e Contact Group reported to the Secretary-General on the progress of negotiations with Belgrade on 10 December 2007 but was not able to propose a consensual solution. Eventually, on 17 February 2008, Kosovo unilaterally declared inde- pendence with the adoption of a declaration in the Kosovo General Assembly.
By May 2008, some 43 States had recognised Kosovo as an independent state.
Th e envisaged EU mission, EULEX, had in the meantime been moderately deployed in the country, but was subjected to much legal controversy. Indeed,
117 Report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, UN Doc. S/1999/779 (12 July 1999), paras. 39–40.
118 UNMIK Regulation 1999/1 on the authority of the interim administration in Kosovo, UN Doc. UNMIK/REG/1999/1 (25 July 1999).
119 Comprehensive Proposal for the Kosovo Status Settlement, UN Doc. S/2007/168/Add. 1 (26 March 2007).
120 UNMIK News Coverage, ‘Ban Ki-moon endorses new initiative on determining Kosovo’s future status’ (1 August 2007).
as Resolution 1244 is the basis for the international presence in Kosovo, any change in the mission’s mandate, including its replacement by a smaller EU mission, will need approval of the Security Council. Any consent by the host state will be the subject of controversy, considering the limited amount of offi cial recognition of Kosovo’s independence by other states. In addition, when estab- lishing UNMIK, the Security Council did not work with the more common one-year renewable terms, but instead agreed that the mission would last until it was revoked by the Security Council.