kcl mun study guide - a new agreement for kosovo (15/11 and 22/11/2011)

KCL Model United Nations Society 2011/2012

UN Security Council: " A new Kosovo Agreement"


"The Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza”

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Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................ 2

Introduction to the Committee ................................................................................. 3

Overview on the Kosovo ......................................................................................... 5

Conclusion and framework for debate ...................................................................... 11



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Introduction The UN Security Council, as the supreme body of the United Nations, has the task to debate and come up with decisions on the most crucial and challenging international issues. One of these issues concerns the situation in Kosovo. The evolution of this site and following political decisions draw attention of the international community and a new agreement on Kosovo is sought. Any decision would require active involvement of all members of the Security Council, diplomatic skills, and thorough knowledge of the region.

The Study Guide contains brief description of the main attributes of Security Council, its powers and responsibilities. It presents as well a comprehensive background on the history and evolution of Kosovo. The Guide summarizes the resolutions of the Security Council regarding the crisis in Kosovo and refers to the most relevant documents and agreements that determined the political and military implications in the region. A distinct attention is drawn on the provisions of the Resolution 1244 (1999) of the Security Council that in addition to other important references determined the establishment of an international administration in Kosovo.

Finally, the Study Guide suggests a framework for debate and draws attention on the most important documents and resolutions that have shaped the management of the Kosovo crisis and further developments. With this in mind, the delegates participating in this simulation are encouraged to objectively reflect the position of their country and actively participate in constructive debate on this question.



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Introduction to the Committee

The Security Council

“The Security Council has primary responsibility, under the Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security. It is so organized as to be able to function continuously, and a representative of each of its members must be present at all times at United Nations Headquarters. When a complaint concerning a threat to peace is brought before it, the Council's first action is usually to recommend to the parties to try to reach agreement by peaceful means. In some cases, the Council itself undertakes investigation and mediation. It may appoint special representatives or request the Secretary-General to do so or to use his good offices. It may set forth principles for a peaceful settlement.

When a dispute leads to fighting, the Council's first concern is to bring it to an end as soon as possible. On many occasions, the Council has issued cease-fire directives which have been instrumental in preventing wider hostilities. It also sends United Nations peace-keeping forces to help reduce tensions in troubled areas, keep opposing forces apart and create conditions of calm in which peaceful settlements may be sought. The Council may decide on enforcement measures, economic sanctions (such as trade embargoes) or collective military action.

A Member State against which preventive or enforcement action has been taken by the Security Council may be suspended from the exercise of the rights and privileges of membership by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. A Member State which has persistently violated the principles of the Charter may be expelled from the United Nations by the Assembly on the Council's recommendation.

A State which is a Member of the United Nations but not of the Security Council may participate, without a vote, in its discussions when the Council considers that the country's interests are affected. Both Members of the United Nations and non-members, if they are parties to a dispute being considered by the Council, are invited to take part, without a vote, in the Council's discussions; the Council sets the conditions for participation by a non-member State. The Presidency of the Council rotates monthly, according to the English alphabetical listing of its Member States.”



4 Functions and powers of the Security Council

“Under the United Nations Charter the main powers and functions of the Security Council are to maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles and purposes of the United Nations; to investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to international friction; to recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of settlement; to formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate armaments; to determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to recommend what action should be taken; to call on Members to apply economic sanctions and other measures not involving the use of force to prevent or stop aggression; to take military action against an aggressor; to recommend the admission of new Members; to exercise the trusteeship functions of the United Nations in “strategic areas”; and to recommend to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and, together with the Assembly, to elect the Judges of the International Court of Justice.”



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Overview on the Kosovo

Historical Background

“The central Balkans were part of the Roman and Byzantine Empires before ethnic Serbs migrated to the territories of modern Kosovo in the 7th century. During the medieval period, Kosovo became the center of a Serbian Empire and saw the construction of many important Serb religious sites, including many architecturally significant Serbian Orthodox monasteries.

The defeat of Serbian forces at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 led to five centuries of Ottoman rule during which large numbers of Turks and Albanians moved to Kosovo. By the end of the 19th century, Albanians replaced the Serbs as the dominant ethnic group in Kosovo. Serbia reacquired control over Kosovo from the Ottoman Empire during the First Balkan War of 1912.

After World War II, Kosovo became an autonomous province of Serbia in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (S.F.R.Y.) with status almost equivalent to that of a republic under the 1974 S.F.R.Y. constitution. Despite legislative concessions, Albanian nationalism increased in the 1980s, which led to riots and calls for Kosovo's independence. At the same time, Serb nationalist leaders, such as Slobodan Milosevic, exploited Kosovo Serb claims of maltreatment to secure votes from supporters, many of whom viewed Kosovo as their cultural heartland.

Under Milosevic's leadership, Serbia instituted a new constitution in 1989 that revoked Kosovo's status as an autonomous province of Serbia. Kosovo Albanian leaders responded in 1991 by organizing a referendum that declared Kosovo independent. Under Milosevic, Serbia carried out repressive measures against the Albanians in the early 1990s as the unofficial Kosovo government, led by Ibrahim Rugova, used passive resistance in an attempt to try to gain international assistance and recognition of an independent Kosovo. Albanians dissatisfied with Rugova's passive strategy in the 1990s created the Kosovo Liberation Army and launched an insurgency.

Starting in 1998, Serbian military, police, and paramilitary forces under Milosevic conducted a brutal counterinsurgency campaign that resulted in massacres and massive expulsions of ethnic Albanians. Approximately 800,000 Albanians were forced from their homes in Kosovo during this time.



6 International attempts to mediate the conflict failed, and Milosevic's rejection of a proposed settlement led to a three-month NATO military operation against Serbia beginning in March 1999 that forced Serbia to agree to withdraw its military and police forces from Kosovo. UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) placed Kosovo under a transitional administration, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), pending a determination of Kosovo's future status.

An UN-led process began in late 2005 to determine Kosovo's final status. The negotiations ran in stages between 2006 and 2007, but ended without agreement between Belgrade and Pristina. On 17 February 2008, the Kosovo Assembly declared Kosovo independent. Since then, over 70 countries have recognized Kosovo, and it has joined the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

Serbia continues to reject Kosovo's independence and in October 2008, it sought an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legality under international law of Kosovo's declaration of independence. The ICJ released the advisory opinion in July 2010 affirming that Kosovo's declaration of independence did not violate general principles of international law, UN Security Council Resolution 1244, or the Constitutive Framework. The opinion was closely tailored to Kosovo's unique history and circumstances.”1

The Security Council Resolutions on the situation in Kosovo

The Security Council of the United Nations adopted five resolutions regarding the crisis in Kosovo. These are the resolutions: 1160 (1998), 1199 (1998), 1203 (1998), 1239 (1999), and 1244 (1999). In the following a brief description of each of these resolutions is provided.

The Resolution 1160 adopted by the Security Council at its 3868th meeting on 31 March 1998 confirms the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). The document condemned the use of force of Serbian police against civilians in Kosovo and the acts of terrorism of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

The Resolution called the FRY to achieve a peaceful political solution to the issue in Kosovo and implement the Contact Group statements2. It

1 “Kosovo Background,” The World Factbook, accessed November 2, 2011, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kv.html. 2 Some of the provisions of the Contact Group statements refer to negotiations between the belligerent parties and special statute for Kosovo; reaffirmed the arms embargo; urged peaceful political decisions and condemned the violence of Kosovo Albanian extremists. The group supported neither independence nor the status quo of Kosovo, and encouraged Belgrade and Kosovo Albanian leadership to negotiate a new statute.



7 stated that the resolution of the conflict should be in accordance with OSCE standards, Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the Charter of the United Nations. The solution should enhance the degree of autonomy and self-administration of Kosovo. Also, the Resolution urged the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Tribunal to begin gathering information related to the violence in Kosovo.

The Report of the Secretary-General on the Resolution 1160 (1998) stated that the violence escalated and the Serbian part launched an offensive against armed groups of Kosovo Albanians. The efforts of the international community to cease the hostilities and restart the dialog between Belgrade and Pristina have not succeeded. The belligerent parties have not taken actions according to the statements of the Contact Group. The number of refugees dramatically increased. The flood of refugees from Kosovo put pressure on the Macedonian border. The report concluded that the violence achieved its apogee and there were a high risk of destabilization in the Balkans. The members of OSCE tended to accept any solution that would end violence and prevent the spread of the conflict. “The Chairman-in-Office’s assessment is that the only hope for a peaceful solution is an immediate cessation of the Serbian military offensive and initiation of unconditional negotiations between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia authorities and widely represented Albanians from Kosovo.”3

The Resolution 1199 adopted by the Security Council at its 3930th meeting on 23 September 1998 stated deep concern about the escalation of violence in Kosovo, continuation of the armed conflict and serious human rights infringements. It reaffirmed the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The Resolution demanded cease of hostilities and armed conflict, and immediate steps to improve the humanitarian situation. It urged the parties to start the political dialog with international involvement and to respect the provisions of the Resolution 1160 (1998). The document addressed the Yugoslav authorities to provide full freedom of movement for representatives of foreign states and international institutions to monitor the situation in Kosovo. The Kosovo Albanian leadership was asked to condemn all terrorist action and to pursue their goals by peaceful means only. The document called upon Member States and international institutions to provide adequate resources for humanitarian assistance in the region. The authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the leaders of the Kosovo Albanian community were called

3 “Report of the Secretary-General Prepared Pursuant to Resolution 1160 (1998) of the Security Council,” Security Council, http://www.un.org/peace/kosovo/98834a1.pdf.



8 upon cooperation with the Prosecutor of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

The Resolution 1203 adopted by the Security Council at its 3937th meeting on 24 October 1998 restated the need for peaceful resolution of the crisis in Kosovo. It welcomed the agreement signed in Belgrade on 15 October 1998 by the Chief of General Staff of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) providing the establishment of an air verification mission over Kosovo4 and the agreement signed on 16 October 1998 the organization of verification mission in Kosovo. The document revealed concerns regarding the closure of independent media outlets by the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and aggravation of the humanitarian situation in Kosovo. Besides other provisions, it stressed the obligation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Albanian leadership to fully comply the resolutions 1160 and 1199 and cooperate with OSCE Verification Mission in Kosovo.

The Resolution 1239 adopted by the Security Council at its 4003rd meeting on 14 May 1999 expressed grave concerns regarding the humanitarian catastrophe in Kosovo and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and enormous flux of refugees into Albania and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and other countries. The document reaffirmed the territorial integrity of the countries from the region and emphasized the need to implement the principles adopted by the Foreign Ministers of G-8 on 6 May 1999 (some of the principles were: end of violence in Kosovo; withdrawal from Kosovo of military, police and paramilitary forces; deployments in Kosovo of international civil and security presence; establishment of an interim administration for Kosovo decided by the Security Council of the United Nations; free and safe return of all refugees to Kosovo; demilitarization of Kosovo Liberation Army; a political process towards the establishment of an interim political framework agreement providing for a substantial self-government for Kosovo).5

The Resolution 1244 adopted by the Security Council at its 4011th meeting on 10 June 1999 stated the lack of full compliance with the Resolutions 1160 (1998), 1199 (1998), 1203 (1999) and called for urgent withdrawal from Kosovo of all military forces, police and paramilitary forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbia, and at the same time, demilitarization of the Kosovo Liberation Army, and other armed Kosovo Albanian groups.

4 UN Security Council, “Kosovo Verification Mission Agreement between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,” http://www.un.org/peace/kosovo/s98991.pdf. 5 UN Security Council, “Letter from the Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations Addresses to the President of the Security Council,” http://www.un.org/peace/kosovo/s99516.pdf.



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The document reaffirmed the territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and other states of the region and called for substantial autonomy and meaningful self-administration for Kosovo and established under Chapter VII an international civil presence – the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

It is important to mention that at the moment of approval of the Resolution 1244, NATO started the bombardments of FRY (on March 24 1999). The military actions were argued by the deplorable humanitarian situation in Kosovo, refusal to accept Rambouillet Accords and to withdraw military forces from Kosovo.6 The agreement which officially ceased the military actions in Kosovo was called Military Technical Agreement and stipulated the necessity to deploy in Kosovo international civil and security presence under UN auspices.7

The provisions of international administration in Kosovo

One of the results of the Resolution 1244 (1999) was the deployment of international security and civil presence in Kosovo under UN auspices: NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR) and United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

The main responsibilities of the international presences in areas related to security (KFOR) were to maintain and enforce the cease-fire; to ensure the withdrawal and to prevent the return of Serbian forces, except of those allowed to return to liaise with the international presences, to mark/clear minefields and to maintain a presence at patrimonial sites and key border crossings; to demilitarize the Kosovo Liberation Army and other armed Kosovo-Albanian groups; to establish a secure environment for those displaced to return in safety, for humanitarian aid to be delivered and for the international civil presence to operate; to conduct border monitoring duties; to ensure the protection and freedom of movement of international organizations; and to ensure public safety and order and supervise demining until the international civil presence takes over those responsibilities.8

The civilian responsibilities of the international administration (UNMIK) were to perform basic civilian administrative functions where and as long as required; to maintain civil law and order, including the establishment of local police forces; to protect and promote human rights and assure the safe return of all displaced people to their homes; to support humanitarian and disaster relief aid and the reconstruction of key and 6 Débora García-Orrico, Security Council resolutions under Chapter VII (FRIDE 2009), 121, accessed November 2, 2011, http://www.fride.org/publication/655/security-council-resolutions-under-chapter-vii. 7 NATO’s Role in Kosovo, “Military Technical Agreement,” http://www.nato.int/kosovo/docu/a990609a.htm. 8 García-Orrico, Security Council resolutions under Chapter VII, 126.



10 other economic infrastructure; to establish and oversee the development, consolidation and ulterior transfer of provisional self- governing institutions; to facilitate the political process towards status, in full account of the principles contained in Annex 2 of resolution 1244 (1999) and the Rambouillet Accords; and at a final stage, to oversee the transfer of authority from Kosovo’s provisional institutions to institutions established under a political settlement.9

On March 31 2009, the UNMIK transferred Pillar I (Police and Justice) to European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX).

9 García-Orrico, Security Council resolutions under Chapter VII, 126.



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Conclusion and framework for debate The situation in Kosovo represents a complex historical and political development that challenged the ability of the international community to maintain peace and security in the region. The resolutions 1160 (1998), 1199 (1998), 1203 (1998), 1239 (1999) and 1244 (1999) represented attempts of UN Member States and more specifically, of the Security Council, to find a peaceful solution for the crisis in Kosovo. They encouraged both parties (FRY and Kosovo Albanian leadership) to establish political dialog and to end military confrontations. The refusal of FRY president to accept the agreements proposed by the international community and the risk of regional instability and insecurity, determined a military intervention under NATO auspices.

Consequently, the Resolution 1244 (1999) stated a new political framework for Kosovo and demanded full withdrawal of the Serbian forces from the site. The document referred to the Chapter VII of the UN Charter which refers to threats to international security, more specifically “Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression”.10 The Security Council decided the establishment of an international administration in Kosovo which will facilitate the transfer of authority to the future Kosovo institutions (respecting at the same time the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). The document “created a reality that was subject to open-ended interpretation with a state-making element to it. It contains two principles that encapsulate the opposing positions at stake. On the one hand, an open-ended temporal framework that deprives the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of all authority over Kosovo and leaves it under an international presence for an indefinite period of time and, on the other hand, the obligation to uphold the principles of sovereignty and protection of the territorial integrity of FRY.”11 Moreover, the UNMIK mission in Kosovo gradually transferred its authority to international and local institutions. Kosovo declared its unilateral independence and 75 UN Members States recognized it.12

The task of the Security Council is to put into debate the situation in Kosovo and try to reach an agreement regarding the situation and future statute of this site.

10 United Nations Charter, “Chapter VII: Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression,” http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter7.shtml. 11 García-Orrico, Security Council resolutions under Chapter VII, 127. 12 Kosovo Thanks You, “Who Recognized Kosova as an Independent State?” accessed on November 2, 2011. http://www.kosovothanksyou.com/.

kcl mun study guide - a new agreement for kosovo (15/11 and 22/11/2011)

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