Kosovo Drafts Constitution

The UN is set to pull out of Kosovo on 15 June, as stipulated in the new Kosovar Constitution, a draft version of which was signed on Monday, 7 April. The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, otherwise known as UNMIK, entered Kosovo in 1999 after extensive fighting between Serbs and Kosovars threatened to destabilise the Balkan region. UNMIK was responsible for overseeing the police, promoting and protecting human rights, and providing the administration for interim self-government. As stipulated in the new Kosovar Constitution, the EU will take over UNMIK’s operations.

UNMIK’s tenure in the troubled region was not without controversy. At times it was impossible to protect the human rights of all Kosovars and Serbs living in Kosovo. Spies and militiamen from Serbia still operate in the region, and Kosovo became a thriving marketplace for trafficked women from other post-Soviet states. Corruption within the UNMIK structure was endemic, further contributing to the distrust of Kosovars.

UNMIK will be replaced by the European Union Rule of Law in Kosovo (EULEX), as envisioned by Marti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish prime minister who tried to engineer a peace settlement between Kosovo and Serbia, which included a stipulation on Kosovar independence. EULEX will attempt to retain law and order in the nation, while preparing it for a possible accession to the EU in years to come. EULEX will be carried out jointly with the UN, as it stems from UN Resolution 1244 – stipulating the boundaries of any international presence in the breakaway province.

The Kosovar Constitution establishes the area as an “independent, sovereign” republic with equal rights for all. The official state languages will be Albanian and Serbian, while Turkish, Bosnian, and Roma are all recognised as official on the municipal level.

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Establishing Law and Order After Conflict: For Kosovo, see pp. 27 -61