Kosovo and U.S. Policy
Abstract
In 1998 and 1999, the United States and its NATO allies attempted to put an end to escalating violence between ethnic Albanian guerrillas and Yugoslav/Serb forces in Yugoslavia's Kosovo province. These efforts culminated in a 78-day NATO bombing campaign (Operation Allied Force) against Serbia from March until June 1999, when then-Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic agreed to withdraw his forces from the province. Since then, Kosovo has been governed by a combination of U.N. and local Kosovar governing structures. The U.N. Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), under the terms of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1244, retains ultimate political authority in the province. A NATO-led peacekeeping force, KFOR, is charged with providing a secure environment. In May 2001, UNMIK issued a Constitutional Framework for Kosovo that provided for an elected provisional legislature and government with limited powers but did not address Kosovo s final status. Elections for the first Kosovo assembly were held on November 17, 2001, and a Kosovo government was formed in March 2002. New elections held on October 23, 2004, were mostly boycotted by Kosovo s minority Serb population. UNSC Resolution 1244 calls for Kosovo s final status to be considered at an undetermined time after an autonomous government is in place. Almost all ethnic Albanians want independence for Kosovo; Serbs say it should remain within Serbia. In late 2003, the international community agreed to review Kosovo s progress in meeting international standards and consider next steps in determining Kosovo s future status by mid-2005. The sudden outbreak of widespread anti-Serbian riots in March 2004, the worst inter-ethnic violence experienced in Kosovo since 1999, set back progress in many areas and called into question the effectiveness of international policy on Kosovo. In June 2005, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide to launch a comprehensive review of the Kosovo standards.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 09, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA479231
Entities
People
- Julie Kim
- Steven J. Woehrel
Organizations
- Library of Congress