Kosovo

Eleven years ago, Kosovo was a war zone on the world’s front pages, an ethnic and nationalistic cauldron in which both national and international laws seemed an utter irrelevance.  When the guns at last fell silent, Colette Rausch worked for several years in Kosovo as part of the international community’s attempt to construct the rule of law amid the rubble.  Last fall, she returned to find out whether, from the perspective of the people of Kosovo, the international community's efforts had been invaluable or in vain.

Economics and Finance Minister of Kosovo Ahmet Shala will talk about the new infrastructure projects in Kosovo, including transportation, telecommunication, energy, and waste management. He will also give his views on the current problems that Kosovo faces such as the trade blockade on Kosovo's exports to Serbia and Bosnia, membership in the International Financial Institutions, and regional integration.

ETC/I Deputy Director Ted Feifer and Senior Program Officer Noor Kirdar  met with six senior officials of Kosovo’s new Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 29, 2009. The group was visiting the United States under the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program to explore the role and work of a ministry of foreign affairs.

Ted Feifer of the Professional Training Program conducted a fifth negotiations and diplomatic skills training workshop for the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, held in Pristina, on April 18-20, 2005.

Ted Feifer conducted an advanced negotiation and mediation skills training for the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, in Pristina, December 13-15, 2009.

Ted Feifer led a core negotiation and mediation skills training for the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, in Pristina, May 11-13, 2009. 

Ted Feifer and Maria Jessop led a workshop focused on mediation for 23 international and national staff members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission in Kosovo, in Pristina, September 9-11, 2009.

Kosovo today is an international protectorate created by UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which foresees establishment of substantial autonomy and self-governance under the aegis of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) followed by a decision on final status. In the three and a half years since the NATO/Yugoslavia war, officials have generally avoided discussion of Kosovo final status and sought to postpone the decision foreseen in resolution 1244. At the same time, pressures are building and many informed observers believe that a decision will be needed sooner rather than later, but certainly within the next two to five years. Continuing to defer the matter will increase the risk of future conflict.

Ten years of intervention in the Balkans—beginning with European monitors in 1991, extending through the ill-fated humanitarian efforts of the UN Protection Force in Bosnia (1992–95), to the current multi-purpose interventions in Bosnia (1995), Kosovo (1999), and Macedonia (2001)—have provided the most extensive post–Cold War experience in international community efforts to stabilize a conflict zone. Where do the Balkans stand now? What more needs to be done there? What has been learned? What lessons should be applied in other conflict areas like Afghanistan?

In a major diplomatic victory for both countries, Kosovo and Macedonia recently concluded the demarcation of their shared border. This process of diplomacy, cooperation, confidence-building and reconciliation was conducted by a Joint Technical Commission (JTC) comprised of the two state parties and the International Civilian Office (ICO).