Executive Summary
Protection of Refugees, Returnees, Internally Displaced Persons, and Minorities
In the weeks following the end of the NATO bombardment,
the withdrawal of Yugoslav forces, and the installation of an international
administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), almost three quarter of a million Kosovar
Albanians refugees returned to Kosovo. However, during the same period, already,
more than 75% of the Serbs, including some 3,000 Serb refugees from Croatia and
Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a large number of Roma have left Kosovo. For many of
those who remain, the situation has become life-threatening.
Collapse of civil administration. There is no
effective functioning civil authority, police system or judicary. UNMIK is
mandated by the UN Security Council to carry out civil administration functions
including maintaining law and order, and the NATO forces, in
Kosovo, KFOR, are responsible for ensuring public order
and safety until an international civilian police under UNMIK can take over. But
neither has been able to do so.
The role of the KLA in the present power vacuum.
The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) has appointed "mayors" and other
administrators. They have restored services and even some kind of public order
in many municipalities. Yet much of the violence and some of the crimes since
the arrival of KFOR are attributed to persons linked with the KLA. So far, the
international community has failed to make it publicly clear to the leaders of
the KLA that human rights abuses will not be tolerated.
Human rights protection needs of refugees, internally
displaced persons and minority groups. In this volatile and instable
context, the human rights protection needs of refugees, returnees, internally
displaced persons (IDPs) and minorities in Kosovo relate primarily to physical
security. They also need materials to rebuild their houses, food, blankets, and
and other forms of assistance to restore their social and economic rights. Many
require identity documents which would, for example, enable them to prove
property ownership. Some particularly vulnerable groups - women, children,
elderly, sick or disabled people - have additional protection needs.
Recommendations:
A complete set of recommendations can be found in the
body of the report. The following are the key recommendations:
1. To strengthen civil administration, including the
legal system, judiciary and the police:
- The US and other governments should make the
necessary personnel (including civil police officers) and resources available to
UNMIK as a matter of urgency.
- UNMIK should identify inconsistencies between
Yugoslav law and applicable international norms, amend legislation and
regulations, and publish and disseminate them widely in the appropriate
languages.
- UNMIK should expand its current efforts to train and
appoint judges, prosecutors and other necessary legal personnel.
2. To enhance KFOR’s capacity to ensure public safety
and order:
- A unified peace-keeping code should be elaborated by
the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), based on international human rights
standards, for international forces who are faced with law enforcement and
policing duties in complex humanitarian crisis situations.
- Peace-keeping troops should be trained in law
enforcement techniques to they respond in a uniform and even-handed manner to
violations of human rights law, and in some cases breaches of international
humanitarian law, by all sections of the population.
- In the immediate term, KFOR together with UNMIK and
the OHCHR should identify current best practices, make them uniform and provide
the necessary training.
3. To ensure accountability for human rights abuses,
the US and other governments should:
- Urge the KLA, and all other groups or parties with
aspirations to civilian power, publicly to untertake to honour and implement
basic human rights norms.
- Press the leadership of the KLA to take active steps
to prevent human rights violations by its members or supporters, investigate
allegations of such acts and assume responsibility in cases where human rights
violations have been committed by KLA members or supporters.
4. To promote the protection of refugees, returnees,
IDPs and minorities in Kosovo, the US and other governments
should:
- Publicly support UNHCR’s protection strategy and
provide the necessary resources for its implementation, including for adequate
numbers of properly supported protection staff.
The report also contains recommendations on the need to
support the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia (ICTY) and future domestic prosecutions for war crimes and other
criminal offences; the continued protection requirements of Kosovar refugees who
have not yet returned; and providing support for the indigenous civil sector in
Kosovo.
Moreover, to enhance longer-term prospects for
reconciliation and peaceful co-existence, the US and other governments should
help the leadership of UNMIK articulate a vision for Kosovo in the wider
context of current regional initiatives. This should be guided by international
human rights principles, and in particular European standards of human rights
and minority protection. The protection needs of other refugees in the region,
notably the immense refugee population living in Serbia, should also be
addressed.
