[ALBSA-Info] A Sovereign Kosovo

[GJEKE]

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From: aalibali at law.harvard.edu <aalibali at law.harvard.edu>
To: Albsa-info at alb-net.com <Albsa-info at alb-net.com>
Date: Monday, October 09, 2000 10:22 AM
Subject: [ALBSA-Info] A Sovereign Kosovo


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>Christian Science Monitor
>TUESDAY, OCTOBER 03, 2000
>
>
>OPINION
>How to create a sovereign Kosovo
>By Julie Mertus
>
>
>BALTIMORE, MD.
>
>In the face of an election defeat last month, Yugoslav President Slobodan
>Milosevic appears all but ready to give way to his opposition successor. No
>matter what happens next in Belgrade, however, it is clear that the vote
for
>the opposition was a necessary first step in giving power back to the
people of
>Yugoslavia and restoring their hope for a better future.
>
>The same kind of ballot-driven catalyst for change is needed in Kosovo,
where
>the people can't govern for themselves because the international community
>governs for them. This presents a curious irony: While the UN is there to
help,
>it's actively preventing self-determination by Kosovars.
>
>The key to new thinking on Kosovo that could lead to a long-term solution
rests
>in application of modern concepts of human rights and state sovereignty.
These
>concepts were played out at the United Nations Millennium Summit in
September,
>where the fact that state sovereignty is no longer absolute was repeatedly
>acknowledged. World leaders heard in speech after speech that preventing
war
>and fostering the conditions for peace means addressing the root causes of
>conflict wherever they occur. What happens inside states, including
economic
>deprivation and human rights violations, the summit found, is of concern to
the
>entire international community.
>
>This developing international consensus on limited state sovereignty has
broad
>implications for all parts of the world. For those struggling to find a
>solution to the ongoing Kosovo crisis, it is crucial.
>
>Some legal commentators have thought about sovereignty in the context of
>military intervention. The argument here is that the NATO military
intervention
>in Kosovo was justified by the gross and systemic human rights violations
>there. Ever since the days of the Nuremberg trials, states have been unable
to
>justify gross mistreatment of their own citizens in the name of state
>sovereignty. States that do so in violation of international standards
waive
>their claim to sovereignty and open the door to international corrective
>measures.
>
>The same thinking about state sovereignty applied to the intervention
question
>can be applied to interpretation of the Kosovo peace agreement. To date,
>however, this has not been done.
>
>Any discussion on Kosovo these days is hampered by a fundamental misreading
of
>UN Security Council Resolution 1244, the document which provides authority
for
>the UN mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). Commentators read this document as
resolving
>the future status of Kosovo in Serbia's favor. They claim that either
>reconstruction efforts must proceed with Kosovo forever being part of
>Yugoslavia, or the UN resolution must be changed. This is wrong. Options in
>Kosovo need not be limited to these two scenarios.
>
>Resolution 1244 does confirm the commitment of UN member states "to the
>sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia."
>But the use of the words "sovereignty" and "territorial integrity" does not
>automatically resolve the status of Kosovo in Serbia's favor.
>
>On the contrary, these words invoke human rights principles that weigh not
on
>the side of any particular group, but in favor of respect for international
>human rights standards for all.
>
>The concepts of "sovereignty" and "territorial integrity" incor- porate the
>international standards discussed at the Millennium Summit. Thus, the
concept
>of "territorial integrity" means more than just passive border maintenance.
It
>requires states to actively maintain the integrity of their territory
through
>the observance of international human rights standards.
>
>Similarly, the concept of "sovereignty" points to the prerogative of states
to
>act, but only insofar as the state is in line with international standards.
The
>notion of "sovereignty" today also incorporates the right to popular
>sovereignty. States must respect sovereign rights of the people to
participate
>in society and choose how they should be governed and by whom.
>
>For more than 10 years, the government of Yugoslavia has violated the
integrity
>of its own territory and the sovereignty of the people through orchestrated
>oppression against Albanians, Croats, Muslims, independent journalists, and
>opposition politicians. The task for UNMIK should be to help the people of
the
>region claim their sovereignty and restore the integrity of their territory
by
>promoting the human rights of all citizens.
>
>The international mission must permit the people to decide their future for
>themselves. Instead of acting as a colonial-style administrator and
imposing
>its own will, UNMIK should empower locals to discover their own solutions.
>Whether that future is partition or independence, the role of the
international
>mission is to provide security in the short term and aid the development of
>participatory, self-governing, human-rights-abiding institutions for the
long
>term.
>
>So far, UNMIK has been afraid to support any local efforts that would upset
the
>status quo. But the status quo is unacceptable to all parties, and it
cannot
>endure over the long term. A status-quo solution imposed by an outside
force
>against the will of locals violates the principle of sovereignty that the
UN is
>working to uphold.
>
>By denying Kosovars the right to decide their own fate, UNMIK is violating
the
>principle of sovereignty, not promoting it. The lessons on limited state
>sovereignty, which were heard loud and clear at the Millennium Summit,
should
>be applied to Kosovo.
>
>
>
>
>Julie Mertus, a professor of peace and conflict resolution at American
>University, is the author of 'Kosovo: How Myths and Truths Started a War'
>(University of California Press, 1999).
>
>
>
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