United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
UNMIK
operation area KosovoKosovo Kosovo
German name
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
English name United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
Based on UN resolution 1244 (June 10, 1999)
Beginning June 10, 1999
status ongoing
management AfghanistanAfghanistan Zahir Tanin
Operating strength (max.) 4,718 police officers,
38 liaison officers
Military out Czech RepublicCzech Republic NorwayNorway PolandPoland Moldova RepublicRepublic of Moldova RomaniaRomania TurkeyTurkey UkraineUkraine
Police off GermanyGermany ItalyItaly AustriaAustria PakistanPakistan RussiaRussia TurkeyTurkey HungaryHungary UkraineUkraine
Deaths 55
costs 36,490,000 US dollars
(July 2016 - June 2017)
Location of the operational area Kosovo in its region.svg

The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo ( UNMIK for short , MINUK after the French name ; German Interim Administration Mission of the United Nations in Kosovo ) has existed since June 10, 1999, when the United Nations Security Council authorized the Secretary General by resolution 1244 , in the post-war period - Establish an interim civil government in Kosovo .  

UNMIK is headed by a Special Representative from the Secretary-General who has powers similar, albeit expanded, to those of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina .

Political work

Map of the UNMIK bases

In 2000, a special unit against trafficking in women and prostitution (English: Trafficking and Prostitution Investigation Unit , TPIU) was founded to take action against the rapidly increasing forced prostitution in Kosovo.

On August 18, 2000, the then UN special envoy granted all UNMIK employees full legal immunity, which can only be lifted in the event of a serious crime. Because UNMIK employees are often certified to irregularities by the Kosovar side and the UNMIK employees are not even bound by the laws enacted by their authorities, UNMIK is often accused of tolerating arbitrary political measures by its employees on the part of the local civilian population.

After the serious unrest and pogroms against Serbs in March 2004, UNMIK had to put up with the accusation that it was no longer in control of the situation and that the Serbs were not adequately protected.

Special Envoy for the UN Secretary-General of the Mission

Previous special envoy of the UN Secretary-General of the Mission:

No. Surname nationality Beginning of the appointment End of appointment
1. Sérgio Vieira de Mello BrazilBrazil Brazil ad interim until July 1999
2. Bernard Kouchner FranceFrance France 1999 2001
3. Hans Hækkerup DenmarkDenmark Denmark 2001 2002
4th Michael Steiner GermanyGermany Germany 2002 2003
5. Harri Holkeri FinlandFinland Finland 2003 2004
6th Søren Jessen-Petersen DenmarkDenmark Denmark 2004 2006
7th Joachim Rücker GermanyGermany Germany 2006 2008
8th. Lamberto Zannier ItalyItaly Italy 2008 2011
9. Farid Zarif AfghanistanAfghanistan Afghanistan 2011 2015
10. Zahir Tanin AfghanistanAfghanistan Afghanistan 2015 officiating

UNMIK's tasks

According to Resolution 1244, the tasks of UNMIK include:

  • Performance of basic civil administrative tasks;
  • to promote the establishment of an independent self-government in Kosovo;
  • Promoting a political process aimed at determining the future status of Kosovo;
  • Coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief from all international organizations;
  • Support in restoring a basic infrastructure;
  • Maintaining public civil order (“Law and Order”), see also Team 6 ;
  • Promote respect for human rights ;
  • Enabling all refugees and displaced persons to return safely to their homes.

The UN Secretary General specified the areas of responsibility of UNMIK and their actual structure in his founding report on June 12, 1999.

In fact, UNMIK showed itself to be responsible for almost all areas of life, from building the judiciary , promoting democracy and the rule of law , including holding elections and training police forces , to privatizing companies and helping to rebuild houses and apartments for funding and facilitating the return of refugees and displaced persons. To clarify the ownership structure, for example, a separate and independent institution, the Housing and Property Directorate (HPD) with its own judicial body ( Housing and Property Claims Commission - HPCC) was created.

criticism

With material reference to a report by Human Rights Watch , the UN Human Rights Advisory Panel (HRAP) in Kosovo issued a statement holding UNMIK responsible for numerous human rights violations, including lead poisoning of Roma , Ashkali and Balkans. Egyptians . For years, UNMIK housed several hundred displaced persons under unsanitary conditions in lead-contaminated camps near the city ​​of Mitrovica following the Kosovo conflict . Although UNMIK was aware of the health hazards, it did not undertake any activities to protect the displaced persons taken into custody. The damage to health caused by the placement has in many cases been diagnosed by doctors. On the recommendation of Guterres , UNMIK set up the trust fund recommended in the HRAP statement to provide compensation for the victims, but no member state has yet made a payment. Human rights organizations demand that UNMIK apply its standards effectively to itself in this case as well and finally implement the recommendations of the HRAP.

literature

  • Military History Research Office (MGFA): Guide to History, Kosovo , 3rd edition 2008, ISBN 978-3-506-75665-7 .
  • D. Rossbacher: Peacekeeping using the example of the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK). Civil administration as a new form of peacekeeping. 2004, ISBN 3-8300-1280-2 .
  • K. Hassine: Housing and Property Directorate / Claims Commission in Kosovo (HPD / CC). A study on the model effect of HPD / CC for the international property protection of private individuals, with a foreword by Dr. Veijo Heiskanen (= series of studies by the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Human Rights; Volume 21), 2009, ISBN 978-3-7083-0620-9 .
  • H.-J. Stromeyer: Collapse and Reconstruction of a Judicial System: The United Nations Missions in Kosovo and East Timor. In: American Journal of International Law , Vol. 95, 2001, pp. 46-63.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In detail on this D. Rossbacher, Peacekeeping using the example of the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK). Civil administration as a new form of peacekeeping , 2004, p. 138 ff.
  2. ↑ Combating Human Trafficking in Kosovo (PDF; 614 kB) - UNMIK 2004.
  3. ↑ SZ-Magazin: We came, saw and failed
  4. ↑ Former heads of UNMIK (SRSG) - Listed on the UNMIK website
  5. ↑ Resolution 1244 (PDF; 1.3 MB)
  6. ^ Report of the Secretary-General of 12 June 1999 (S / 1999/672).
  7. ↑ MGFA, Wegweiser zur Geschichte, Kosovo , 2nd edition 2008, p. 89 ff.
  8. ^ K. Hassine, Housing and Property Directorate / Claims Commission in Kosovo. A study on the model effect of HPD / CC for the international property protection of private individuals , 2009.
  9. ↑ a b Kosovo: Poisoned by Lead . Human Rights Watch. June 23, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  10. ↑ Case No. 26/08 - Opinion . The Human Rights Advisory Panel. February 26, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  11. ↑ a b Signs of long-term damage to Roma from contaminated UN refugee camps are increasing . Society for Threatened Peoples. February 26, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  12. ↑ Andreas Ernst: Expelled, poisoned, forgotten, fooled . The New Zurich Times. February 19, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.