Declaration of Independence of Kosovo

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Declaration of Independence of Kosovo

In the Declaration of Independence of Kosovo ( Albanian  Shpallja e Pavarësisë së Kosovës , Serbian Декларација о независности Косова Deklaracija o nezavisnosti Kosova ) proclaimed the Kosovo on 17 February 2008, the separation from Serbia and the right to their own sovereign to form government.

background

Kosovo in Yugoslavia

During the Second World War, Yugoslavia was re-established as a socialist state on November 29, 1943. The socialist republic of Serbia was one of six constituent republics. In September 1945 Kosovo became an autonomous province within the Serb republic. In 1974, the rights of the two autonomous provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo , which had already existed since the Yugoslav constitution of 1946, were significantly expanded, so that this extensive political independence was maintained.

After Tito's death in 1980 and the rise of Albanian and Serbian nationalism in Kosovo, there were disagreements in the Communist League on how to respond. A group led by Slobodan Milošević supported the Serbian nationalists in Kosovo and called for the lifting of their autonomy. Milošević won the presidential election in 1989 and implemented his plan in Kosovo. As a result, there was severe ethnic tensions and finally the collapse of the Union of Communists of Yugoslavia and the Yugoslav Wars .

Nonviolent resistance

In September 1992 the Albanians in Kosovo declared themselves independent for the first time in a referendum ; However , the Republic of Kosova , proclaimed by Ibrahim Rugova, was recognized only by Albania . In the 1990s there were serious human rights violations by the Yugoslav state in Kosovo, while the Albanian civilian population under the leadership of Rugova maintained a shadow or parallel state.

Kosovo War

In the spring of 1996, the KLA switched to armed struggle and carried out operations in Kosovo that were directed against state institutions. In March 1999, began after the expulsion of thousands of Albanians Operation Allied Force , one without a UN mandate led air war against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . With the signing of the Kumanovo Agreement and Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council , the Kosovo war ended on June 10, 1999, after which Serbia withdrew all state structures, including the armed forces, from Kosovo and Kosovo was placed under UNMIK administration.

Road to Independence and Ahtisaari Plan

Hashim Thaçi and then US Vice President Joe Biden with the Declaration of Independence

On February 2, 2007, Martti Ahtisaari presented the proposals in Pristina and Belgrade. According to these, Kosovo should be allowed to use its own national symbols and also to become an independent member of international organizations. It should be an internationally monitored independence, although the term independence was not used explicitly in the proposal. While the US and the majority of EU countries agreed to the Ahtisaari Plan, some states expressed reservations - including Russia, China , Spain , Greece , Italy , Slovakia , Cyprus , Romania and Austria . In April 2007, US Secretary of State Nicholas Burns said in the Congress Committee on Foreign Affairs that the US would in any case recognize the independence of Kosovo, even if the UN Security Council did not come to a corresponding resolution. At the beginning of December, negotiations between Serbs and Kosovar Albanians ended without an agreement. President Sejdiu ruled out further negotiations and announced that Kosovo would declare independence very soon.

Declaration of Independence

On February 17, 2008, in a session attended by 109 of the 120 members , the Kosovar parliament unanimously approved the declaration of the Republic of Kosovo as an independent state . The Serbian minority boycotted the vote. The European Union had previously approved the start of the EULEX mission , in which 1,800 police officers and lawyers are to take over the tasks of the previous UN administration in Kosovo . Serbia immediately declared with reference to the current UN Security Council Resolution 1244 that it would not accept independence. With this resolution from 1999, the UN administration of the area was established, but at the same time the affiliation of Kosovo to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was confirmed. A possible new resolution as the international legal basis for independence has so far failed due to a veto by Russia . The Constitution of Kosovo was signed in Pristina on April 7, 2008 , ratified on April 9, and came into force in June 2008.

The Declaration of Independence was written by the artist and calligrapher Shyqri Nimani on a 200 year old parchment - a gift from the Museum of London - which is now in the office of the President of Parliament. The first signatories were then President Fatmir Sejdiu, Speaker of Parliament Jakup Krasniqi and Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi .

On the evening of February 17th, the NEWBORN memorial was inaugurated in the center of the capital Pristina .

Unveiling of the NEWBORN monument

International reactions

Serbia

On February 12, 2008, the Serbian government launched a plan to combat the anticipated independence of Kosovo. This resulted in Serbian ambassadors being ordered back from states that recognized Kosovo. The Serbian Interior Ministry issued an arrest warrant for Hashim Thaçi , Fatmir Sejdiu and Jakup Krasniqi for high treason. On October 8, 2008, the UN General Assembly accepted the Serbian request to have the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence examined by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Protests

Protests in Belgrade on February 21, 2008

Between February 17 and 28, 2008, it is estimated that over 500,000 Serbs protested against Kosovo's declaration of independence. The demonstration Kosovo is Serbia ( Serbian Косово је Србија Kosovo je Srbija ) on February 21, 2008 brought between 200,000 and 500,000 people to the streets of Belgrade . The demonstration was relatively peaceful until an estimated 1,000 people in the group broke up and set fire to the United States embassy, ​​severely damaging the Slovenian embassy and the Croatian embassy slightly. The flags of the European Union , Croatia , Slovenia and the USA were also burned. The embassies of Belgium , Germany and Turkey received minor damage. The damage caused by the demonstration amounted to around US $ 140,000.

On February 25, 2008, ten Kosovar border police officers were injured by around 150 demonstrators.

Recognition of Kosovo

One day after the declaration of independence, Great Britain , France, the USA, Turkey , Albania, Afghanistan and Costa Rica were the first to recognize the independence of Kosovo. Germany followed on February 20, Switzerland and Austria on February 27. At the end of November 2012, 96 of the 193 UN member states had recognized the declaration of independence. To date, 114 of the 193 member states of the United Nations have diplomatically recognized the Republic of Kosovo as an independent state .

Other EU states such as Spain and Romania , but also great powers such as Russia and China have declared that they do not want to recognize Kosovo's independence. For some states, the consideration that the recognition of Kosovo could set a precedent for further secession efforts plays an important role .

Legality of the Declaration of Independence

On July 22, 2010, the court's decision was published. It made it clear that Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence would not be in conflict with international law, as neither customary international law nor international treaty law would prohibit unilateral declarations of independence by a people. In particular, Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence does not violate the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia or Serbia, because territorial integrity as a principle of international law only applies to relationships between states, but not to actors within a state.

Web links

Commons : Declaration of Independence of Kosovo  - Pictures, Videos and Audio Files Collection

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Heike Krieger: The Kosovo Conflict and International Law: An Analytical Documentation 1974-1999 . Ed .: Cambridge University Press. 2001, ISBN 978-0-521-80071-6 (English, The Kosovo Conflict and International Law: An Analytical Documentation 1974-1999 ).
  2. ↑ Paukovic Previously: Last Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia: Causes, Consequences and Course of Dissolution . Ed .: Cambridge University Press. December 22, 2008, ISSN  1849-2428 , p. 21 (English).
  3. ↑ Arthisaari proposals on the future status of Kosovo (English) ( Memento of the original from January 6, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.unosek.org
  4. ↑ USA will recognize independence of Kosovo on www.tirol.com from April 18, 2007 ( Memento from September 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ^ Kosovo conference failed . December 1, 2007. Archived from the original on November 30, 2007. Retrieved on December 26, 2017.
  6. ↑ Kosovo negotiations failed . In: Tagesspiegel . November 28, 2007. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  7. ↑ Accordance with international law of the unilateral declaration of independence in respect of Kosovo . In: International Court of Justice . July 22, 2010. Archived from the original on July 23, 2010. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  8. ↑ Kosovo MPs proclaim independence . In: BBC . February 17, 2008. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  9. ↑ Die Welt : EU police officers protect Serb minority from February 16, 2008.
  10. ↑ Pristina, Kosovo, April 7, 2008 - The Constitutional Commission submits the Proposed Constitution to the President of the Republic of Kosovo . April 7, 2008. Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
  11. ↑ Kosovo adopts a new constitution . In: BBC . April 9, 2008. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
  12. ^ Key day for Kosovo as constitution comes into force . In: Euronews . June 15, 2008. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
  13. ↑ Rrëfehet njeriu që e shkroi tekstin e Pavarësisë së Kosovës. In: gazetablic, com. Retrieved January 25, 2018 (Albanian).
  14. ↑ 11 facts rreth ditës së shpalljes së pavarësisë së Kosovës. In: lajmi.net. February 17, 2016, accessed January 25, 2018 (Albanian).
  15. ↑ Serbia recalls ambassador from US ( English ) . In: BBC , February 19, 2008. Retrieved June 23, 2017. 
  16. ↑ Canada recognizes Kosovo, Serbia pulls ambassador ( English ) . In: CBC News , March 18, 2008. Retrieved June 23, 2017. 
  17. ^ Richard Meares: Serbia charges Kosovo leaders with treason ( English ) In: Reuters . February 18, 2008. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  18. ↑ Serbia to go to ICJ over Kosovo ( English ) In: B92 . March 26, 2008. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  19. ^ Mass protests in Belgrade . February 21, 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  20. ↑ Bostjan Videmsek, Dan Bilefsky: Protesters Attack US Embassy in Belgrade . In: New York Times . February 22, 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  21. ↑ Mark Tran: Police in standoff with Serb demonstrators over Kosovo . In: The Guardian . February 22, 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  22. ↑ Massive Kosovo rally held in Belgrade . In: b92 . February 21, 2008. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved on December 24, 2017.
  23. ^ Andrew Purvis: US-Serb Tension Mounts Over Kosovo . In: Time . February 22, 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  24. ↑ US starts evacuation from Serbia . In: BBC . February 23, 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  25. ^ Slobodan Lekic: Belgrade's US Embassy set on fire . In: Yahoo News . February 21, 2002. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  26. ↑ U Beogradu napadnute hrvatska i AMERICKA ambasada . February 21, 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  27. ↑ Bilan jučerašnjih Nereda . In: b92 . February 22, 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  28. ^ Mark Tran, Allegra Stratton: Kosovo police injured in Serb protest . In: The Guardian . February 25, 2008. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  29. ↑ USA recognizes Kosovo - most EU states before consent , Reuters Germany, February 18, 2008
  30. ↑ a b Countries that have recognized the Republic of Kosova (English). Republic of Kosovo, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pristina, last accessed on February 11, 2013.
  31. ↑ EU splits on Kosovo recognition . In: BBC . February 18, 2008. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
  32. ^ Christian Walter: Postscript: Self-Determination, Secession, and the Crimean Crisis 2014 . In: Christian Walter, Antje von Ungern-Sternberg, Kavus Abushov (eds.): Self-Determination and Secession in International Law . Oxford University Press , Oxford 2014, ISBN 978-0-19-870237-5 , pp. 299 f. ; Jure Vidmar: The Annexation of Crimea and the Boundaries of the Will of the People . In: German Law Journal . 16, No. 3, 2015, pp. 365-383; Christian Marxsen: The Crimea Crisis - An International Law Perspective . In: Journal for Foreign Public Law and International Law 72, No. 4, pp. 367–391; Otto Luchterhandt : The connection of the Crimea to Russia from an international law perspective . In: Archiv des Völkerrechts 52, Nr. 2, 2014, pp. 137–174. doi: 10.1628 / 000389214X684276 .