Kosovo case and the role of the United Nations
Kosovo case and the role of the United Nations

Author(s): Dušan N. Proroković, Ivona Lađevac
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, International Law, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
Published by: Институт за међународну политику и привреду
Keywords: Kosovo; UN; UNMIK; USA; EU; international relations
Summary/Abstract: Kosovo’s unilaterally proclaimed independence in 2008 became one of the most important issues of the international relations. On the one hand, the United States and the key European countries - the United Kingdom, Germany and France – are strongly lobbying other UN members to establish diplomatic relations with the “Republic of Kosovo”, insisting on the thesis that this case is a sui generis case, while, on the other hand, BRIC countries remain the stance that this is a dangerous precedent, setting up its position on the provisions of UNSC Resolution 1244. Considering the role the UN played and is still playing in the course of the development of the Kosovo crisis, this is a specific example. Namely, although the UN was involved in all stages of the Kosovo crisis, they were twice bypassed and harshly ignored. For the first time that happened in 1998, when the US could not get the consent to launch a military action against the FR of Yugoslavia, while the second time it was in 2008 when the United States, Great Britain and France could not provide a change to Resolution 1244 (1999) SC. For this reason, the Kosovo case is more complex than the others, it is deeply internationalized and it is more difficult to solve than some other crises of similar character.

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