Jun 15, 2007

Kosova: Accountability Mechanisms Denounced


In a recent report, Human Rights Watch has denounced the lack of remedies for victims of human rights violations that have occurred under UN administration of the province.

In a recent report, Human Rights Watch has denounced the lack of remedies for victims of human rights violations that have occurred under UN administration of the province.

Below is an article published by Yahoo! News:

The UN has tarnished its reputation and undermined its legitimacy through its lack of accountability in the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo, Human Rights Watch (HRW) charged Thursday [14 June 2007].

The group, in a report on the international institutions operating in Kosovo, spoke of "the lack of effective remedies for human rights violations by the current UN-led international administration (UNMIK) and the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo (KFOR)."

"At first glance" there is a wealth of accountability mechanisms in Kosovo, including an ombudsperson, a human rights advisory panel and monitoring by the UN Human Rights Commissioner, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and others, the group says.

"In reality, however, these mechanisms are either weak, unable to investigate international institutions, or limited in their impact," it adds in a summary of the report released by its Brussels office.

"The Ombudsperson Institution was stripped of its mandate to investigate complaints against UNMIK and KFOR in 2006. The Human Rights Advisory Panel, which was created to bridge this accountability gap on the civilian side, has yet to start its work. No mechanism to investigate KFOR now exists."

Rather than welcoming oversight of their human rights records, the UN and NATO have sought to shield themselves from it, claimed Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

"The UN’s lack of accountability in Kosovo tarnished its reputation and undermined its legitimacy," she said.

"NATO also has a lot of work to do to improve its accountability," she added.

The UN Security Council is debating the future status of Kosovo, currently a UN protectorate, on the basis of a settlement proposed by UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari.

Under the Ahtisaari proposal, Kosovo would be granted internationally supervised independence, a plan opposed by Belgrade.

UNder that scenario an EU-led international mission, including an EU police and justice operation with executive authority, would replace the UN civilian mission that effectively governs Kosovo.

"The EU should learn from those mistakes and allow real scrutiny of its human rights record from day one," said Cartner. "The international community cannot expect to succeed in building democratic institutions in Kosovo if it is not prepared to subject its own record to independent scrutiny."

The accountability gap in Kosovo was starkly illustrated earlier this year, according to HRW, when UNMIK police responded to a violent protest on February 10 with lethal force, resulting in the deaths of two protestors.

"The UN mission’s much-criticized handling of the aftermath highlighted the lack of independent mechanisms for accountability and oversight of UN police, which necessitated reliance on ad hoc solutions, and the potential for lasting damage to the reputation of international institutions in the absence of effective accountability," the group said.

EU foreign ministers are likely to discuss the future mission at the general affairs council meeting in Luxembourg on June 18-19.

Human Rights Watch’s briefing paper recommends that the future International Civilian Office, the EU police mission and the NATO presence should be subject to the jurisdiction of the future Constitutional Court.

The group also urged the future government of Kosovo to support the restoration of the Ombudsperson Institution’s mandate to investigate complaints against international civilian and military institutions.