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H.Doc.108-7 PERIODIC REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY CAUSED BY THE LAPSE OF THE ...


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organized by the Democratic League of Kosovo following the 
unofficial elections of March 1998. The ``shadow government'' 
consisted of a president, prime minister and parliament. The 
PGOK and the ``shadow government'' were peacefully dissolved in 
January 2000, when the Joint Interim Administrative Structure 
(JIAS) was implemented by UNMIK. However, Serbian parallel 
institutions, primarily in the areas of health, education to 
some extent, and the judiciary, continue to exist with support 
from some elements in the FRY Government. In North Mitrovica, 
to date, UNMIK and KFOR have not yet effectively fully 
established their authority under UNSCR 1244.
            g. KFOR transfers criminal cases to UNMIK/Kosovo 
                    Transitional Government for investigation, 
                    prosecution, and detention; and sufficient civilian 
                    prisons and detention facilities are established
    UNMIK judicial officials and UNMIK CIVPOL and KPS, conduct 
all criminal investigations in Kosovo. When KFOR apprehends a 
suspect, he/she can be turned over to UNMIK for action under 
the Special Representative's ``executive detention'' authority 
pending UNMIK (or local) criminal charges being filed. Under 
his own authority, COMKFOR can confine individuals on the basis 
that they pose a threat to a safe and secure environment. KFOR 
maintains detention facilities for individuals at Camp 
Bondsteel. Owing to a lack of capacity, UNMIK normally only 
provides pretrial detention facilities for individuals charged 
with very serious crimes, such as murder.
            h. Adequate court system for criminal cases transferred to 
                    UNMIK
    Since June 1999, UNMIK has established a Kosovo supreme 
court, five district courts, 18 municipal courts, 23 ``minor 
offenses courts,'' one ``high court of minor offense,'' one 
commercial court, and 13 prosecutors offices. UNMIK has 
appointed more than 400 local judges and prosecutors (only 320 
are currently working in those positions), as well as 12 
international judges and 12 international prosecutors to the 
district courts and two international judges to the supreme 
court. UNMIK approved the addition of seven international 
judges and prosecutors. Trials are conducted in all five 
district courts and lower courts. Thus, there is an embryonic 
court system in place; however, concerns continue over the 
ability of the criminal courts to apply judges and prosecutors, 
suspected intimidation, as well as the outdated socialist 
criminal code still applicable in Kosovo. Judicial training 
conducted by the Kosovo Judicial Institute is beginning to 
address this problem. Some cases referred by KFOR to UNMIK are 
difficult to prosecute due to evidentiary problems. KFOR 
soldiers are not trained criminal investigators, and often the 
information gathered by KFOR is classified. As a result, some 
criminal cases are dismissed by UNMIK due to a lack of 
prosecutable evidence. UNMIK and KFOR are working together to 
resolve these issues. Adequate witness protection is a problem 
in some cases as well.
            i. Core KPS police training is completed and effective
    The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 
(OSCE) administers the Kosovo Police Service School, which has 
graduated over 4,000 Kosovar police trainees. Graduate trainees 
go on to complete field training and assume independent patrol 
responsibilities (with UNMIK police oversight). Advanced 
training phases have been added to the KPS School curriculum to 
create specialized capacities, including training supervisors, 
criminal investigators, traffic officers, and close protection 
specialists. The United States is initiating further 
specialized training in areas such as civil disorder management 
and advanced criminal investigators. Major crime has dropped 
substantially (by 27 percent) with the murder rate for 2001 
down 51.8 percent from the previous year. Anti-Serb violence 
has shown a similar downward trend, although periodic incidents 
continue to mar progress. Violence in Mitrovica continues to be 
a problem, with numerous UNMIK Civilian Police having been 
injured in an April 8, 2002 incident.
            j. UNMIK and KPS assume primacy for tactical police 
                    responsibilities; and, UNMIK Special Police Unit 
                    and KPS are capable to respond to civil 
                    disturbances.
    UNMIK Police, working with KPS, has assumed full primacy in 
Pristine, Prizren, Gjilan, and Peja regions; and shares primacy 
with KFOR in Mitrovica, where they recently have begun to 
assert more authority to address the continuing challenge from 
violent ``bridge gangs.'' UNMIK generally has been able to 
handle civil disturbances through the use of its Special Police 
Units (SPUs) that react to any civil disturbances throughout 
Kosovo.
            k. Some displaced persons and refugees able to return home 
                    safely
    Displaced Kosovo Albanians began returning to their homes 
in June 1999, concomitant with the entry of NATO forces into 
Kosovo. To date, over one million people have returned and 
begun rebuilding their lives. By contrast, significant 
difficulties remain in the area of minority returns. More than 
200,000 Serbs, Roma, and other minorities remain displaced 
outside of Kosovo, most in Serbia. While modest progress has 
been made to date, UNMIK has predicted that the next twelve 
months will be marked by a significant increase in 
international community facilitated returns. KFOR cooperation 
with UNHCR and UNMIK officials will be a key part of making 
these returns safe and sustainable.
    Freedom of movement remains a problem for many Serbs and 
Roma who remain in Kosovo, living in difficult circumstances in 
isolated enclaves. Some even require KFOR escort each time they 
venture out. For others, freedom of movement has improved 
significantly and KFOR has removed a number of checkpoints, 
particularly in the MNB-E area.

3. Task: Border and Boundary Issues

Objectives

    <bullet> Monitor international and provincial boundaries.
    <bullet> Inhibit traffic of persons or materials supporting 
insurgency and illegal goods.
    <bullet> Transfer border responsibilities to local 
authorities.

Benchmarks

            a. The FRY respects the Ground and Air Safety Zones as 
                    stipulated in the MTA and at the discretion of the 
                    KFOR commander
    The Ground Safety Zone (GSZ) and Air Safety Zone (ASZ), 5- 
and 25-kilometer ``buffer zones'' respectively around Kosovo, 
were established to prevent boundary incidents or reentry into 
Kosovo by FRY security forces. The FRY has respected the zones 
from their inception. Following the change of government in 
Yugoslavia and a concomitant improvement in the relationship 
with NATO and KFOR, FRY security forces were allowed to reenter 
the GSZ in the Spring of 2001. Reentry was conducted 
successfully and in a professional manner. Similarly, the Air 
Safety Zone was reduced to 10-kilometers.
            b. Illegal border crossings inhibited; and UNMIK or 
                    indigenous border service in place to monitor 
                    provincial and international border crossings
    Kosovo's boundaries are generally unmarked and in many 
areas lie in rough, mountainous terrain. Inhabitants 
traditionally have crisscrossed the borders freely. UNMIK 
established five official border crossing points, including the 
Pristina airport, where UNMIK policy control immigration and 
tariffs are collected. KFOR actively supports UNMIK in this 
role, regularly patrolling borders and employing monitoring 
technology. Also, a border police section of the Kosovo Police 
Service has been established. Net assessment of combined 
efforts is that illegal border crossings have been 
significantly reduced, although much remains to be done.

4. Task: War Crimes

Objective

    <bullet> Full cooperation of the international security 
presence with the International Criminal Tribunal for the 
Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
    The objective of this benchmark is of an ongoing nature for 
the international community, continuing until the work of the 
ICTY is completed.

Benchmark

            a. KFOR assists and supports ICTY
    KFOR actively supports the collection of evidence by ICTY, 
and provides area security for exhumations. The United States 
deployed two FBI forensic investigative teams to Kosovo at a 
cost of $5 million, and provided an additional $8.5 million for 
ICTY investigative costs associated with Kosovo war crimes. In 
Spring 2001 UNMIK arrested three Kosovo Albanians for war 
crimes. They remain in detention pending UNMIK judicial 
proceedings.

                                SUMMARY

    NATO has adopted a regional approach to the Balkans, with a 
view towards providing a smaller, lighter, more mobile and 
flexible force posture. This regional approach, in conjunction 
with progress in Kosovo as detailed above, has allowed a 
continued reduction in KFOR levels with no weakening of NATO 
engagement.

                                <all>


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