Home > 108th Congressional Documents > H.Doc.108-7 PERIODIC REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY CAUSED BY THE LAPSE OF THE ...H.Doc.108-7 PERIODIC REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY CAUSED BY THE LAPSE OF THE ...
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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