"As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world, as in being able to remake ourselves."

Mohandas Gandhi

"...'Kosovo' is not simply a Balkan or even a European matter; it is of global significance. At the start of a century that will see a further shrinking of time and space, and simultaneously the predictable overloading of all human environmental systems, Kosovo tells us critical things about the practice of international politics, and asks us fundamental questions about global issues".

Ken Booth[1]

Once again Kosovo attracted the worldwide media's attention. This time was the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which declared the much debated independence of Kosovo in February 17, 2008 as legal, what caused the wave of interest. The road to decision deserves an analysis on its own. However this essay is concentrated on the issue of human rights in Kosovo today not without relevance on the already taken decision. The issue of the human rights reveals important (and indirect) aspects of the decision above as well as making crucial points for the future of the new state.

Broadly speaking, the conflict of Kosovo in 1999 was a result of the human wrongs perpetuated not only by the oppressive regime of Milosevic, but augmented also by the indifference of international community (Western states) to hear the silenced voices since the 1980s. Since then the Kosovo issue has attracted a constant attention of international community which continues even after the self declared independence, as the most recent event clearly shows.

The main purpose of this essay is to examine the current human rights situation in the post-independence Kosovo. Human rights issue is of crucial importance for the new state, because the state of Kosovo itself was the product of a much debated humanitarian intervention, which was triggered by the gross human rights violation from the former regime of Milosevic. Thus, first and foremost, the very violations of the (Kosovo's Albanians) human rights gave to Kosovo the chance to become a state. But what is the human rights' condition in Kosovo today? Are human rights violations on ethnic base still happening? And what can be done to overcome the obstacles for building a new society from the ashes of an injured one?

Some of these questions produce more other questions than answers; nevertheless they have important implications about the condition of human rights, the transformation of the Kosovar society and the much desired full international recognition. The main argument of this paper is that the future of the new state rests on building a multi-ethnic civic state, where all its citizens regardless of their ethnic roots or religious affiliations will have equal rights and these rights must be guaranteed by an independent and fair judicial system. This in turn would facilitate the further recognition enhanced also by the recent decision of the ICJ.

The Human Right's Dimension in post-independence Kosovar society

After a long period of 9 years (1999-2008) of international governance under United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) - that in the words of the Kosovar intellectual Veton Surroi was primarily interested in stability not the democracy[2] - Kosovo was given the green light for declaring its independence with condition of incorporating the Ahtisaari Plan into its law and invite in the International Civilian Office (ICO) and European Union Rule of Law Mission (EULEX). Thus the independence of Kosovo in February 17, 2008, rather than being an unilateral declaration was a "coordinated" declaration.[3] As Surroi maintain, Kosovo notwithstanding the declaration of independence "is an 'unfinished state', in which the government is able to exercise its authority only over parts of the country and in which five 'protectorate masters' - UNMIK, EULEX, ICO, KFOR and OSCE - operate".[4]

This "agreement" is reflected directly on the text of declaration of independence which shows the suggestions made by the Ahtisaari Plan, as the basis for building a multi-ethnic state, in which all the ethnies would have equal rights, not merely in principle. The Albanian politicians were well aware of the fact that the only way to retain the Western's support is to obey the rules of the game. However this cannot be interpreted just as a pragmatic matter.

The declaration of independence in the terms of Ahtisaari Plan even is disappointing for many Albanians wishing a state of their own, is by far the only realistic framework upon the post-war Kosovar society can develop itself away from its past.[5] Furthermore, to the extent it is applied rigorously, it enables the communities in Kosovo building a relationship based on trust not fear. We have seen in the past that every relationship based on fear and coercion would result in mistrust and therefore in the alienation of a particular community from the social, economic and public life. In a nutshell the implementation of Ahtissari Plan has as its main objective the building of a multiethnic society respectful to human rights.

However when looking at the recent reports of Human Rights Watch (HRW) from the post-1999 onward, we can detect that little progress has been made in addressing the concerns Kosovar society is facing regarding the observance of communities rights. Besides this some positive changes have been made. Because that after the independence of Kosovo the Serbian community was concentrated mainly in the north part of Kosovo in Mitrovice - the enclaves of Serbian population can be found also in other places, but Mitrovice is the most heavily populated town from the Serbs - the direct confrontations between Serbs and Albanians have diminished in comparison with before. However, in general the current situation of human rights in Kosovo is still problematic. This situation is complex and cannot be explained only with ethnic hatreds and nationalist feelings. The social, economical and political factors all of them affect the situation of human rights in Kosovo.

 United States Department of State (2010), in their 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices- Kosovo, summarized the problems and abuses as following:

"...deaths and injuries from unexploded ordnance or landmines; corruption and government interference in security forces and the judiciary; lengthy pretrial detention and lack of judicial due process; cases of politically and ethnically motivated violence; societal antipathy against Serbs and the Serbian Orthodox Church; lack of progress in returning internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their homes; government corruption; violence and discrimination against women; trafficking in persons, particularly girls and women for sexual exploitation; societal violence, abuse, and discrimination against minority communities; societal discrimination against persons with disabilities; abuse and discrimination against persons based on their sexual orientation; and child labor in the informal sector."[6]

Nevertheless some of the problems mentioned above - e.g corruption - can be found in many developing societies and are not particular to Kosovar society. As Ivan Krastev put it, "The border between organized crime and the state is the least-guarded border in the Balkans".[7] But it is important to note that every problem and abuse mentioned above plays an amplificatory role in undermining the fragile stability in Kosovo. And because Albanians constitute the majority in Kosovo and the governance of the country the main responsibility first fall on them, without forgetting the part of international community that is not merely monitoring but also "governing" the new state.

While the Kosovar Albanians drive for an "ethnically pure" Kosovo in 1999, could be (rightly) seen in the context of a traumatized population subjected to almost complete ethnic cleansing and acts of genocide[8], nowadays after 9 years this is not the case. Kosovar Albanians must avoid every kind of discrimination for the other ethnic groups or minorities and work for the contrary of an "ethnically pure" Kosovo. As can be seen in the historical past of human wrongs in Kosovo, any policies based on the otherness and discrimination resulted in diminishing the quality of life for people in Kosovo.

According to the most recent report of International Crisis Group (ICG) 2010, the situation of the rule of law in Kosovo, is weak. [9] One year before in 2009 the European Commission had reached at a similar conclusion that justice system in Kosovo was "weak, vulnerable to political interference and inefficient".[10] ICG attributes this weakness to many of factors as "Serbian misrule and oppression in the 1990s, benevolent but poorly managed and feckless UN administration until 2008, a cacophony of advice from wellmeaning foreign advisers and donors pushing incompatible agendas, deep poverty, entrenched suspicion of formal institutions and procedures and a leadership with very little experience of government..."[11] HRW report of 2010 reaches a similar conclusion about the reason of the weakness of judicial system in Kosovo arguing that "Caught between disagreements among its member states, and between Belgrade and Pristina, EULEX struggled in 2009 to fully deploy throughout Kosovo and execute its task of building a functioning justice system."[12] 

However ICG adds also that the "...Kosovo's reputation for lawlessness is exaggerated. The country has a low rate of violent crime, inter-ethnic crime is rare, and Serbs in most of Kosovo live securely."[13]

In the picture above must be included also the abuses of women.[14] The latter is not related with a particular ethnic group, given the patriartichal nature of society which is dominant in Kosovo. As a report of HWR in 2008 maintains "According to Kosovo police statistics, 1,077 cases of domestic violence were recorded in 2007. But a UN study from 2000 indicated that almost quarter of women surveyed said they had experienced physical and/or psychological abuse following the end of war in 1999."[15] This also can be considered as an alarming evidence which threatens the family, and therefore the domestic society of Kosovo.

Again according to the report of ICG, the issue of the rule of law is the most important one which needs immediate attention for improvement and efficacy. Moreover the rule of law is not homogenous in the whole country. According to the report the weakest zone - where the judicial system has difficulties to be functional -is in the north (Mitrovice) which actually is controlled de facto by Serbia.[16] It is not difficult to understand that the main insecurity for citizens in Kosovo is not anymore of ethnic origin, but of social and political one. The organized criminal gangs that often are connected with political entities forming mafia connections are responsible for diminishing the quality of live in Kosovo. The threat posed by such criminal organizations is to whole society.

Notwithstanding the pessimistic picture above, looking at the whole picture important steps are made. As ICG report makes clear "Kosovo in 2010 is far safer and more peaceful than it was a decade ago. The homicide rate has dropped precipitously from 11.8 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2000 to 2.9 in 2005 and between 2.6 and 3.2 in 2009".[17] If we add the balancing actions of Albanian political leaders and their awareness for their weakness and implementation of Ahtissari Plan as the sole strategy for a new Kosovo, we can assume that further improvements can be made in the issue of human rights. Once again we must stress the fact that the respect for human rights must not be seen apart from the other developments in the country. As noted above, the rule of law in the country is crucial for their implementation as well as is the importance for transforming the injured society of Kosovo into a multiethnic one with a new identity. For the latter emancipation of Kosovar society as argued below is indispensable.

Reflecting about the Future of Kosovar Society

As Booth has put it, "true emancipation is based on the belief that 'I cannot be emancipated until you are' - whoever the I." This can be a good starting point for thinking about a new vision for Kosovar society. Even one may find this view hard to achieve at present, the statement above must be a direction for the efforts of Kosovo's government as well as their individuals.[18]

Emancipation here is understood in the terms of Booth as: "...freeing of people (as individuals and groups) from those physical and human constraints which stop them carrying out what they would freely choose to do"[19], encompassing all the ethnic and minority groups. Emancipation as such would enhance the trust among the communities within Kosovar society. Thus the members of communities, once feeling secure from the constraints such as poverty, poor education, political oppression etc.,[20] would be more likely to feel themselves represented by the government in Pristine. Moreover as stated at the start, a special attention must be paid to the "other" in Kosovar society, not for stereotyping it and alienating from the "self" - as was done in the past (Serbian rule) - but for building bridges instead of walls between Kosovar Albanians and Kosovar Serbs or whoever community living in Kosovo. The process of accepting the "other" and transforming him into the "self" is at the heart of building a multi-ethnic state. Thus respecting the human rights of the other communities means respecting your own rights.

The views above can be criticized as very idealistic (or utopian) by not counting the power of nationalisms (both Serbian and Albanian) in the everyday life in Kosovo and in the construction of rigid attitudes toward what Kosovo is and is not, or to whom it belongs. The views about "what must be done" in Kosovar society are well aware of the power of nationalism. But the ideas above derive from the assumption that nationalism and nation itself are not given and natural phenomena, but socially constructed and as such the "natural" situation created by it (nationalism) can be changed. Thus while the nationalist outlook takes the conflicts and hatreds between Kosovar Serbian and Albanians as primordial and unchangeable, our view gives room for change and improvement in their relations vis-à-vis each other and other communities.

Besides this bearing in mind that the means one uses today shapes the ends one might perhaps reach tomorrow as Albert Camus rightly argued the Kosovar government must be very mature in the means it uses to rebuilt the post-war Kosovar society, in order to prevent undesired outcomes.[21] Furthermore, the statement above tells us that the philosophy of "ends justify the means" is not valid, even dangerous for Kosovo's political and societal context. If the strategy of the Kosovo's government is to build a democratic society and multi-ethnic state respectful to human rights - as stated in the text of declaration of independence - the means to achieve this can be nothing but democratic and human rights-friendly, otherwise the result will be everything but democracy or multi-ethnic society etc.

On the other hand, the international community (EU and US) must be well aware of the fact that with their suggestions, demands and actions, they are in the role of a "social engineer" of the Kosovar society. Kosovo is the right place for EU countries to show their maturity and long experience to transform and change an injured society into an emancipated one.

Needless to say, it is not stability that produces emancipation but the other way around. And in the case of Kosovar society, emancipation begins from the respect of human rights based on a fair judicial system. Thus our argument is that the rule of law must have priority in the frameworks of Kosovo's political agenda, and not just on letter. To conclude, the concepts like democracy, emancipation and rule of law must not be understood as static ones which once achieved everything will be over rather what these concepts have in common is that they must be regarded as a process. Thus more than a static point they mean a direction toward the Kosovar society must go, in order to leave its past back for a mutual future.

An international symposium on Kosovo's identity, was held in Pristine (the capital of Kosovo) on 27-28 July 2007, where participated eminent international and, Kosovar Albanian and Albanian intellectuals and academics. Their shared conclusion was that the only future for Kosovo had to be a "European" one. Here with the term "European" is meant first and foremost building a multi-ethnic state or post-nationalist one if we can use another expression. Thus the construction of the "European identity of Kosovo" was the only strategy which would bring peace, democracy and prosperity for the post-war society of Kosovo.[22] Needless to say, this vision is built on the respect for human rights and acceptance of the "other". What is to be done is the following of this direction by the leading political elite of Kosovo and international community. This in turn would enable the individuals in Kosovo building a new future for themselves. Lastly it is important to note that while the European vision for Kosovo is needed, this project must not end searching stability (EU and US's main priority) instead of democracy (what Kosovar society needs).

Conclusion

The human rights issue was at the heart of the conflict of Kosovo and still is a central challenge for the new state. The political elites of Kosovo seem to be aware of the fact that the only way for the legitimate future of Kosovo and its further recognition by the international community is the strengthening of democratic institutions with an emphasize on human rights.

Thus the need to transform not just to rebuild the post-war Kosovar society remains the central duty in front of the actors interested for a mutual and progressive future for all the citizens of Kosovo. As was argued in the previous sections, the respect to human rights passes through a healthy and independent judicial system.

As a result building an independent and fair judicial system must have priority over other improvements; the respect for human rights would in turn enable the construction of the lost trust not only between the two major ethnic groups but for all the Kosovar citizens. This would help the further recognition of Kosovo and would also contribute to the fairness of already taken decision of ICJ. Lastly the biggest challenge in front of Kosovo's society, from its top political leaders to bottom individuals is turning ideas into actions.

[1] Ken Booth (ed.), The Kosovo Tragedy:The Human Rights Dimensions, (London: Frank Cass Press, 2003), p. Preface. 

[2] Tim Judah, Kosovo: What Everyone Needs to Know, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008)

[3] Ibid.

[4] Vedran Džihić and Helmut Kramer, "Kosovo After Independence Is the EU's EULEX Mission Delivering on its Promises?", International Policy Analysis, (July 2009), p. 2, available at: http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/id/ipa/06571.pdf

[5] International Crisis Group, "Kosovo: No Good Alternatives to the Ahtisaari Plan", Europe Report, No. 182, (14 May 2007).

[6] United States Department of State, 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Kosovo, 11 March 2010, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4b9e52e487.html  (accessed 26 May 2010)

[7] Judah, op. cit., p. 98.

[8] Alexander J. Bellamy, "The Human Wrongs in Kosovo", in Ken Booth (ed.), Kosovo Tregedy: The Human Rights Dimension, (London: Frank Cass Press, 2002), p. 120.

[9] International Crisis Group (ICG), "The Rule of Law in Independent Kosovo", Europe Report N°204, (19 May 2010).

[10] "Kosovo under UNSCR 1244/99 2009 Progress Report", European Commission SEC (2009) 1340, (14 October 2009), pp. 11-31.

[11] ICG, (2010), op. cit., p. 1.

[12] Human Rights Watch (HRW), World Report 2010, p. 443.

[13] ICG (2010), op. cit., p. i.

[14] Human Rights Watch (HWR), "A Human Rights Agenda For A New Kosovo", (February 2008), p. 2.

[15] Ibid.

[16] ICG (2010), op. cit., p. i.

[17] Ibid, p. 3.

[18] Ken Booth, "Three Tyrannies", in Time Dunne and Nicholas J. Wheeler (eds.), Human Rights in Global Politics, (Cambridge: Cambridge Press, 1999), p. 42.

[19] Ken Booth, "Security and Emancipation", Review of International Studies, (1991), pp.313-326, p. 316. 

[20] Ibid.

[21] Stanley Hoffmann, cited in  Ken Booth, "Two Terrors One Problem" in Ersel Aydınlı and James N. Rosenau (eds), Globalization, Security and the Nation State: Pardigms in Transition, (New York: State University of New York Press, 2005), p. 46.

[22] Identiteti Evropian i Kosoves (European Identity of Kosovo), Forum 2015, Pristine, (July 2007).