Equality, security, freedom of movement and human rights for all in Kosovo and Metohija

Intimidation, physical attacks, arbitrary detentions and ethnic cleansing have been part of the everyday life of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija¹ since the end of the NATO aggression in 1999. The intensity of this repression has fluctuated, but there have been no interruptions. All of this, including the denial of the right to the free and safe return of around 250,000 expelled Serbs and other non–Albanians, took place under the auspices of UNMIK, KFOR, and the “status neutral” EULEX².

While Serbia, in the name of realism and concern for peace, faithfully fulfilled all its obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 1244, as well as a series of disputed documents, the so-called collective West, with its humiliating “stick and carrot” tactics, ensured the continuous retreat of Belgrade, building before our eyes, step by step, another Albanian state, as a stage for the creation of a so-called Greater Albania.

Endless crushing of Serbia

In a long series of agreements signed with the European Union as a “status-neutral” intermediary, each new accord represented a consolidation of the plunder achieved by the previous one. In this rise of neocolonialism and hegemony of the Western power centres in the Balkans, historians will only measure the individual “merits” of the UK, Germany and the USA, the EU, NATO and others, including our own. The essence, of course, lies in the geopolitics of the expansion of the West, with the following stages: multi-decade support for Albanian separatism, alliance with the terrorist Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), illegal armed aggression by NATO in 1999, the seizure and recognition of Kosovo and Metohija, and the endless crushing of the Serbian nation.

Violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244

The latest escalation of tensions in Kosovo and Metohija last May, was caused by the violent entry of Albanian officials into four municipal assemblies in the north of the province, who were elected in illegitimate elections last April. The Serbs boycotted those elections due to massive threats to their security, arbitrary arrests and indictments, usurpation of their property, non-fulfilment of Kosovan authorities’ obligation to form the Union of Serbian municipalities, construction of bases for special forces and other forms of comprehensive intimidation. The north of the province³ is militarised by Pristina. Violated were the agreements regarding the police, agreements with NATO on the prohibition of automatic weapons, and UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

Calling for an emergency
meeting of the UN Security Council

On Thursday, July 6, 2023, domestic and foreign media reported the statement of Aleksandar Vučić, the president of Serbia, that due to the escalation of tensions and threats to the security of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, he will request the convening of an emergency session of the UN Security Council, “because Serbia always behaves in accordance with the UNSC Resolution 1244 and international legal norms”⁴. The statement aroused great attention and expectations from the Serbian public, as evidenced by numerous comments published in the newspapers. “Well done”, one of these read. “Finally, a concrete move!” There were many other commentaries with a similar tone and message.
  What followed were talks between President Vučić and Chen Bo, China’s ambassador to Belgrade (13 July), Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko, Russia’s ambassador, (18 July), and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (19 July). Leaving aside the densely scheduled calendar of these meetings, especially considering the importance and urgency of the matter, these talks were received by the public as a transition to concrete preparations and probing of the greatest possible support for Serbia’s stances so that the results of the emergency session of the Security Council would be as favourable as possible for the endangered Serbs in Kosovo and Serbia – and to no lesser extent, for peace, security, and development in the region and in Europe.

Eliminate causes of escalation

Holding an (extraordinary) emergency session of the Security Council is important from numerous perspectives.
  First, its importance lies in ending the escalation and pacifying the situation – for eliminating the risk of bloodshed. Pacification can be achieved only by removing the well-known causes of the escalation. At the same time, we must not lose sight of the fact that the causes are not only, or even predominantly, in the personal characteristics of the leaders in Pristina, although it is known that they are driven by hatred and the idea of a greater Albania. Ultimately, the causes are in the policy of double standards of the Western power centres and representatives of the so-called international community, including structures entrusted with the mandate of the UN Security Council.

Equal security, human rights
and freedoms for the Serbs

Second, an emergency session of the SC is an opportunity to reaffirm the principle of guaranteeing equal security, human rights and freedoms of Serbs throughout the province. It cannot be tolerated that Serbs live in ghettos, that their property is taken by force, and that monuments, churches, monasteries and cemeteries are turned into ruins, garbage dumps, construction sites, or that Serbs are a priori responsible for everything happening there.

The basis of the solution
 for Kosovo and Metohija

Third, the session of the SC is an opportunity to reaffirm the inviolability of the Security Council as the only competent authority to decide on Kosovo and Metohija, as well as the lasting value of SC Resolution 1244, which expresses the will and represents the legal obligation of the entire world community, without exception. It is in Serbia’s interest that the solution for Kosovo and Metohija must be based on the UN Charter and UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and that there is no just and sustainable solution outside of or against those legal documents and the Security Council as a body that is exclusively responsible for peace and security issues.
  It is known that Serbia cannot give up its sovereignty and international borders, which were confirmed by its admission to the membership of the UN, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and other international organisations. Resolution 1244 is not an ideal document, but for the defence of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia, it has unquestionable value and lasting importance. If it were not so, neither the Western centres of power nor Pristina would run away from it, nor would they demand that the issue of Kosovo be de facto removed from the agenda of the UN Security Council.
  Fourth, Serbia has the opportunity at this session to launch an initiative (request) for the fulfilment of unmet obligations by the other parties (KFOR, UNMIK, NATO, EU, bodies of the provisional self-government), according to Resolution 1244, namely: ensuring the conditions for a free, safe, and dignified return of around 250,000 expelled Serbs and other non-Albanians to their homes and properties; return of the agreed contingents of the Serbian army and police for certain tasks (up to 2,000), including their presence at important international border crossings (into North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro); disarmament and demilitarisation of all armed formations; declaring null and void all decisions and acts contrary to Resolution 1244, and guaranteeing equality, security, freedom of movement and human rights for all people living in Kosovo and Metohija.

Naked geopolitics

Fifth, it became clear that the EU recently “stepped out” of the mandate it received from the UN General Assembly in 2010, which was formulated exclusively to “facilitate dialogue between the parties”. It is high time to publicly say that ultimatums like the Scholz-Macron plan⁵ cannot be classified under “facilitating dialogue between the parties”. The texts and formulas they impose are not based on law, principles, or democracy, and least of all on the UN Charter and Resolution 1244, but on hegemony and the naked geopolitics of expansion to the detriment of Serbia and the Serbian people.
  It is clear that the UNSC, due to the well-known positions of the Western permanent members (UK, USA, France), will not accept this truth as a common position, but if it is presented at the Council session, it will have a positive echo in the world of diplomacy and politics and will force many to think when and to whom to extend their trust. No one can turn a deaf ear to such a perspective, not even the powerful, who are less and less what they once were.

Strengthen Serbia’s reputation
and credibility at the international level

Sixth, the implementation of this initiative would contribute to the strengthening of the reputation and credibility of Serbia at the international level, as a country that is principled, respects its publicly declared positions, and knows how to fight for them. It would also be a reaffirmation of Serbia’s balanced, independent, and militarily neutral foreign policy, which is not without significance in the conditions of global changes towards the democratisation of international relations, on the one hand, and all kinds of speculations about “changing the public political paradigm”, on the other.
  Striving for peace and the role of the UN in the de-escalation process in Kosovo and Metohija, Serbia would at the same time show that it is not in favour of confrontation, conflicts, or alignment on the global level, but for the rule of law and its principles, for the democratisation of international relations, and for strengthening the role of the UN system. On the internal level, the realisation of this initiative would, at least to some extent, repair the shaken national self-confidence, self-esteem, as well as the credibility of state institutions. The Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija would receive an important encouragement to endure by relying on a state that keeps its word and is respected by others.

Belgrade, 19 July 2023

Notes of the editor:
¹ The Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija commonly known as Kosovo is an autonomous province defined by the Constitution of Serbia that occupies the southernmost part of Serbia and is claimed by Serbia as an autonomous province (under UN Security Council resolution 1244, see: https://www.zeit-fragen.ch/en/archives/2019/no-2-23-january-2019/1244-a-key-to-peace-in-europe). A minority of more than 100.000 Serbs live there. The territory is the subject of an ongoing political and territorial dispute between Republic of Serbia and the partially recognised, self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo, the latter of which has control over the territory.
² EULEX (European Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo) was launched in 2008. It operates under the overall authority of the UN, guided by the 1244 UN Security Council Resolution of June 1999, when Kosovo was first placed under the UN administration as a province of Serbia. EULEX supposed to be a technical mission remaining neutral when it comes to Kosovo’s political status. In its own words: “EULEX’s overall mission is to support selected rule of law institutions in Kosovo on their path towards increased effectiveness, sustainability, multi-ethnicity and accountability, free from political interference […]”. It consists of police officers (including four anti-riot units), prosecutors and judges. At its beginning in 2008 the Mission included around 3,200 police and judicial personnel (1,950 international, 1,250 local)
³ The northern part of Kosovo, generally understood as a group of four municipalities with ethnic Kosovo Serbs majority (96 %): North Mitrovica, Leposavić, Zvečan and Zubin Potok.
⁴ President Vučić has not yet formally requested the emergency session but according to Mr Jovanović (14 August) the President has reaffirmed last week: “We still have not abandoned our initiative to call for the extraordinary session of the Security Council”
⁵  cf. Current Concerns No 3, 7 February 2023

First published by the Serbian weekly Pecat, No. 772, pp. 6–8 of 28 July 2023. Slightly redacted for the international readership by Current Concerns.