The Standards for Kosovo are a set of UN-endorsed benchmarks for the democratic development of Kosovo. They cover eight key areas of development and include a particular focus on the protection of Kosovo non-Albanian ethnic communities. The Standards address issues of related to functioning democratic institutions, rule of law, rights of communities, returns of displaced persons, the economy, dialogue with Belgrade, property rights and the Kosovo Protection Corps.
In 2003, the international community articulated a policy of "Standards before status," whereby it was decided that Kosovo's status would not be addressed until it had met these Standards of good governance. To meet these goals, Kosovo's Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG) created a series of working groups that met regularly to speed progress on the Standards. In 2005, a UN-commissioned report by Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide assessed that further progress on the Standards would not be possible until Kosovo had clarity about its future status.
In 2006, as the Kosovo Status Process was underway, the government of Kosovo (part of the PISG) began to transition its work on the Standards into the more demanding process of meeting standards for European integration as part of the Stabilization and Association Process Tracking Mechanism (STM).
The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is the officially mandated mission of the United Nations in Kosovo. The UNMIK describes its mandate as being to "help the United Nations Security Council achieve an overall objective, namely, to ensure conditions for a peaceful and normal life for all inhabitants of Kosovo and advance regional stability in the Western Balkans."
A national human rights institution (NHRI) is an independent state-based institution with the responsibility to broadly protect and promote human rights in a given country. The growth of such bodies has been encouraged by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which has provided advisory and support services, and facilitated access for NHRIs to the United Nations (UN) treaty bodies and other committees. There are over one hundred such institutions, about two-thirds assessed by peer review as compliant with the United Nations standards set out in the Paris Principles. Compliance with the Principles is the basis for accreditation at the UN, which, uniquely for NHRIs, is not conducted directly by a UN body but by a sub-committee of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) called the Sub-Committee on Accreditation. The secretariat to the review process is provided by the National Institutions and Regional Mechanisms Section of the OHCHR.
The politics of Kosovo takes place in a framework of a multi-party parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the President (Presidenti) is the head of state and the Prime Minister (Kryeministri) the head of government. Parliamentary elections are held every four years, the most recent in 2021.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1244, adopted on 10 June 1999, after recalling resolutions 1160 (1998), 1199 (1998), 1203 (1998) and 1239 (1999), authorised an international civil and military presence in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and established the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). It followed an agreement by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević to terms proposed by President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari and former Prime Minister of Russia Viktor Chernomyrdin on 8 June, involving withdrawal of all Yugoslav state forces from Kosovo.
The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (VDPA) is a human rights declaration adopted by consensus at the World Conference on Human Rights on 25 June 1993 in Vienna, Austria. The position of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights was recommended by this Declaration and subsequently created by General Assembly Resolution 48/141.
Stabilisation Tracking Mechanism is the mirror instrument of the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP) for Kosovo. Kosovo, a disputed province of Serbia under international administration that in 2008 unilaterally declared independence and received partial recognition, still not having a final status, was not able to commence with SAP. To ensure that the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG) follow EU-compatible practices in the political, economic and sectoral reform process, UNMIK and the European Commission agreed that an instrument was needed to monitor and drive the process. Although developments within Kosovo are not only a matter of reform, it was deemed profitable for the PISG and UNMIK to follow the methodology and substance of the SAP and thus avoid isolation from the mainstream of European integration.
The Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Kosovo or PISG are local administrative bodies in Kosovo that were established by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) during the period that the United Nations was directly responsible for the governance of Kosovo.
The political status of Kosovo, also known as the Kosovo question, is the subject of a long-running political and territorial dispute between the Serbian government and the Government of Kosovo, stemming from the breakup of Yugoslavia (1991–92) and the ensuing Kosovo War (1998–99). In 1999, the administration of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija was handed on an interim basis to the United Nations under the terms of UNSCR 1244 which ended the Kosovo conflict of that year. That resolution reaffirmed the territorial integrity of Serbia over Kosovo but required the UN administration to promote the establishment of 'substantial autonomy and self-government' for Kosovo pending a 'final settlement' for negotiation between the parties.
The Constitution of Kosovo is the supreme law of the Republic of Kosovo, a territory of unresolved political status. Article four of the constitution establishes the rules and separate powers of the three branches of the government. The unicameral Assembly of the Republic exercises the legislative power, the executive branch led by the President and the Prime Minister which are responsible for implementing laws and the judicial system headed by the Supreme Court.
The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) was a Geneva-based international non-governmental organisation founded in 1994 by Scott Leckie as a foundation in the Netherlands.
The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, known as EULEX Kosovo or simply as EULEX, is the largest civilian mission ever launched under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) of the European Union. EULEX supports selected Kosovo rule of law institutions on their path towards increased effectiveness, sustainability, multi-ethnicity and accountability, free from political interference and in full compliance with international human rights standards and best European practices through monitoring activities and limited executive functions with the aim of handing over remaining tasks to other long-term EU instruments and phasing out residual executive functions. The Mission's mandate covered the period until 14 June 2020 based on Council Decision CFSP 2018/856 and has been extended to 14 June 2021 by Council Decision CFSP 2020/792. EULEX works within the framework of UN Security Council Resolution 1244.
The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence, which proclaimed the Republic of Kosovo to be a state independent from Serbia, was adopted at a meeting held on 17 February 2008 by 109 out of the 120 members of the Assembly of Kosovo, including the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, and by the President of Kosovo, Fatmir Sejdiu. It was the second declaration of independence by Kosovo's Albanian-majority political institutions; the first was proclaimed on 7 September 1990.
The Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, commonly known as Kosovo and abbreviated to Kosmet or KiM, is an autonomous province defined by the Constitution of Serbia that occupies the southernmost part of Serbia. 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. Its claimed administrative capital and largest city is Pristina.
The accession of Kosovo to the European Union (EU) is on the current agenda for future enlargement of the EU. Kosovo is currently recognized by the EU as a potential candidate for accession.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representation in Cyprus is an office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) opened in August 1974 upon the request of the Government of Cyprus and the Secretary-General of the United Nations. UNHCR Representation in Cyprus was designated as Coordinator of the United Nations Humanitarian Assistance for Cyprus. UNHCR was also responsible upon the request of the Cyprus Government to examine applications for refugee status.
Accordance with International Law of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in Respect of Kosovo was a request in 2008 for an advisory opinion referred to the International Court of Justice by the United Nations General Assembly regarding the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence. The territory of Kosovo is the subject of a dispute between Serbia and the Republic of Kosovo established by the declaration. This was the first case regarding a unilateral declaration of independence to be brought before the court.
The Governance of Kosovo operates in the context of the disputed territory of Kosovo.
Egyptian–Kosovan relations are foreign relations between Egypt and Kosovo.
Kosovar civil society has had many incarnations since the early 1990s. It is a product of the occupation of the Kosovo province by the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia through 1999, then expanded when the Republic of Kosovo was under UNMIK and KFOR control, and now how it has evolved since the unilateral declaration of independence on February 17, 2008. It consists of the former civil society organizations from before the 1999 conflict, the local NGOs that came about post conflict, and the international NGOs that have either dispersed money or opened local branches within Kosovo.
Armenia was admitted into the United Nations on 2 March 1992, following its independence from the Soviet Union. In December 1992, the UN opened its first office in Yerevan. Since then, Armenia has signed and ratified several international treaties. There are 20 specialized agencies, programs, and funds operating in the country under the supervision of the UN Resident Coordinator. Armenia strengthened its relations with the UN by cooperating with various UN agencies and bodies such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Food Programme, and with the financial institutions of the UN. Armenia is a candidate to preside as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2031.
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