OSCE Mission in Kosovo

1. Basic Decisions

Establishment:

• Permanent Council Decision No. 305, 1 July 1999.

Terms of Reference:

• Permanent Council Decision No. 218, 11 March 1998.
• Permanent Council Decision No. 259, 15 October 1998.
• NATO-FRY Agreement, 15 October 1998.
• OSCE-FRY Agreement, 16 October 1998.
• Permanent Council Decision No. 263, 25 October 1998. Interpretative statement under paragraph 79 (Chapter 6) of the Final Recommendations of the Helsinki Consultations.
• Permanent Council Decision No. 265, 5 November 1998.
• Permanent Council Decision No. 266, 11 November 1998.
• United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999;
• UNSG Report, 12 June 1999 (S/1999/672);
• Permanent Council Decision No. 305, 1 July 1999.
• Exchange of Letters between Ambassador Kim Traavik, Head of OSCE Department, Norwegian Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Bernard Miyet, USG UN Department for Peace-Keeping Operations (DPKO) 19 July 1999.

2. Tasks

Decision No. 305 of 1 July 1999 by the Permanent Council refers to the framework of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 and to the report by the Secretary-General of the United Nations of 12 June 1999. It states that the OSCE will contribute to the implementation of UNSC Resolution 1244, in particular the relevant parts of operative paragraph 11 of this resolution.

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo (OMIK) was established effective from 1 July 1999. The OSCE Mission in Kosovo constitutes a distinct component, or 'pillar', within the overall framework of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo, within this overall framework, takes the lead role in matters relating to Human Resources Capacity and Institution Building and Human Rights. It cooperates closely with other relevant organizations - intergovernmental and, as appropriate, non-governmental - in the planning and implementation of its tasks.

Decision No. 305 establishes that the OSCE Mission in Kosovo will concentrate its work in the following interrelated areas:

1. Human resources capacity-building, including the training of a new Kosovo police service within a Kosovo Police School which it will establish and operate, the training of judicial personnel and the training of civil administrators at various levels, in co-operation, inter alia, with the Council of Europe;
2. Democratization and governance, including the development of a civil society, non governmental organizations, political parties and local media;
3. Organization and supervision of elections; 
4. Monitoring, protection and promotion of human rights, including, inter alia, the
   establishment of an Ombudsman institution, in co-operation , inter alia, with the UNHCR; 
5. Such tasks which may be requested by the Secretary-General of the United Nations or his Special Representative, which are consistent with the UNSC Resolution 1244 and approved by the Permanent Council.

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo will in its work be guided by the importance of bringing about mutual respect and reconciliation among all ethnic groups in Kosovo and of establishing a viable multi-ethnic society where the rights of each citizen are fully and equally respected.

3. Deployment

The present OSCE Mission in Kosovo was preceded by the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission (KVM) and the Task Force for Kosovo (cf. under Chapter V. Closed Missions).

On 1 July 1999 the Task Force for Kosovo was dissolved and replaced by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo (OMIK) by PC.DEC/305.

4. Duration

In its Decision No. 382, on 20 November 2000, the Permanent Council decided to extend the mandate of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo for one year until 10 December 2001.

Subsequent prolongations were decided at

- 372nd PC Meeting, PC.DEC/449, 10 December 2001: until 31 December 2002;
- 426th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/515, 12 December 2002: until 31 December 2003;
- 488th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/584, 18 December 2003: until 31 December 2004;
- 538th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/646, 16 December 2004: until 31 December 2005;
- 580th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/693, 17 November 2005: until 31 December 2006;
- 642th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/765, 14 December 2006: until 31 December 2007;
- 694th PC Meeting, PC.DEC/835, 21 December 2007: until 31 January 2008*.

*After this the Mission's mandate will be extended at the end of every month for a one month period unless one of the Participating States objects it in writing to the Chairperson of the Permanent Council.

5. Composition

The structure of the OSCE Mission to Kosovo is based on the concept of a Senior Management Group consisting of the Head of Mission, Deputy Head of Mission,  Directors of the three substantive Departments and of Administration. The three substantive Departments are Monitoring, Assistance and Public Safety.

The Head and Deputy Head of Mission are supported by an Office of the Head of Mission, which includes a Press and Public Information Office, a Legal Affairs Office, a Mission Auditor and Security and Safety Office.

The Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo (since October 2007) is Ambassador Tim Guldimann of Switzerland. Ambassador Guldimann, like the other UNMIK Pillar Heads, also serves as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations (DSRSG).

The Mission Headquarters is located in Pristina and the Mission has a strong field presence with eight OSCE Offices, which allows it to cover effectively all 30 existing municipalities plus the three so-called pilot municipalities in Kosovo. The total number of international staff is 262.

6. Financial implications

The OSCE Unified Budget for 2007, adopted on 2 February 2007, PC.DEC/780, established the budget of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo at EUR 35,163,700. The budget for 2008 is still pending adoption. Meanwhile an allotment of EURO 7,500,000 was made available to the Mission for its operation over the first three months of 2008.