Yugoslavia: Areas in Kosovo where ethnic Serbs are a majority; situation of this population in Kosovo; state protection (2001-2002)

Estimates of the Kosovo-Serbian minority in Kosovo are between 60,000-100,000 persons (The Washington Post 29 July 2001) and 97,000 (IHF 8 May 2002, 386). The Alternative Information Network (AIM) noted that Serbian population statistics "are never precise because they either do not exist or are falsified in most cases" (13 Nov. 2001). A number of ethnic Serbian enclaves are mentioned among the sources consulted, including central-Pristina, northern Mitrovica, (Counterpunch 20 June 2002), Grachanica, Gjilan, Vitina, Kamenica, Shterpce, Obiliq, Fushe, Kosove, Lipljan and Rahovec (IHF 8 May 2002, 386).

According to the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF), despite positive developments regarding the situation of minority Serbs in Kosovo and individual security in general, a lack of rule of law in 2002 has

resulted in insufficient overall security, particularly for Serbs and Roma, and was reflected primarily in the curtailment of their freedom of movement, as well as politically motivated violence and hostility. The latter problems, however, occurred on a significantly lower scale than in previous years. ...

According to the UNMIK [United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo], in 2001, there were 136 cases of violent deaths or killings, i.e. almost 50% less than in 2000. Of the 136 deaths, 92 were Albanians, 32 Serbs and the rest represented other ethnic groups. While the KHC [Kosovo Helsinki Committee] assumed that most of the killings were related to ordinary crimes, it indicated that 64 were somehow inter-ethnically motivated: 36 deaths of Albanians (56%), 22 of Serbs (34%), and 6 of Roma (9%), affecting Serbs and Roma disproportionately. Eight victims were killed due to land mines, including three KFOR [North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Kosovo Force] soldiers. Most cases of death remained unresolved (8 May 2002, 382-383).

In Kosovo, the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in for Kosovo described minorities' limited freedom of movement as becoming "a fact of life" (AIM 13 Nov. 2001). UNMIK press spokesman Barry Fletcher characterized the situation as being one of "apartheid" (Counterpunch 20 June 2002). While UNMIK and KFOR once provided escort services to protect ethnic minorities, these were curtailed in October 2002 because they United Nations authorities considered them to created undue attention and further restrict minorities' freedom of movement (OCHA 31 Oct. 2002).

In 2001, HRW described violence toward minorities and particularly violence against Serbs and Roma returning from Serbia and other neighbouring countries, as "increasingly focused and sophisticated" (2002). Writing in 2001, The Washington Post noted that "[b]ombings, grenade attacks, house-burnings and other forms of intimidation remain daily events in Kosovo, most of them aimed at driving out the estimated 60,000 to 100,000 remaining members of the minority Serb population (29 July 2001). Human Rights Watch estimated that approximately "1,000 Serbs and Gypsies have been killed or [have] disappeared" since Serb forces withdrew from Kosovo in June 1999 (AFP 26 Oct. 2001). Recent examples of security issues affecting ethnic Serbs include according to the United Nations three suspicious explosions at a minority occupied house in Northern Mitrovica and a mob attack against 50 elderly Serbs at Peja regional UNMIK headquarters (OCHA 31 Oct. 2002). For major events in 2001 affecting ethnic Serb security, please consult the excerpt from the IHF's Human Rights in the OSCE Region: the Balkans, The Caucasus, Europe, Central Asia and North America attached to this Response.

According to Barry Fletcher of UNMIK, should the international presence leave Kosovo, the situation would revert to a security situation like that of 1999; although, now with the Albanians as the dominant ethnic group perpetrating the ethnic cleansing (Counterpunch 20 July 2002). The Washington Post has argued that NATO and the United Nations have failed to "make all citizens safe" in part because information is not being shared between NATO security forces and Kosovo police (29 July 2001). In addition, the report also alleged that Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) members, who are mandated to provide emergency civil service, are complicit in attacks against ethnic Serbs (ibid.).

Both KFOR and UN police forces provide protection for minority Serb populated enclaves in Kosovo (AIM 13 Nov. 2001; Counterpunch 20 June 2002; IHF 8 May 2002, 386). A Serbian political administration in Mitrovica, parallel to the UN monitored Kosovo administration was referred to in a recent OCHA report (31 Oct. 2002), and the IHF further noted that

Serb judges and judicial personnel generally rejected jobs within the Kosovar judicial system and set up a parallel Serbian judiciary in Serbian enclaves in Kosovo. This happened despite the fact that the international administration and its Department of Justice supported the idea of minority judges and prosecutors being incorporated into the existing system, permitting them to have a full and active role in the delivery of justice in a fair and impartial manner (8 May 2002, 385).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence France Presse (AFP). 26 October 2001. "Kosovo Atrocities Ordered from the Top: Human Rights Watch." (NEXIS)

Alternative Information Network (AIM) [Paris]. 13 November 2001. "Minority Rights in Kosovo - The Lowest in Europe." [Accessed 16 Dec. 2002]

Counterpunch [Petrolia, California]. 20 June 2002. James T. Phillips. "Serbian Reservations." [Accessed 16 Dec. 2002]

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 2002. Human Rights Watch World Report 2002. [Accessed 16 Dec. 2002]

International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF). 8 May 2002. Human Rights in the OSCE Region: The Balkans, the Caucasus, Europe, Central Asia and North America. "Kosovo." [Accessed 16 Dec. 2002]

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). 31 October 2002. "Kosovo Humanitarian Update Sep-Oct 2002." (Reliefweb) [Accessed 16 Dec. 2002]

The Washington Post. 29 July 2001. R. Jeffrey Smith. "Rule of Law Is Elusive in Kosovo; U.N., NATO Criticized for Inaction on Violence." (NEXIS)

Attachment

International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF). 8 May 2002. Human Rights in the OSCE Region: the Balkans, The Caucasus, Europe, Central Asia and North America. "Kosovo." pp. 386-387. [Accessed 16 Dec. 2002]

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB Databases

Internet sites, including:

Balkan Human Rights Web

International Crisis Group

Kosovo Helsinki Committee

Relief Web

US Office in Pristina