United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
Officially mandated mission of the United Nations in Kosovo / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is the officially mandated mission of the United Nations in Kosovo.[lower-alpha 1] 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."[2]
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) | |
|---|---|
 Kosovo – the area encompassed by the black dashed line – as delineated by UN Security Council Resolution 1244. | |
| Status | United Nations mission |
| Capital | Pristina |
| Government | |
| Caroline Ziadeh | |
• KFOR commander | Major General Guglielmo Luigi Miglietta (NATO) |
• EULEX head | Gabriele Meucci (EU) |
| Establishment | |
10 June 1999 | |
| May 2001 | |
• EULEX | 16 February 2008 |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) |
 | |
| Abbreviation | UNMIK |
|---|---|
| Formation | 10 June 1999 |
| Type | Special observational mission |
| Legal status | Active de jure |
| Headquarters | Pristina, Kosovo |
Head | Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo Caroline Ziadeh[1] |
Parent organization | United Nations Security Council |
 |
|---|
| Constitution and law |
The UNMIK was established pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1244,[3][4] which was passed on 10 June 1999.[5] The Resolution authorised an international civil and military presence in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.[6][7] In that Resolution, the UN decided to "[deploy] in Kosovo, under United Nations auspices, [an] international civil and security [presence]".
The Assembly of Kosovo adopted the declaration of independence on 17 February 2008;[8][9] Kosovo Serb parliamentarians boycotted the session. The declaration violates the eighth article of the Constitution of Serbia.[10] Hence, it is illegal in Serbian constitutional law.
The UNMIK still exists today, but its day-to-day functions are relatively minor since Kosovo declared independence and adopted a new constitution,[11] and following the creation of the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), which itself operates within the framework of Security Council Resolution 1244.[12][13] EULEX assists and supports the Kosovo authorities in the rule of law area, specifically in the police, judiciary and customs areas.[14][15] In September 2012, international supervision ended,[16] and Kosovo became responsible for its own governance.[17]
Kosovo is the subject of a long-running political and territorial dispute between the Serbian (and previously, the Yugoslav) government and Kosovo's largely ethnic Albanian population. Public opinion polls indicate that a clear majority of the Kosovo's population support Kosovo's independence. [18] Internationally, 114 of the United Nations 193 member states (including a majority of European countries) have recognised Kosovo's independence, but 13 countries have later been reported to have revoked their recognition.
The head of the UNMIK is the Special Representative of the Secretary-General ('SRSG') and is appointed by the Secretary-General under the advice of UN member states. Caroline Ziadeh was appointed SRSG in November 2021[1] and arrived in Kosovo in January 2022.[19]