UNMIK

By Lila Burkle

Wednesday 19 June started off with breakfast at the motel near the lake in the north, where we stayed only one night in. Half of the group went to another motel nearby ,the night before so it was also the time we met them again. Right after, we hopped on the UN bus that escorted us back through the streets of Mitrovica. We headed to the United Nations Interim Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) regional office. Greeted by UN staff, we waited for the deputy head of mission, then moved into the conference room for the meeting.

For 25 years, UNMIK has been responsible for the peacekeeping operation in Kosovo, in accordance with the legitimacy conferred by UN Security Council Resolution 1244, a sentence they made sure to repeat as students asked about their mission’s achievements. As a pillar of international administration, UNMIK is working alongside the EU, the UNHCR and the OSCE to re-establish institutions in a context of post-conflict state collapse. As we studied the organization’s role in the reconciliation process at the beginning of the month, we were all eager to ask about the specifics of how they promote democracy and human rights in the region. However, the group left the meeting quite frustrated and confused as the representatives struggled to address questions deemed too ambitious. Many felt their questions were ignored or dismissed, as the spokesperson suggested that they should ask them at a higher level, specifically at headquarters in Pristina.

Initially intervening in a country deprived of the rule of law and where the state institutions are relatively weak, UNMIK inevitably imposed themselves, causing a public opinion not always favorable to their intervention. Most of the time, the support of the public opinion is not unanimous in such contexts. Therefore, we wanted to explore this aspect to get a deeper understanding of how the organization is perceived in the region. However, the deputy head of mission couldn't really describe any negative perceptions or challenges that they had encountered. Actually, the only flaw that was mentioned was the organization’s excessive competitiveness due to its attractiveness. Their ambiguity made us skeptical about the efficiency of their mission.

 

Following all the meetings we had during the week, we noticed that civil society organizations were the main factors driving change in Kosovar society. As I was filming a documentary with other students from the group during the whole trip, I also engaged with many young people on the streets who shared that they don’t really see Kosovo as divided, highlighting an urge to move on from the conflict and its aftermath.

 

We finished the day by having dinner with the whole group, as we do every evening, then having a drink in a local bar to reflect on this eventful day and share some last moments with the group before our last day in Kosovo.