On 10 June 1999, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1244 authorizing the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to begin the long process of building peace, democracy, stability and self-government in the shattered province.

To achieve this goal, UNMIK has been acting as the transitional administration for the region. Working closely with Kosovo's leaders and citizens, the mission performs the whole spectrum of essential administrative functions and services covering such areas as health and education, banking and finance, post and telecommunications, and law and order.

The first phase of civil registration was completed throughout Kosovo in mid-July 2000, forming the basis of an electoral roll for municipal elections that were held successfully on 28 October. Together with a Kosovo-wide election expected in 2001, this paves the way for self-government.

[Missing and Detained Persons] [Returnees] [Reviving Kosovo's Judiciary]

Background

In a first-ever operation of its kind, UNMIK initially brought together four “pillars” under United Nations leadership. With the emergency stage over, Pillar I (humanitarian assistance), led by the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), was phased out at the end of June 2000. the other pillars are:

• Pillar II: Civil Administration, under the United Nations
  
• Pillar III: Democratization and Institution Building, led by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
  
• Pillar IV: Reconstruction and Economic Development, managed by the European Union (EU)

This unique partnership has made it possible for the mission to set in motion the development of Kosovo's democratic institutions and lay the foundations for medium and long-term social and economic reconstruction even while the urgent phase of humanitarian assistance and emergency relief was taking place.

The head of UNMIK is the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo (SRSG). As the most senior international civilian official in Kosovo, he presides over the work of the pillars and facilitates the political process designed to determine Kosovo's future status. The civilian executive powers come from the UN Security Council, which also authorized an international military presence, KFOR (Kosovo Force).

UNMIK's Tasks

The international community has called upon UNMIK to:

• perform basic civilian administrative functions;
  
• promote the establishment of substantial autonomy and self-government in Kosovo;
  
• facilitate a political process to determine Kosovo's future status;
  
• coordinate humanitarian and disaster relief of all international agencies;
  
• support the reconstruction of key infrastructure;
  
• maintain civil law and order;
  
• promote human rights; and
  
• assure the safe and unimpeded return of all refugees and displaced persons to their homes in Kosovo.

To obtain early results on these tasks UNMIK set up a regional structure with five Regional Administrators and 30 Municipal Administrators. It established central departments to administer public services (education, health, garbage collection etc), which were subsequently converted into Kosovo-wide Administrative Departments in the JIAS system (see below). One key department, the Central Fiscal Authority prepared the Kosovo Consolidated Budget. The internationally recruited UNMIK Police, later in conjunction with the newly founded Kosovo Police Service, sought to maintain law and order. A Kosovo Protection Corps was created to provide emergency response and reconstruction services, thereby absorbing the energies some of the manpower of the former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which had meanwhile been disarmed and demilitarized under the supervision of KFOR.

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UNMIK-JIAS
Joint Interim Administrative Structure

[Joint Interim Adminstrative Structure] [Interim Administrative Council] [KosovoTransitional Council] [Central Fiscal Authority]

To inject an immediate stabilization measure into the post-conflict situation, UNMIK's first pressing task in June 1999 was to re-establish and deliver central and municipal administrative services. Six months later, on 15 December 1999, the mission set up the Joint Interim Administrative Structure (JIAS) as a means for sharing that responsibility. Local counterparts for administering the province were appointed (later, at municipal level, elected) representatives of a broad cross-section of Kosovar society. This enabled full involvement of minority groups in the decision-making processes, especially those concerned with preparations for elections. By February 2000, JIAS had officially replaced all previous parallel security and administrative structures. By end-2000, elected Municipal Assemblies with Presidents, Deputies, Chief Executive Officers and mandatory committees on Policy and Finance, Communities, and Mediation were in place in most municipalities.

The interaction between UMMIK and the various components of JIAS is as follows:

• JIAS is headed by the Office of the SRSG.
  
• The Kosovo Transitional Council (KTC), the highest-level consultative body of JIAS, provides Kosovo-wide oversight. Its 36 members are a microcosm of Kosovo’s political, religious, ethnic and civic communities. The KTC’s weekly discussions about day-to-day concerns of Kosovars serve as a testing ground for democratic procedures and tolerance-building.
  
• The Interim Advisory Council (IAC) serves as an advisory cabinet for the SRSG and as an executive board for the JIAS. It makes recommendations to the SRSG to amend applicable law and frame new regulations. It also proposes policy guidelines for the 20 Administrative Departments.
  
• Each of the 20 Administrative Departments, each led by two Co-Heads, one Kosovar and one UNMIK international staff. Under a formula designed to reflect the diversity in Kosovo, the local Co-Head positions are shared among the three main Albanian political parties, three national communities (Serb, Bosniac and Turk) and an independent.
  
• At the Local level, 30 Municipal Assemblies were elected on 28 October 2000. In compliance with UNMIK regulations and supervised by their respective UNMIK municipal administrators, they subsequently appointed professionally qualified Chief Executive Officers and members of their Municipal Boards.
  
• The Municipal Boards act as the executive bodies at the local level and are responsible for the day-to-day running of services.
  
• UNMIK Administrators represent the SRSG and ensure compliance with UNMIK regulations and Security Council resolution 1244.
  

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