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Independent International Commission
on Kosovo (the "Commission")
 

Mission Statement

The Independent International Commission on Kosovo will examine key developments prior to, during and after the Kosovo war, including systematic violations of human rights in the region. The Commission will present a detailed, objective analysis of the options that were available to the international community to cope with the crisis. It will focus on the origins of the Kosovo crisis, the diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, the role of the United Nations and Nato's decision to intervene militarily. It will examine the resulting refugee crisis including the responses of the international community to resolve the crisis. The effect of the conflict on regional and other states will also be examined. Furthermore, the Commission will assess the role of humanitarian workers, NGOs and the media during the Kosovo war. Finally, the Commission will identify the norms of international law and diplomacy brought to the fore by the Kosovo war and the adequacy of present norms and institutions in preventing or responding to comparable crises in the future.

Analysis of Human Rights Violations in Kosovo

The Commission is conducting a basic compilation and analysis of human rights violations in Kosovo from 1974-1999. One component of the analysis is a description of the magnitude, patterns and perpetrators of the violations. This information will be used by the Commission to draw conclusions in its final report.

The Commission has selected Charles Rudnick, Assistant Dean of International Law and Policy Development at Chicago-Kent College of Law and Scott Carlson, Program Director, RIGHTS Consortium of ABA's Central and East European Law Initiative (ABA/CEELI) to serve as coordinators and drafters of this chapter of the report. The War Crimes Documentation Project Legal Team is assisting the Commission in this portion of its analysis.

The Commission's final report will contain the following chapters:

I. The Origins of the Kosovo Crisis
II. Examining Human Rights Violations and the Refugee Crisis
III. Role of the UN and NATO's Decision for Military Intervention
IV. The Role of Humanitarian Workers, NGO's and the Media during the Kosovo War
V. The Consequence of the Kosovo Conflict on Neighboring Countries
VI. Lessons Learned in Preventing and Responding to Comparable Crisis

Listed below are various human rights organizations, international groups and local human rights organizations who may contribute data to the Commission for analysis.

  1. AAAS/IPLS
  2. ABA/CEELI
  3. Human Rights Watch
  4. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
  5. Amnesty International
  6. Government of Macedonia (Border Crossing Data)
  7. International Crisis Group
  8. Medicins Sans Frontieres
  9. Organizations for Security and Cooperation in Europe
  10. Physicians for Human Rights
  11. Humanitarian Law Center
  12. Council for Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms
  13. Serbian Helsinki Committee
  14. Kosovo Helsinki Committee
  15. Albanian Human Rights Group
  16. Independent Student Union
  17. Center for the Protection of Women and Children
  18. Mother Theresa Society
  19. Center for Human Right

 

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Chicago-Kent College of Law The Rule of Law Through Technology Initiative
is an Interprofessional Project (IPRO) of
Chicago-Kent College of Law,
Illinois Institute of Technology

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