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United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 authorized an international civil and military presence in Kosovo, then part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, placing it under interim UN administration. It was adopted on 10 June 1999. Both sides in the conflict subsequently adopted it in the Kumanovo Treaty. The Assembly of Kosovo declared independence on 17 February 2008.
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The main effects of Resolution 1244 were to:
- Place Kosovo under interim UN administration (currently performed by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK);
- Authorize a NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo (currently performed by the Kosovo Force, KFOR);
- Allow for the return of an agreed number of Yugoslav and Serbian personnel to maintain a presence at Serbian Patrimonial sites and key border crossings. (not implemented in practice);
- Direct UNMIK to establish provisional institutions of local self-government in Kosovo (currently the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government, PISG);
- Reaffirm the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e., Kosovo remains part of the FRY, to which Serbia is now the recognized successor state [1]) and the other States of the region, as set out in the Helsinki Final Act and annex 2 of UNSCR 1244 (an annex that envisions, inter alia, a Kosovo status process);
- Require the UN to assure the safe and unimpeded return of all refugees and displaced persons to their homes in Kosovo and to ensure conditions for a peaceful and normal life for all inhabitants of the province;
- Require that the KLA and other armed Kosovo Albanian groups be demilitarized;
- Authorize the United Nations to facilitate a political process to determine Kosovo's future status.
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Reference to the Article 1 of the Helsinki Accord places high value on the Sovereignty of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with Kosovo recognized as an autonomous province. In a similar fashion the references to autonomy in 1244 articles points to a final goal of essentially returning Kosovo to the pre-1999 status of autonomous province within the Serbian legal framework. In this, the resolution is a partial success.
Serbia has recognized the region as an Autonomous Province within the modifications to the Serbian constitution in 2006, fundamentally in line with the security council resolution. However, actions by NATO allied permanent Security Council Members in the recognition of full independence of Kosovo is a step back from the Resolution, setting a precedent for breaking of not just 1244 but all documents it refers to (including the Helsinki Accord).
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