On this day 27 years ago, Resolution 1199 was adopted

On this day 27 years ago, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1199, which called for a ceasefire between Serbian security forces and Kosovo Albanians, the implementation of measures to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe, and the continuation of negotiations to end the Kosovo crisis.

This resolution followed less than six months after the earlier Resolution 1160, which imposed an arms embargo and economic sanctions on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). At that time, the Security Council condemned violence by Serbian police against peaceful demonstrators, but also acts of terrorism by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), while calling on the Yugoslav leadership to seek a political solution to the Kosovo conflict and on Kosovo Albanians to denounce terrorist acts and pursue their goals by peaceful means.

The same demands for a political solution and the condemnation of terrorist actions were reiterated in the text of Resolution 1199. The Security Council also expressed concern over intensified fighting in Kosovo and what it described as excessive use of force by Serbian police and the Yugoslav Army, which had resulted in numerous civilian casualties and the displacement of about 230,000 people from their homes.

Through Resolution 1199, the Security Council called on the FRY to halt all actions by its security forces against the civilian population and to order the withdrawal of all units involved in the repression of civilians.

The resolution required the FRY to allow effective and continuous international monitoring in Kosovo by the European Community Monitoring Mission and diplomatic missions accredited in the FRY, and to cooperate with UNHCR and the International Committee of the Red Cross to facilitate the return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes, as well as to allow unhindered access for humanitarian organizations and aid to Kosovo.

The resolution also highlighted the need for FRY authorities to “bring to justice” members of the security forces who had abused civilians and deliberately destroyed property.

It further noted the commitment of FRY President Slobodan Milosevic to resolve the conflict through political means, to refrain from repressive actions against civilians, to guarantee freedom of movement for international humanitarian organizations and observers, and to ensure the safe return of refugees.

Like all other resolutions concerning Kosovo, Resolution 1199 was based on Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which provides for the possible use of force to establish peace and security.

The resolution concluded with a warning of further actions and additional measures if it were not implemented.

Shortly after Resolution 1199 was adopted, on October 13, 1998, NATO determined that the FRY had not complied with its demands and issued an order for airstrikes against the FRY, scheduled to begin within 96 hours.

On the same day in Belgrade, US envoy Richard Holbrooke reached an agreement with FRY President Slobodan Milosevic on resolving the Kosovo crisis.

Based on this agreement, on October 15, 1998, the Chief of the Yugoslav Army General Staff and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe signed a deal granting NATO free access to the airspace over Kosovo in order to monitor the ceasefire and troop movements on the ground.

The following day, an agreement was signed between the FRY and the OSCE to deploy 2,000 observers to Kosovo. The OSCE mission was tasked with, among other things, verifying compliance with the obligations under UNSC Resolution 1199, monitoring adherence to the ceasefire, investigating reports of violations, and supervising elections in Kosovo to ensure they were open, fair, and free.

By October 24, the UN Security Council had already adopted a new Resolution 1203, demanding FRY’s compliance with Resolution 1199.

After the failed Rambouillet negotiations and NATO’s bombing of the FRY from March to June 1999, the Security Council on June 10 of that year adopted Resolution 1244, following the annulment of previous resolutions on the Kosovo crisis, with the aim of achieving a political settlement, preserving international peace and security, and ensuring the safe return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes. Resolution 1244 remains in force to this day.