Gogic: A Series of unfulfilled promises by the EU and the US shows their powerlessness as mediators

Political analyst Ognjen Gogic told Kosovo Online that the promises made by the EU and the US—acting as guarantors in the dialogue—that there would be no arrests of Serbs who participated in the barricades in 2022, are just one in a long line of commitments made during the dialogue that were never fulfilled. These promises and guarantees, he believes, now likely carry little weight and are no longer valid, as they were never incorporated into Kosovo’s legal framework.

"A promise is only as good as its legal foundation. When such guarantees are given, they must quickly be translated into legal norms. In the past, even during armed conflicts in the region, general amnesty was granted for participation in rebellions, but individuals were later prosecuted for human rights violations or serious crimes they had committed. There could have been a general amnesty from criminal prosecution for participation in the barricades, and Kosovo’s competent institutions could have adopted a legal act granting such a guarantee. Anything short of that, as we now see, was an empty promise," Gogic explained.

He also questioned the form in which the guarantees were given, noting that had they been issued in writing, a document would likely exist and the international community would have, early on, negotiated with the Kosovo government to incorporate them into its legal system.

"As it stands, there’s no one in the international community now willing to say they oppose the judiciary initiating proceedings, as that would appear to be interference in the judicial system. It’s unrealistic to expect them to call for halting ongoing legal proceedings now that they’ve already begun. These guarantees should have been used earlier, so Kosovo could have adopted measures in time that would have rendered the issue moot," said Gogic.

He pointed out that there have been far too many unfulfilled promises by the EU and the US as dialogue guarantors for these guarantees to be viewed in isolation.

"All of this illustrates their inability as mediators. They acted here as mediators capable of ensuring the fulfillment of obligations undertaken—but that didn’t happen," he emphasized.

Beyond the broken promises made to participants in the barricade protests, Gogic added that other developments in Kosovo point to serious human rights violations.

"Kosovo’s institutions—primarily the police—are seriously undermining the legal order, legal certainty, and violating human rights. This is now a far more serious issue that needs to be internationalized. Serbia should raise this issue through diplomatic channels, both bilaterally with individual countries and through international human rights organizations. What is taking place here is institutional legal violence: laws are being arbitrarily interpreted and powers are being abused to violate human rights. This issue is so serious that it transcends the matter of the guarantees," concluded Gogic.