The Lansdowne Declaration
We, the individuals identified below, gathered
at Lansdowne Center in Virginia, September 9-13, 1999, with the
facilitation of a team assembled by the United States Institute
of Peace, have reached consensus on a framework of basic principles,
practices and procedures to help guide Kosova during and after
its transition to democratic self-rule.
Representing a broad spectrum of Kosovar Albanian
leadership from civil society groups, political movements, humanitarian
and professional institutions, we commend these results to our
people. We appeal to the international community to reflect upon
and respect the fruits of our deliberations. And we underscore
the sincerity of our stance favouring a plural society which welcomes
all Kosovars.
We state the determination of the people and
political forces of Kosova to achieve:
— the liberation of all those citizens
of Kosova detained and imprisoned illegally, as well as those
who have been illegally subject to judicial processing;
— the liberation of those kept in Serbia
as hostages, many of whom are children;
— the accounting for all missing persons;
— and the prosecution of war crimes.
Protection of those who bear judicial witness
to war crimes is of equal importance. We pledge our cooperation
with those outside Kosova who share these aims and we demand the
full cooperation of relevant international organisations. Finally,
we would take this occasion to express our profound thanks to
the US Government and people for their support and to the United
States Institute of Peace for its professional conduct of the
meetings.
The pages below are organised under the headings
of Political Process; Strengthening Civil Society; and Economic
Reconstruction, Revitalisation and Reform, in accordance with
the structure of our deliberations at Lansdowne.
LANSDOWNE WORKSHOP
PARTICIPANTS
Journalists
Aferdita Kelmendi (Director of Radio/TV 21), Baton
Haxhiu (Chief Editor, Koha Ditore), Shaban Arifaj (journalist),
Dukagnin Gorani (journalist), Gani Dili (journalist, women's issues).
Independent
Ylber Hysa (head of Kosova Associations for
Civic Initiatives), Mahmut Bakalli (head of Kosovo media board).
United Democratic League (LBD)
Bajram Kosumi, Mehmet Hajrizi, Hyadet Hyseni
Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK)
Naim Jerliu, Edita Tahiri, Bujar Bukoshi, Alush
Gashi
Party of Democratic Unity (PBD)
Bardyhl Mahmuti, Shaban Shala, Jakup Krasniqi
Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK)
Hashim Thaqi, Rame Buja, Fatmir Limaj, Azem
Syla, Zhavit Haliti
Non-governmental organisations and activists
Palok Berisha (Mother Teresa Society), Xheraldina
Vula (Radio 21, Women's NGO), Sevdije Ahmeti (Director, Organisation
for Protection of Women and Children), Marte Palokaj (Mother Teresa
Society), Edi Shukriu (activist, women's issues, president of
LDK Women's Forum), Vjosa Dobruna (Doctor, Organisation for Protection
of Women and Children), Shkelzen Maliqi (Analyst, Open Society
Institute), Pajazit Nushi (Council for the Protection of Human
Rights and Freedom), Arben Koca (chairman of youth council in
Skenderaj), Ariana Xerxa (Humanitarian Law Fund)
Economists
Riza Sapunhaxiu (economist, formerly Kosovska
Bank, World Bank), Shefqet Cana (Joint Kosovo Bank), Ahmet Shala
(Professor of Economics), Muhamet Mustafa (Riinvest)
Local Officials
Bajram Rexhepi (Mayor of Mitrovica), Adem Bajri
(attorney, Peja), Ardian Gjini (Vice Mayor of Gjakova)
US Participants
Conference Chair
Chester Crocker, Chairman of Board of Directors of
the US Institute of Peace (USIP)
Conference Advisor
Harriet Hentges, Executive Vice President, USIP
Conference Director
Dan Serwer, Director of the Balkans Initiative,
USIP
Sub-Group Chairmen
Michael Froman, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign
Relations, Hal Saunders, Director of International Affairs, Kettering
Foundation, George Ward, Director, Training Program, USIP
Conference Organizers
Burcu Akan, USIP, Kristine Herrmann, USIP, Lauren
VanMetre, USIP, Christina Zechman, USIP
POLITICAL PROCESS
We began by looking forward five to 10 years
into Kosova's future. We decided that the following nine elements
were essential to a future of peace and prosperity for all Kosovars:
— Self-determination based on a referendum
conducted under international auspices;
— The rule of law, under which all
Kosovars will be able to live without fear;
— Under the law, guarantees for human
rights and individual liberties;
— Government institutions that are
responsive and serve the needs of civil society;
— A functional multi-ethnic society
that includes equal opportunity for all;
— A free economic market with protection
for those members of society who are at risk;
— Integration of Kosova into international
institutions;
— An international role that provides
for the protection of Kosovars and their rights; and
— An updated education system that
provides opportunities for advancement to Kosova's most precious
resources, its youth, and contributes to building civil society.
We then agreed to examine five of these categories
in order to identify the institutions and processes that are essential
to their realization.
In order to establish the rule of law, we identified
the need for:
— Agreement on and adherence to a political
code of conduct.
Essential to human rights and individual liberties
are:
— A functioning, unitary judicial system
based on international human rights conventions;
— Enforcement of respect for individual
and collective rights;
— Systematic respect for laws.
In order to develop responsive government institutions,
the following are important:
— Adequate financial resources;
— A professional civil service;
— A functioning, unitary judicial system;
— Effective and democratic police;
— Effective defence of Kosova's territory,
through transformation of the KLA into a national defence force
and integration into the Partnership for Peace.
A functional, multi-ethnic society depends upon:
— Confidence-building measures by government
and civil society;
— Intercommunal dialogue;
— Merit-based employment decisions;
— Where necessary, affirmative action
to ensure minority rights.
An international role involving the United Nations,
OSCE, NATO, the USA and the ICRC is essential to:
— Full implementation of UNSCR 1244
throughout the territory of Kosova;
— Secure the release of prisoners detained
for political reasons;
— Ensure the prosecution of war criminals;
— Protect the safety of those who bear
witness to war crimes and other offences against humanity;
— Defence of the Albanian populations
in Presheva, Bujanoc, and Medvegja, which are exposed to repression,
discrimination, and ethnic cleansing;
— Bearing in mind the temporary absence
of Kosovar political and judicial authorities, the issuance of
new travel and identity documents for the Kosovar people.
As a further step, we agreed to outline the
elements of a political code of conduct. We arrived at the following:
All individuals, political parties, and other
groups should:
— During this transitional period,
resolve to establish, attend, and not boycott a political consultative
forum that, meeting regularly, would be open to all political
forces. The forum would meet and be chaired on a rotational basis.
Its initial meeting would be facilitated by the US Institute of
Peace. The forum would operate in full respect of the legitimate
roles of international organizations.
— Build support for formulas for unified
organs of government and administration based on democratic principles
and international obligations.
— Be guided above all by democratic
values in striving toward the paramount goal of a more prosperous
and secure future for all who live in Kosova.
— Respect pluralism and the fair competition
of political ideas and political programs. Corruption, intimidation,
violence and other pressures are antithetical to democracy and
must be excluded.
— Promote the transparency of the political
process, including party programs, party structures, and party
activities.
— Respect diversity, including the
protection of the identity of minorities (ie, ethnic, confessional,
political, and social groups), ensuring free access to the political
system for the latter. All forms and measures of discrimination
that would endanger the identity of minorities must be rejected.
— Pledge their determination to agree
upon mechanisms for the conduct of democratic elections under
international supervision and resolve to respect the results of
those elections. Elections must be properly prepared with international
support and with due regard to establishment of necessary social
conditions,
— for example, adequate housing. See
also the report on civil society regarding elections.
— Preserve the institutions that have
sustained the people of Kosova during times of difficulty, including
families and non-governmental organizations.
— Actively recognize that the contributions
of women and men to the political process are crucial.
— Extend political debate as widely
as possible in Kosova, support the political parties in regenerating
their programs and organizations to adapt to newly created conditions
and the necessity for a healthy political atmosphere in Kosova.
STRENGTHENING CIVIL
SOCIETY
The Albanian people of Kosova have developed
strong institutions of civil society, although they have not necessarily
used that term. Identifying the elements of those foundations
and naming them as such could be a useful step in strengthening
civil society in the next stage of Kosovar development. Among
those elements, we count those instances in which citizens came
together to accomplish important objectives without the help of
government.
We specifically note the following:
— a growing tradition of citizens taking
personal responsibility over a long historical period, refusing
to bow to repression, protesting openly and organizing underground
and demonstrating a strong will to govern themselves;
— solidarity among Kosovar Albanians
and Albanians in other countries;
— increasing consciousness among Kosovar
Albanians of the importance of education and national culture
for development of a civil society;
— formation of women's NGOs in the
late 1980s with the effect of laying early foundations for civil
society;
— the formation of human rights NGOs;
— establishment of the Mother Teresa
Society in 1990 as a base for assistance when Kosovar Albanians
were forcibly removed from their jobs and lost their incomes and
their right to medical care and health insurance;
— the "alternative structures"
developed by citizen initiative after Kosova's autonomy was suspended
to provide education, medical services and political organisations
to Albanians in Kosova;
— establishment of Radio 21 and TV
21, Radio Koha and TV Koha, Kosova press news agency and Radio
Kosova e Lire as an institution that was active in the war zones;
— deliberate engagement of the Albanians
to end the practice of blood feud and revenge through mediations;
— development of the Students' Independent
Union;
— the actions of some newspapers to
continue publishing despite Belgrade's efforts to stop publication;
— formation of the Kosova Liberation
Army and of a national network of its supporters by conducting
dialogues with citizens in town after town;
— a tradition of tolerance, especially
among different religious traditions;
— creation and gradual increase of
opportunities for citizen assembly.
— development of awareness for protection
of personal rights and liberties.
Despite the emergence of Kosova from under repressive
Serbian rule, obstacles to further development of a broadly based
democratic civil society remain:
— lack of guaranteed security for citizens;
— suspicion or mistrust among present
Kosovar organizations;
— residual "prejudices" from
the period of socialist rule;
— absence of a rule of law and an independent
judiciary;
— absence of a political culture with
a tradition of opposition within the system;
— a mentality of oppression or victimhood
that limits realisation of the full capacities of independence;
— broad ignorance of what civil society
is;
— absence of women from many political
and economic activities, mainly because of the economic and political
situation and partly as a result of a traditionally patriarchal
mentality;
— presence of domestic violence;
— a hostile relationship between Serbs
and Albanians that reflects Serb refusal to acknowledge wrongs
done and a demand that Serbs be held accountable for what they
did;
— limited media workers, equipment,
resources and coverage;
— absence of enough opportunities for
citizens, especially women, to talk together and to learn from
one another;
— actions by international organizations
and some international NGOs that show lack of respect for Kosovar
civil society and confine space for its development;
— the traditional educational curriculum
of the school system, which in its present form is not conducive
to developing civil society; and
— the lack of a census of the population,
including the population in temporary refuge, which would enable
issuing identification cards and travel documents.
Against that background, we propose the following
areas of work and specific projects for developing civil society
in Kosova:
— Reconceptualization of the citizen
as the central political actor in whom ultimate power resides,
in contrast to the former view of the citizen as oppressed or
victimized. This will require significant changes in educational
curricula and projects to increase opportunities for citizens
to experience an effective role in influencing decisions on the
future of their communities.
— A transitional period perceived as
a time interval necessary for establishing democratic institutions
in Kosova as well as other elements that define a civil society.
This will require public and media discussion of the idea of a
transitional period. It will also require a widely agreed timetable
for preparing free and fair elections, including systematic identification
of the necessary steps laying the foundation for that event.
— Broad acceptance of principles and
practices to govern social and political interactions. These include:
resolving differences through dialogue, mediation and other non-violent
means; respect for diverse views; dialogue rather than confrontation
as the norm for communication; mutual respect in rivalry; openness
in dialogue; tolerance; awareness of common interests and differences;
commitment of all individuals; equality of all individuals; keeping
one's word. This will require educational programs and deliberately
developed experiences that model peaceful ways of resolving potential
conflict.
— Creation of opportunities at all
levels of society for dialogue that will identify local needs
and a conscious effort, from that dialogue, to frame the choices
among fundamental social and political philosophies. This will
require active programs to promote community dialogues and to
make them part of normal political life.
— Creation of opportunities in which
relationships among majority and minorities can be healed and
improved and of methods for assuring an appropriate role in social,
economic and political life for minorities and women. This will
require educational institutions, political organizations and
NGOs to make inclusiveness an active part of their programs.
— Encouragement of citizens in playing
the greatest role possible in the revival of the economy. This
will require providing materials for reconstruction of homes and
public facilities and support of small business.
— Legitimation of citizens' work, in
collaboration with security authorities, to enhance local security.
This requires acceptance of local organizations by the authorities.
— Many of these projects require the
rapid creation of normal conditions for the work of the media,
in particular for the independent media. Above all, this requires
urgent creation of an effective telecommunications system in Kosova
and repairing radio and TV systems. This can only be done with
the help of the international community. It requires immediate
collaboration between media organizations and potential funders
to identify technical and program needs, particularly providing
necessary equipment and education of professional journalists
from the younger generation.
— Comprehensive registration of citizens
is essential to holding elections and to all aspects of administering
effective services for citizens.
— Respect for the rights of citizens
to express their free will through referenda on vital social issues
and statehood.
— Adopting and respecting a new legal
framework for NGO operations, for political organization, for
protection of property and the free market, for conservation of
the environment, for protection of minorities and other special
groups such as the physically and mentally handicapped, students
and young people.
We call on the citizens and leaders of Kosova
to contribute in every way possible to development of a strong
civil society and on international organizations to recognize
that this development is critical to developing democracy.
ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION,
REVITALIZATION, AND
REFORM
Kosova faces several challenges on the economic
front. First, it must engage in the immediate reconstruction of
fundamental components of its economy which were damaged or destroyed
during the war. Second, it must revitalize competitive sectors
of its economy where production has severely declined or come
to a halt as a result of both the war and Belgrade's policies
during the 1990's. Third, it must undergo the process of reform
as part of the transition to a market economy. Fourth, it must
put in place institutions and policies to attract foreign investment.
We note that our objective is not to reconstruct pre-war Kosova
or even to recreate pre-1989 Kosova, but to build a new, open,
integrated and free market economy capable of carrying Kosova
into the next century.
RECONSTRUCTION
In addition to the great human and psychological
impact of the war on Kosovars, Kosova suffered significant material
damage during the war in a broad range of sectors. We identify
the following areas as priorities for immediate reconstruction
and, with the winter fast-approaching, call on the international
donor community to focus its efforts on ensuring adequate assistance
and the appropriate distribution of that assistance to areas in
need throughout Kosova:
— Agricultural production
— Educational institutions
We also call on the donor community to develop
a program through which proposals for modest infrastructure projects
for Kosova, including at the level of the local community, can
be funded. Efforts should be made to ensure that reconstruction
is pursued consistent with prudent urban planning. In order to
help restart Kosova's economy, including its construction and
construction materials sectors, we call on the donor community
to use local, Kosovar resources to the greatest degree possible
in the reconstruction effort.
REVITALIZATION
The war greatly damaged Kosova's economy, but
before the war, Kosova's economy suffered from the expropriation
and asset-stripping of major industrial properties. There is an
urgent need to revitalize factories that are idle, mines that
are closed, farms that are lying fallow, and thermoelectric plants
that are operating well below capacity. (This should be done in
a manner consistent with environmental interests.) This is critical
to creating jobs for Kosovars which, in turn, is critical to avoiding
social upheaval.
— Revitalizing these properties will
require outside support, and we call on the donor community to
devote substantial resources to providing the critical inputs
necessary to restart these assets.
However, the most significant obstacle appears
to be uncertainty about who has the authority to make decisions
regarding these assets:
— We call on UNMIK and KFOR to allow
these properties to be revitalized immediately.
— We call on UNMIK to create a process
to resolve as quickly as possible issues regarding the status
of these and other state/socially-owned properties, including
who has the authority—before and after elections—to
make decisions regarding the operation and sale of these assets.
In our view, pre-1989 property rights should be presumed to be
the [ ]
— We call for a process by which transactions
involving state/socially-owned properties during the 1990's, including
transactions involving foreign investors, can be evaluated to
determine their legal status.
REFORM
We strongly recommend to Kosova-wide and international
institutions that Kosova should build its own, open, free market
economy integrated into regional and Euro-Atlantic institutions,
and that this general perspective should define its political,
legislative and administrative orientation. As part of the transition
process, we will privatize major state assets, recognising that
the public sector may have a continuing interest in some of them
and that there are a number of different models for privatisation:
— We support the privatization of major
state assets as soon as possible following elections.
— Before elections, we call on the
political parties and other relevant institutions to work with
Kosovar experts and experts from the international community to
prepare proposed strategies for privatization, including by learning
lessons from other transition economies.
We recognize the importance of creating a well-regulated
banking system and a payments system and believe that that process
should begin as quickly as possible. We note that one of Kosova's
strengths is its small and medium-sized enterprises, including
its family businesses. We believe that Kosova's development strategy
should emphasize this sector and that Kosova should create a strong
network of support for such enterprises, including facilities
to finance their investment.
— Pending the development of a fully-fledged
banking system, we call on the donor community to create as quickly
as possible a development fund which could finance the creation
and expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises as the first
step toward recreating a banking system.
We believe it is important that Kosova develop
a credible fiscal system, including by developing a transparent
and responsible budget and a tax system that, over time, will
provide sufficient revenue to fund the government bodies and the
appropriate scope of government-supported activities.
— In that regard, we recommend that
Kosova take care to develop governmental bodies and government-supported
institutions (eg, health and education institutions) which are
efficient.
— We recognize that a reform program
will cause economic dislocation and, therefore, call for a well-targeted
social safety net and other programs, including education and
training programs and programs to support the development of small
businesses, designed to help Kosovars adjust to the market economy.
Recognising the size of Kosova's market, we
recommend that Kosova should focus on the development of export-oriented
industries, including the following:
— Agriculture/farming/wine production
— Metals/metal processing
— Textiles/leather goods/handicrafts
We are committed to free trade and to integration
with the rest of the region, Europe and the international trading
system.
— In that regard, we support the development
of regional infrastructure projects (in eg, Corridor 8, Prishtina-Durres
links) and internal infrastructure projects that facilitate trade.
— We do not believe that it would be
wise to adopt high tariffs or other forms of protectionism.
ATTRACTING AND
RETAINING FOREIGN
INVESTMENT
We recognize that the long-term sustainability
of Kosova's economy depends on its capacity to attract foreign
investment. To do so, we propose the following:
— We are committed to working with
each other to create an environment of political stability grounded
in democratic principles.
— We note the absolutely critical need
for the rule of law. In that regard, we call for the development
of a credible legal system and a transparent, consistent and reliable
regulatory system on which Kosovars and foreign investors can
rely.
— We are committed to fighting official
corruption and crime so as to avoid allowing the market economy
to become a criminal economy.
WORKING TOGETHER
To better articulate a common position on these
and other economic issues to the international community, and
to develop public and political consensus on this platform, we
recommend that the dialogue among economic experts and all political
forces be continued, including through the creation of an economic
forum.
13 September 1999
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