Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07PRISTINA113
2007-02-12 11:01:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Pristina
Cable title:  

KOSOVO: FOLLOW-ON RULE OF LAW MISSION TAKING SHAPE

Tags:  PGOV KJUS KCRM EAID KDEM UNMIK YI 
pdf how-to read a cable
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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7019
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1025
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
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RHMFISS/CDR TF FALCON PRIORITY
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RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEPGEA/CDR650THMIGP SHAPE BE PRIORITY
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RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUFOANA/USNIC PRISTINA SR PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 PRISTINA 000113 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE, DRL, INL, AND S/WCI, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN
FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER, OPDAT FOR
ACKER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2017
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM EAID KDEM UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: FOLLOW-ON RULE OF LAW MISSION TAKING SHAPE

REF: PRISTINA 93

Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 PRISTINA 000113

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE, DRL, INL, AND S/WCI, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN
FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER, OPDAT FOR
ACKER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2017
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM EAID KDEM UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: FOLLOW-ON RULE OF LAW MISSION TAKING SHAPE

REF: PRISTINA 93

Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) SUMMARY: The EU Planning Team (EUPT) continues to
develop plans for the ESDP follow-on rule of law mission in
Kosovo. Team leader Casper Klynge told us recently he is
confident that the transition will be relatively smooth on
the policing side and that the mission will be at authorized
strength on transition day -- subject, however, to U.S.
participation. To respond to EU capitals' concerns, Klynge
has proposed a further 250-police enhancement force with
executive as opposed to mentoring authority, and notes that
Brussels may want an even larger, 500-member enhancement
force (reftel). Klynge (protect) is more concerned about the
justice side, fearing that the follow-on mission may not get
the desired number of judges and prosecutors by transition
day or ever reach authorized strength. END SUMMARY.

General Structure of ESDP Mission
--------------


2. (C) EU Planning Team (EUPT) Head Casper Klynge and
political adviser Alessio Zuccarini recently shared the
latest plan for the EU follow-on rule of law (ROL) mission
with USOP. They envision a mission of 1,399 internationals,
although this number could be revised upward due to EU
capitals' concerns that the post-transition security
environment may still be sensitive enough to require a more
robust presence.


3. (C) Under the current plan, the head of the ESDP mission
will be the Deputy EU Special Representative (EUSR),and
Heads of the Police, Justice and Administration Components
will report to him or her. The Deputy EUSR will also have a
staff of 68, including political, legal, security, program,
reporting, and press and public information offices, as well
as an internal investigations unit, an internal
auditor/financial control office, and human rights and gender

unit.

ESDP Police Component -- Mentoring vs. Executive
-------------- ---


4. (C) Klynge and Zuccarini are confident that the police
component will be at its authorized strength on transition
day, subject, however, to U.S. participation. (Note: EUPT's
planning assumes an American contingent of 222, which is
based on current American participation in UNMIK's civilian
police force. However, U.S. participation in the police
mission remains under discussion, and the budget request
originally contemplated for a follow-on U.S. police
contingent envisioned only 100 personnel, mostly police, but
also judges and prosecutors who would be deployed under the
existing CPI mechanism. End Note) Potential challenges
foreseen by EUPT planners include finding ways to avoid loss
of manpower due to different leave policies of national
contingents, adapting to the proposed new organizational
structure of the Kosovo Police Service (KPS),providing
witness security (as opposed to a witness protection
program),and possible changes in the security situation in
the north. Klynge noted that the ESDP police component will
make up the bulk of the ROL mission with 1,065 under the
current plan, but that these numbers are very much in flux.
He (protect) said that his team is proposing a 250-person
enhancement force with executive powers to respond to EU
capitals' concerns about the need for a more robust presence;
Brussels may, however, require that this be an even larger
force of 500 (reftel).


5. (C) The current plan also calls for a small financial
intelligence unit composed of international police officers
(IPOs) to report directly to the Deputy EUSR. All other IPOs
would fall under the Head of the ESDP Police Component, who
would have two deputies, the Deputy Head of ESDP Police
Component Program Department and the Deputy Head of the ESDP
Operations Department. Under the Program Department, there

PRISTINA 00000113 002 OF 004


would be a Monitoring, Mentoring and Advising (MMA) section
with 267 IPOs and a Border Police section with about 115
IPOs. Under the Operations Department, there would be an
International Executive Police section with about 100 IPOs
and a Special Police Units section with about 525 IPOs.
Roughly 30 percent of all IPOs would have full executive
authority.

Mentoring Police Breakdown
--------------


6. (C) The MMA section would have the following structure and
numbers:

-- Public order/general policing (160)
-- Organized crime (15)
-- Criminal intelligence (16)
-- Criminal investigations (62)
-- Inter-ethnic crimes (14)


7. (C) The 115-police Border Police section would have the
following structure and numbers:

-- Pristina Airport (17)
-- Administrative Boundary Line Gate One near Zubin Potok (16)
-- Administrative Boundary Line Gate 31 near Leposavic (16)
-- Border Police Main Headquarters in Pristina (10)
-- Border Police North Headquarters in Lushane (14)
-- Border Police East Headquarters in Kacanik (20)
-- Border Police West Headquarters in Gjakova (20).
(Note: IPOs at the Pristina Airport and Gates One and 31
would have full executive powers. End Note.)

Exective Police Breakdown
--------------


8. (C) The International Executive Police section would have
the following structure and numbers:

-- Organized crime (26)
-- Criminal intelligence (30)
-- Financial investigations (8)
-- International police cooperation (5)
-- War crimes investigations (35)


9. (C) Special police units would have the following
structures and numbers:

-- Liaison/intelligence/logistics and communications (30)
-- Crowd and riot control (205)
-- Witness protection (95)
-- Security and intervention (157)
-- Logistical support (40).
(Note: All of the International Executive Police and Special
Police Units would have full executive powers. End Note.)

ESDP Justice Component
--------------


10. (C) EUPT planners believe that recruiting a sufficient
number of judges and prosecutors for the mission will be one
of their biggest challenges. Klynge and Zuccarini confided
that they do not believe they will reach the authorized
strength on the judicial side by transition day and fear they
may never be able to reach it. The salaries they can offer
are no higher than most European judges and prosecutors would
receive at home and the personal safety risks are
considerably higher. Adding to the hardships of life in
Kosovo, they do not think many will find the opportunity
attractive. Other potential challenges they see are
providing security to judges and prosecutors serving outside
of Pristina and ensuring the continuity of ongoing cases.
Since it is not possible to halt judicial procedures pending
the transfer, they are considering three options: 1) that
UNMIK not start lengthy cases prior to the transition; 2)
that UNMIK judges and prosecutors be pre-selected and
transition to the ESDP mission; and 3) that ESDP-recruited

PRISTINA 00000113 003 OF 004


judges be deployed to UNMIK prior to the transition.


11. (C) The head of the ESDP Justice Component will oversee a
staff of about 190, to include:

-- Ministry of Justice Unit (13)
-- Kosovo Judicial Council Unit (2)
-- Assembly of EU Judges (44 judges and 24 legal assistants
or officers)
-- EU Prosecutors' Office (18 prosecutors and 11 legal
officers)
-- Correctional Unit Headquarters (78).
(Note: The Ministry of Justice Unit will oversee missing
persons, forensics and international legal cooperation, as
well as assess legislation and implementation of laws, and
the Kosovo Judicial Council (KJC) Unit will mentor and advise
the KJC staff. End Note.)


12. (C) On the judicial and prosecutorial side, the EU
follow-on mission will be more robust than the UNMIK mission.
UNMIK Department of Justice (DOJ) has an authorized strength
of 14 international judges and 11 international prosecutors,
but only has 13 international judges and 9 international
prosecutors in place. EU judges and prosecutors will have an
executive mandate to cover cases relating to war crimes,
organized crime, corruption, terrorism, trafficking,
inter-ethnic violence and conflict-related property cases.
For other cases, the EU envisions joint panels involving EU
and local judges (two to one ratio) and mixed prosecution
teams (a one to one ratio),with an overall eye toward
increasing local ownership. The Assembly of EU Judges would
have a president with one legal assistant, three judges and
three legal assistants at the Supreme Court, 13 judges and
six legal assistants at a Special Chamber for the Kosovo
Trust Agency and Kosovo Property Agency, six judges and three
legal officers at the Pristina District Court, five judges
and the three legal advisors at the Prizren District Court,
five judges and three legal officers at the Peja Distict
Court, six judges and three legal officers at the Mitrovica
District Court, and five judges and three legal advisors at
the Gjilane District Court. The EU Prosecutors' Office would
have a president with a prosecutor and legal officer on his
staff, four prosecutors and two legal officers in the
Pristina District Office, and three prosecutors and two legal
officers each in the District Offices in Prizren, Peja,
Mitrovica and Gjilane.


13. (C) The Justice Component's Correctional Unit would have
32 international officers at the Dubrava Prison and 37
international officers assigned to an escorts and special
security group. Five of the officers would comprise a
compliance unit at the Customs Headquarters and three would
be assigned to each of the mobile teams in the Mitrovica,
Peja and Prizren regions.

Administrative Component
--------------


14. (C) The ESDP Administrative Component will likely be
composed of general services, support services, and
administrative legal offices, as well as regional
administrative offices in Pristina, Mitrovica, Prizren, Peja,
Gjilane and Ferizaj. An estimated 180 administrative staff
will be responsible for a large array of services, including
personnel, supplies, transportation, medical, training and
building management.

Comment
--------------


15. (C) The planning for the EU follow-on rule of law mission
has reached an advanced stage, but the numbers continue to
shift due to EU capitals' concerns that the post-transition
security situation may result in the need for a significantly
larger police presence. While everyone is focusing on having
adequate police numbers, the ability to attract sufficient
judges and prosecutors for the mission may turn out to be the

PRISTINA 00000113 004 OF 004


biggest challenge of all. We will continue to closely
monitor planning for the follow-on mission. END COMMENT.


16. (SBU) U.S. Office Pristina does not clear this cable for
release to U.N. Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari.
KAIDANOW