KOSOVO: EUPT PROPOSES BROAD TRAINING CONCEPT FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRISTINA 000489 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SCE, EUR/RPM, EUR/ERA, INL, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/22/2017 TAGS: AORC KCRM KJUS PGOV PINS YI UNMIK KCRS SUBJECT: KOSOVO: EUPT PROPOSES BROAD TRAINING CONCEPT FOR ESDP MISSION Classified By: COM Tina Kaidanow for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: A recent weeklong course in Finland for candidates for the anticipated Kosovo European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) mission covered ESDP concepts, the goals of the Kosovo ESDP mission, an overview of rule of law sectors in Kosovo, Kosovo-specific case studies, and the missions of other principal actors in Kosovo. The goal of the EU Planning Team for Kosovo (EUPT) is for member and third party states to provide their contingents with similar standardized pre-deployment training; the EDSP mission will itself provide an induction training course for both member and third party participants upon their arrival in Kosovo or transition from UNMIK. EUPT anticipates that assuming a UNSCR by July 1, the bulk of the pre-deployment training would occur in August, with induction training beginning in September. The draft concept for training presented recently in Brussels outlines a menu of 6-8 different types of training requirements for the mission, ranging from pre-deployment training to specific policing skills training (eg, shooting, driving). The EUPT anticipates providing the standardized training program and materials to EU and attending third party states at the ESDP Training Conference June 25-26 in Berlin. We will continue to work with EUPT officials in Pristina to refine the ESDP training curriculum based on best practices from the INL civilian police training courses. In particular, we will encourage them to add more Kosovo- and mission-specific content. END SUMMARY. PILOT PRE-DEPLOYMENT TRAINING COURSE: FOCUSING ON EU CONCEPTS ¶2. (C) USOP staff recently attended the second offering of a four and a half day course in Finland to train Finnish candidates for the anticipated Kosovo European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) mission. Finland is the only EU member state already offering pre-deployment training to its candidates. The course was first offered in March 2007, and is viewed by the EU Planning Team for Kosovo (EUPT) as a "pilot" for the pre-deployment training of all anticipated 1,800 members of the ESDP mission. ¶3. (C) In addition to Finnish judges, prosecutors, police, and corrections officials, there were also participants from Lithuania and Austria. The pilot course was taught primarily by EU, EUPT, and UNMIK staff, who covered the ESDP concept and the EU political structure, broad outlines of the goals of the ESDP mission for Kosovo, and an overview of the justice sector (eg, lessons learned, current capacity and issues, structure). The course also included Kosovo-specific case studies and the missions of other principal actors in Kosovo, such as the OSCE, the ICO, and NATO/KFOR. Half of the course focused on the structure of the EU Commission and Council, the UNMIK pillars, and ESDP concepts. While this provided a thorough grounding in the source and structure of ESDP missions, including the requirement for consensus among all 27 member states to undertake a mission, there was little content on the actual goal and plans for the Kosovo ESDP mission, primarily because the plans remain classified. The course did cover two main structural goals of the mission: to work side-by-side with locals throughout Kosovo, vice being only in Pristina, and to focus on building local capacity. (Note: Under UNMIK, all international judges and prosecutors are located in Pristina. End note.) ¶4. (C) In the EU modules, lecturers covered the two-year mandate of the Kosovo ESDP mission (extendable for an additional 1-2 years),the cost (100 million euros annually, plus 50 million for start-up),the staffing program (in waves, with the first wave later this summer if there is a UNSCR by July 1),and hiring policies. In addition, presenters covered the EU's new Stability Instrument, which is designed to provide more flexible funding for "crises," including the ability to turn around a decision in one to two weeks vice an entire year, as more normal mechanisms require. The exit plan for the ESDP mission was presented as a transition to EU pre-accession mechanisms. PRISTINA 00000489 002 OF 003 BURIED TOO MUCH: LESSONS LEARNED AND ANALYSIS OF KOSOVO ¶5. (C) Lessons from the past eight years of UNMIK were scattered throughout the lectures, but the course could benefit from an initial half-day session providing a comprehensive overview of Kosovo and lessons learned. Topics that could be expanded or added include: Albanian and Serbian culture; an overview of Kosovo government institutions and international actors' roles now and those envisioned for the future; critical potential sources of instability; potential triggers for conflict; key actors; and lessons learned, particularly those related to the March 2004 violence. Topics covered as asides throughout the course included how the UNMIK justice system has remained static over the past eight years, insufficient emphasis by UNMIK on civil justice and institution building -- particularly related to local judges and prosecutors, insufficient staff training, the dubious quality of internationals seconded by UNMIK to Kosovo, and how political influence negatively affected the justice system. CRITICAL ISSUES FOR THE JUSTICE SECTOR PRESENTED ¶6. (C) During the course, several members of the EUPT lectured on the justice sector, policing, and the corrections system. They raised a number of issues that they saw as critical potential impediments to the success of the ESDP mission and to the institutionalization of the rule of law in Kosovo. These include: addressing property rights, putting into place vetting procedures for judges and prosecutors, adjudicating socially-owned enterprise claims, passing legislation on the enforcement of civil judgments, addressing parallel Serbian court structures, developing local rule of law capabilities, improving judicial system infrastructure, addressing corruption, raising salaries of judges and prosecutors, providing legal aid, improving witness protection, instituting case management systems, using population registration data to determine court jurisdictions, and improving the state of applicable law, which is currently a mixture of laws from different parts of the world. LITTLE INFORMATION ON SPECIFIC KOSOVO MISSION CONTINGENCIES ¶7. (C) The course included specific case studies on policing, corrections, and an overarching study that pulled in elements from the entire judicial system. These cases helped ground the theoretical information participants had been receiving in the reality of Kosovo. However, outside of a comprehensive briefing on the security environment, there was little information given on how participants would be expected to react to different contingencies in Kosovo, the tasks and responsibilities of ESDP staff in different programs, life in Kosovo (health, food, standard of living, housing),the working level relationships between the ESDP mission and other key actors, such as the International Civilian Office (ICO),the Kosovo government, and the International Military Presence (IMP). It also included none of the physical and policing skills and stress management training that the ten-day U.S. civilian police courses contain. OVERALL TRAINING CONCEPT FOR ESDP MISSION MEMBERS ¶8. (C) In related news, the EUPT's training concept for the overall Kosovo ESDP mission was approved in Brussels the week of May 28, but budget ramifications are still being determined. The concept outlines the need for training programs and materials for key mission personnel, operational heads, trainers, a standard program and material for pre-deployment training (to be provided by member and third parties states),induction training provided by the ESDP mission upon arrival in Kosovo, specific functional training in skills like driving and shooting, and training for local staff. Training for key mission personnel will be held in Brussels as they are selected; training for operational heads will be held no later that 60 days after a UNSCR in Kosovo. PRISTINA 00000489 003 OF 003 The EUPT plans to present the standard program and materials for pre-deployment training at a workshop on the sidelines of the ESDP Training Conference in Berlin, Germany June 25-26. Participating states will be responsible for developing and providing pre-deployment training for their contingents, drawing upon the standard program and material. The EUPT has extended an invitation for the U.S. to participate in that conference. The bulk of the pre-deployment training will likely take place in member states in August, with induction training beginning in September as contingents arrive in Kosovo. Current EUPT plans are that U.S. civilian police, already operating in Kosovo under UNMIK, would be briefed on the ESDP mission specifics during induction training upon their transition. The EUPT has asked for U.S. input on the programs and materials for all of the Kosovo ESDP mission training courses. ¶9. (C) COMMENT: To avoid repeating mistakes of the last eight years and ensure synchronized, complementary efforts across the range of international actors in post-status Kosovo, a robust training program for the incoming ESDP mission will be essential. Mission staff must have a shared understanding of the environment in Kosovo, critical potential impediments to success, lessons and best practices and lessons learned from the last eight years, including from the March 2004 violence, potential triggers, and how their specific actions fit into the overall strategy for Kosovo. We will continue to work with EUPT staff to inject best practices from U.S. civilian police training. As the ESDP mission goals, strategies, and benchmarks become public, we should revise future U.S. pre-deployment training to reflect these specifics. KAIDANOW