KOSOVO: SECURITY WORKING GROUPS SLOWLY LEAVE THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRISTINA 000544 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SCE, EUR/RPM, SCRS, INL, AND S/WCI, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/06/2017 TAGS: KJUS MARR PGOV PINS PREL YI KCRS UNMIK SUBJECT: KOSOVO: SECURITY WORKING GROUPS SLOWLY LEAVE THE STARTING GATE REF: PRISTINA 273 Classified By: Chief of Mission Tina Kaidanow for reasons 1.4 (B) and ( D). ¶1. (C) Summary: The sub-Working Groups on Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) Issues and Security Institutions, two of the six sub-Working Groups (sub-WGs) created by the Working Group on Security (WGS) to carry out its mandate to plan for implementation of Annex VIII of the Ahtisaari final status package, have slowly gained momentum. Their stand-up was initially delayed due to political sensitivities, but both have now held four meetings, laid out detailed timelines and tasks to be completed, and begun to make progress on substance, such as drafting the structure for the Ministry of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) and laying out budget requirements. Input from Kosovo institutions and actors has been limited, reducing the value of the working group to NATO planners. Planning would be more effective if NATO had a permanent team in Kosovo to work on the transition. Critical tasks remain, including drafting legislation on the new security institutions and on an early retirement package for KPC members, agreeing upon oversight bodies, negotiating budgets, and securing a plan for dissolving the KPC. Until further progress is made, donors will not be able to determine the appropriate scope and focus of assistance to the new security institutions. End Summary. SENSITIVE POLITICAL NATURE OF MANDATE INITIALLY DELAYS WORK ¶2. (C) Sensitivities within NATO, the planning team for the proposed International Civilian Organization (ICO) and the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG) initially delayed the start of the Working Group on Security (WGS). The main concern was that planning for a "Ministry of Defense" and an "army" would be seen as pre-judging final status and counterproductive to the ongoing discussions at the UN. NATO caveats its current role in the WGS as falling under the rubric of "prudent military planning," underscoring that its guidance is to keep moving forward until member states voice opposition. Since May, the sub-WGs on Security Institutions and KPC Issues began meeting more frequently and with increased intensity. Restrictions on outreach to �A;Kosovar actors and institutions because of political sensitivity, however, continue to make soliciting comprehensive feedback or input on NATO drafts difficult. According to NATO staff, only NATO action officers currently have permission to liaise with counterparts in local institutions on transition planning issues outside of the sub-WGs, and since none of the staff assigned to work on the transition planning are permanently located in Kosovo, even those opportunities are limited. STANDING UP THE SUB-WORKING GROUPS ON KPC ISSUES AND SECURITY INSTITUTIONS ¶3. (C) The sub-WG on KPC issues is chaired by Major General Matthew Sykes (UK),the KPC Coordinator heading UNMIK's Office of the KPC Coordinator (OKPCC),with members from NATO, UNDP, OSCE, ICO, EUPT, UNMIK, PISG, and the Unity Team. (Note: The sub-WG chairmanship is planned to transfer to NATO following adoption of a UN Security Council Resolution.) The mandate of the sub-WG is to develop a coordinated and integrated plan for "the successful dissolution of the KPC with dignity," including legislation and regulations, management of serving and retired KPC personnel (including a demobilization and reintegration process),transfer and/or disposal of KPC assets, budget and finances, international assistance, and a public information campaign. ¶4. (C) The sub-WG on Security Institutions is chaired by Brigadier General Skodowski (Germany) from NATO, Joint Forces Command (JFC) Naples, with members from the ICO, the PISG, the Unity Team, OSCE, UNMIK, KPC, EUPT, NATO HQ and UNDP. The mandate of the sub-WG is to produce an action plan addressing the requirements for the successful establishment of a KSF and a civilian-led organization of the Government to PRISTINA 00000544 002 OF 003 exercise civilian control over it. The plan will include legislation and regulations, recruitment, screening, and selection of personnel, training and capacity-building, resources, budget and finances, public information campaign, international assistance, and confidence-building measures. STRONG LEADERSHIP FROM UNMIK OKPCC, NATO AND ICO; WEAK VOICE FOR THE PISG ¶5. (C) General Sykes is an able leader of the sub-WG on KPC issues, whose office has a long history with the KPC and wants to maintain an active, influential role in the transition to the KSF. NATO chairmanship of the sub-WG on Security Institutions has been less consistent, since General Skodowski and the lead planner from NATO HQ were unable to attend the last two meetings. Frank Neisse, who covers security issues for the ICO planning team and sits on both sub-WGs, has been effective at proactively playing the envisioned future ICO role of implementing the Ahtisaari package and stepping in when the sub-WG strays beyond its mandate and authorities. The key participant from the PISG on both sub-WGs, Rame Arifaj, is the Security Advisor to the Prime Minister. His main contributions to date relate to government revisions of the Early Retirement Law for the KPC. His limited voice is indicative of the relative lack of experience and expertise in military issues within the PISG, and the decision not to grant a seat on the sub-WGs to the KPC. As a result, the working group has been dominated by the voices of international actors, including NATO, UNMIK OKPCC, EUPT, ICO, the OSCE and UNDP. CONFUSION OVER WHETHER UNMIK OKPCC OR NATO LEADS ¶6. (C) There has been some confusion in both sub-WGs and the WGS over who has the policy lead for the international community on transition issues, since the OKPCC has the present day lead under UNMIK's mandate, but under the Ahtisaari proposal NATO will have the mandated lead post-status as the International Military Presence (IMP). For example, the budget submission for the Ministry and KSF was drafted earlier this spring by OKPCC to respond to a tasking from the Ministry of Finance and the Economy (MFE); but now NATO has also completed its own budget proposal. At the June 27 WGS meeting, Arifaj stated that the Office of the Prime Minister viewed the OKPCC as having the lead in standing up the new Ministry and the KSF; NATO representatives strongly asserted otherwise. The potential for confusion among Kosovars has increased due to the division of responsibilities within NATO between NATO HQ in Brussels and JFC Naples, and the proposal by the sub-WG on Security Institutions to keep OKPCC staff working with NATO on the transition post-status. PLANNING FOR DEMOBLIZATION AND REINTEGRATION OF THE KPC ¶7. (C) At the sub-WG on KPC Issues meeting on June 14, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) presented the results of their pilot demobilization and reintegration program, funded by the British government. To date, the program has assisted 56 individuals, with 30 more in process. IOM agreed to calculate an estimated unit cost for demobilization and reintegration, but requested that the KPC first provide them with additional demographic information to determine whether the 56 individuals in their program are a representative sample. IOM devoted the bulk of its presentation to a series of "preliminary considerations and best practices," which include having clear-cut eligibility criteria, having senior staff from key stakeholders conduct field visits, and ensuring that participants develop their own business proposals so that they feel a sense of ownership. UNDP announced it was standing up a "formulation mission" to assess demobilization and reintegration needs, which would include IOM, other international and non-governmental organizations, and key potential donors like the UK and US. BUDGET AND RESOURCE REQUIRMENTS REMAIN CONTENTIOUS PRISTINA 00000544 003 OF 003 ¶8. (C) On June 21, both sub-WGs addressed budget and resource requirements. OKPCC presented the budget it formulated last spring for the post-UNSCR transition, totaling 97 million euros for 2007-2009, excluding the cost of the Early Retirement Law for the KPC. (Note: The PISG distributed a new version of this law to sub-WG members. We continue to work with the PISG and other international actors such as the World Bank to ensure that the law is fiscally responsible.) NATO's budget for the Ministry and KSF ranges from 33 to 77 million euros, depending on assumptions made, for example, on facilities and the cost of screening procedures. The Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, put together by the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MFE),currently includes 61 million euros for the Ministry and the KSF, or 37 percent less that the OKPCC budget. OKPCC representatives told the sub-WG that there had been no conversation with the MFE about this substantial reduction. The sub-WGs agreed to invite MFE representatives to the next meeting on July 5 to discuss the budget, as well as members of the European Commission to talk about planning and timelines for a donor's conference. STANDING UP A NEW MINISTRY OF DEFENSE ¶9. (C) On June 7 and 21, the sub-WG on Security Institutions discussed NATO's working concept for the ministry, KSF-related questions for the Constitution Working Group, the desirability of keeping staff from the OKPCC until a Ministry is stood up, and the draft law creating the KSF and ministry. Members reminded NATO that the responsibilities of other security sector institutions, such as the Kosovo Security Council and Assembly Committee on Security, were outside of the scope of this sub-WG, and while it was essential to coordinate and communicate recommendations, the lead should remain with those respective sub-WGs. In addition, the ICO reminded NATO that the Constitutional Commission outlined in the Ahtisaari proposal would determine key responsibilities related to the security sector institutions, such as who has command and control of the KSF. General Sykes expressed concerns about the integrated model the draft concept proposes for the ministry; NATO promised to bring representatives working in integrated ministries in other countries who could talk about how integration works in practice. Septel will discuss current planning for the Ministry of the KSF. ¶10. (C) COMMENT: The Working Group on Security lags behind Transition Working Groups for other sectors in part because of the sensitive political nature of the issues that it has been mandated to address. Regardless of this dynamic, the sub-WGs on KPC Issues and Security Institutions are finally starting to gather some momentum, but the most potentially controversial decisions, including the early retirement law for the KPC, remain outstanding. Broad donor interest is encouraging, but we will continue to support strong NATO leadership in the standing up of the KSF. Post will continue to monitor progress and report substantive developments in the proposals for standing up the new security institutions. END COMMENT. KAIDANOW