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
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

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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

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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