Self-determination - Current Movements - Kosovo

Kosovo

Kosovo is a largely ethnic-Albanian nation (Albanians 88%, Serbs 6%, Bosniaks 3%, Roma 2%, Turks 1%), which seeks independence on territories long held by ethnic Serbs, including as part of Yugoslavia. Conflict between the two culminated in the 1996-1999 Kosovo War between the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia led by Slobodan Milošević. This culminated in the 1999 United States/NATO attacks on Serbia, withdrawal of Serbian troops and entry of the NATO Kosovo Force. International negotiations to determine the final status of Kosovo were unsuccessful. On 17 February 2008, 109 members (10 members including all Kosovo Serbs were absent) of the Kosovo Assembly voted unanimously to declare independence. Serbia rejected the decision. Kosovo independence is disputed and supervised by the international community following the conclusion of the political process to determine Kosovo's final status envisaged in UN Security Council Resolution 1244. See the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence. In February 2008 Europe's major powers and the United States recognised independence of Kosovo. The independence of Kosovo has been recognized by 95 countries as of 20 November 2012. The territory of Kosovo is the subject of a dispute between Serbia and the Government of Kosovo. On 22 July 2010, the International Court of Justice gave the following advisory opinion: "The declaration of independence of Kosovo adopted on 17 February 2008 did not violate international law."