Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Sovereignty and International Protection

Resolution for final status for Kosovo will require the participants to steer a course between claims of national sovereignty and those of international guarantees and controls. Negotiation of that status will require the parties to resolve a broad range of issues, ranging from economic and transit matters to the protection of minority rights. Establishment of an international commission to protect minority rights, perhaps modeled on the European Commission on Human Rights under the original form of the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, may be a useful first step in providing non-adversarial resolution of controversies at an early stage.