I am in Kosovo for a few weeks at the invitation of the American Bar Association to conduct an assessment of legal education in the country.  Kosovo is a country whose history has been determined by conflict.  There are therefore no shortage of dispute resolution issues and topics here and I will try to write a few postings during these weeks. 

First, a little background for those who might want it (with my apologies to true Balkan experts):  Kosovo was a part of Yugoslavia. As Yugoslavia fell apart, and fell into war, Kosovo became a part of Serbia.  The majority Albanian population did not support this and pushed for independence.  The Dayton Peace Accords, which brought an end to the war in Bosnia, did not include any resolution for Kosovo.  So, as the war in Bosnia ended, things in Kosovo began to deteriorate. The violence in Kosovo included targeted and serious attacks by Serbs against Albanians, attacks by Albanians against Serbs and even attacks by Albanians against fellow Albanians for a range of perceived offenses such as collaborating with, or just being friendly with, Serbs.  Many people were killed due to this violence and many thousands more fled the country sparking a refugee crisis in neighboring Albania and Macedonia.  In 1999, after direct talks with Serbia failed to reach a resolution, and as reports of serious war crimes increased, NATO launched a bombing campaign as part of a humanitarian intervention.  At the end of this military action Kosovo became a UN Protectorate. Kosovo declared its independence in 2008.  Currently sixty-nine countries recognize Kosovo as an independent state (Serbia does not). 

The international community, including the United States, is still heavily engaged here at a number of levels. These internationals help with a variety of day-to-day matters in the country and, due to their large presence (and generous salaries) help to feed the local economy.  A short walk around the streets of the capital, Pristina, brings plenty of opportunities to see fellow foreigners and their ever-present 4-wheel drive vehicles with large stickers on their doors declaring their organizations. 

Kosovo has approximately 2 million citizens and over 80% are ethnic Albanians. Ethnic Serbs are the largest minority group.  Language is one area of conflict.  Albanian and Serbian are both the official languages of Kosovo. Both languages can be (and are) used in courts and throughout the government.  In Yugoslavia all school children learned Serbian and it was the common language.  This is no longer true.  All school children in Kosovo are not learning both languages.  There are separate curricula in the Albanian and Serbian primary and secondary schools–and teaching the other language is often not included.  Other ethnic minorities (such as the Roma and Kosovar Turks) often have limited opportunities for instruction in their own language and in one or both of the official languages of Kosovo.  Because children are not learning a common language there are already reports of them having trouble communicating with each other.  Over 50% of the population is under the age of 25 which means they received most of (or all of ) their education after the war.  Without a common language it is hard to imagine how conflict in the country will diminish.  As one international worker here commented, “they should use Switzerland as an example and teach all the children all the languages.”  It is hard to disagree.  Although, of course, Kosovo is far from enjoying the resources of Switzerland and its schools are confronting basic challenges like providing textbooks to all students and having enough classrooms and teachers.