Integration of Serbs in the Kosovo Police requires further investment

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The first public analysis on progress and challenges to the integration of Serbian police officers in Kosovo Police as per the Brussels Agreement was presented in Prishtina on 10 April 2014. The research paper was jointly made by two independent think tanks – Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) and Kosovar Center for Security Studies (KCSS).

Opening the presentation the of research paper “Police Integration in North Kosovo: Progress and Remaining Challenges in Implementation of the Brussels Agreement”, British ambassador to Kosovo Ian Kliff emphasized the importance of the integration of Serbian policemen into Kosovo system.

“The integration is crucial for the future of the Belgrade-Prishtina dialogue and also for the strengthening the rule of law in the region of Western Balkans. Despite remaining challenges, integration of Serbs in Kosovo Police is great progress for normalization”, said Kliff.

One of the authors, BCSP Researcher Maja Bjelos, also recognized that the effort to integrate Serbian policemen in Kosovo is a great step forward itself, but she stressed that the process had many flaws.

“Due to the very tight timeframe of integration process, the detailed vetting procedure of policemen was not implemented, so it should be organized in the future. Further, many of the Serbian policemen got lower ranks than they used to have due to the procedure of harmonization of certificates. Also, an alternative should be created for Serb policemen from South of Ibar through integration process and employment possibilities. The support of political leaders to the integration processes is crucial, as well as the transparency of the process”, pointed out Bjelos.

{image2}The moderator of discussion, KCSS Director Florian Qehaja, pointed out that that the cooperation between two independent think tanks from Belgrade and Prishtina is an achievement in itself since it breaks the taboo of non-cooperation and hostility between the two communities.

Norwegian ambassador to Kosovo Jan Braathu also stressed that public debates, joint research, and the involvement of CSOs in the process of implementation of Brussels agreement is of extreme importance for the transparency of the process, and thus for its legitimacy.

“Brussels Agreement is negotiated by elites. The role of think-tanks in that process is to increase transparency and help governments by criticism on how to improve the implementation of the Agreement”, pointed out Braathu.

Speaking of transparency and role of the authorities, co-author of the analysis BCSP Researcher Bojan Elek pointed out the lack of information as the main challenge and obstacle in the integration process.

“Problem is that nobody informed Serbian policemen from the North on how the integration will look like, while Serbs from the South were excluded. Only one week training for integration of Serbs from North in Kosovo police was organized. They are experienced officers, but they do not know Kosovo legislation. One of the recommendations is that Kosovo Police and international community should design further training for Serbian officers and it should be longer so candidates could be able to integrate”, said Elek.

KCSS Researcher Fjolla Raifi said that the integration of Serbs into Kosovo security structures has progressed in three phases – from 1999 to the declaration of Kosovo independence, from 2008 to the Brussels agreement, and after the Brussels agreement. She stressed that the integration of Serbs is one of the biggest challenges of the implementation of the Brussels agreement.