February 2008, XNUMX marked the end of Kosovo's long and difficult journey to statehood, as well as the beginning of other important processes for the youngest state in the world.
Kosovo's journey to independence had begun decades ago.
Albanians, in 1989, were forcibly stripped of their autonomy within the former Yugoslavia, but they refused to submit to the then regime of Slobodan Milosevic.
Thus, Albanians began to create parallel systems in several areas. There were also protests.
Afterwards, the people organized themselves into the Kosovo Liberation Army, which aimed to liberate the country.
During the war in Kosovo in 1998/99, over 800 Kosovo Albanians were forcibly expelled, over 13 civilians were killed, and over 6 people were forcibly disappeared. More than 20.000 women were raped.
Over 1.600 people are still missing today.
The war ended in June 1999, after NATO began bombing Serbian military police targets in March of that year.
The bombing lasted 78 days, Serbia capitulated and its forces were forced to leave Kosovo. Then, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 was adopted.
The country was placed under the interim administration of UNMIK, the United Nations, as well as Kosovo's self-governing institutions.
International peacekeeping troops were also deployed in Kosovo. The Kumanovo Technical Agreement was previously reached, which provided for the withdrawal of all Serbian forces, as well as the entry of NATO troops into Kosovo.
In 2005, the process for the final status of Kosovo began.
Two years later, in 2007, the international special envoy for the status of Kosovo, Martti Ahtisaari, submitted his proposal for supervised independence for Kosovo to Pristina and Belgrade.
This step led to the creation of the newest state in the world.
On February 17, 2008, in an extraordinary session of the Assembly of Kosovo, Kosovo was declared an independent, sovereign and democratic state.
The hour of 15:39 pm entered the history of Kosovo as the culminating moment of the great efforts for independence.
109 out of 120 MPs attended the session and signed the Declaration of Independence of Kosovo. Serbian MPs were not part of the historic session.
The Declaration of Independence was made by the then Prime Minister, Hashim Thaçi.
"We, the leaders of our democratically elected people, through this Declaration declare Kosovo an independent and sovereign state. "This declaration reflects the will of our people and is in full compliance with the recommendations of the United Nations Special Envoy, Martti Ahtisaari, and his Comprehensive Proposal for the Kosovo Status Settlement," said the statement signed by the participating MPs.
The United States, Great Britain, Albania, France and Turkey were among the first countries to recognize the state of Kosovo.
Following a request from Russia, the United Nations Security Council held an emergency session on the afternoon of 17 February. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a neutral statement urging all parties to "refrain from any action that could endanger peace, promote violence or endanger security in Kosovo or the region."
Speaking on behalf of six countries - Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy and the United States - the Belgian ambassador expressed regret "that the Security Council cannot agree on the way forward, but this deadlock has been very clear to some month. Today's events represent the conclusion of a status process that has exhausted all avenues in pursuit of a negotiated outcome."
On 18 February 2008, the EU Presidency announced that after a day of intense talks between foreign ministers, member states were free to decide individually whether to recognise Kosovo's independence. Most EU member states have recognised Kosovo, but Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain continue to refuse to recognise it.
Shortly before Kosovo's Declaration of Independence, the European Union approved the deployment of a 2-member non-military Rule of Law mission, EULEX, to further develop the police and justice sector in Kosovo.
All twenty-seven European Union member states approved the EULEX mandate, including a minority of five EU countries that have not yet recognized Kosovo's independence.
Serbia, which continues to refuse to recognize Kosovo's independence, disagreed with the historic act of declaring independence and turned to the International Court of Justice.
In 2010, the ICJ gave its seal to Kosovo's independence through an advisory ruling, reconfirming that the Declaration of Independence did not violate any article of International Law.
Kosovo today has its own destiny in its own hands. It has the army and the police.
The country is recognized by 117 countries around the world. However, Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain continue to not recognize it.
Serbia has not stopped efforts to destabilize the country and endanger state sovereignty.
Tensions in the northern part of Kosovo have continued in recent years, with Serbia, through criminal groups, attacking the Kosovo Police and critical state infrastructure.
But, Kosovo is "forced" to dialogue with its northern neighbor in order to consolidate its position in the international arena.
So far, Kosovo has joined several international organizations, including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Also, in the Olympic Committee, the World Football Federation and the European Football Federation.
