Monthly Archives: April 2008

The United Nations Charter enshrines the inviolability of state sovereignty. Mr. Palmer argues that in recognizing Kosovo without a UN Security Council Resolution, the United States and its European allies have weakened two of the fundamental principles of international law: that states are free to determine their internal composition and that their territorial integrity must be respected. Security Council Resolution 1244 placed Kosovo under the UN administration and provided for Kosovo’s autonomy within Serbia. Now, the administrative authority is transferred from the UN sanctioned mission in Kosovo to an EU mission that has no legal mandate in the province. The main problem is that Kosovo’s independence undermines a system of international law. Kosovo’s independence sets the precedent for ethnic enclaves within other sovereign states. As per Mr. Palmer, the dangerous precedent it has created is: the carving off of a sovereign state’s territory in favor of an ethnic and religious minority threatening violence – a model to be replicated elsewhere.