Transitional Justice and Security Sector Reform: The Role of the EU and other Multilateral Institutions in Building Kosovo's Police Force

Security Sector Reform (SSR) and transitional justice are increasingly viewed as mutually supporting methodologies in post-conflict situations, yet the relationship between them is largely underexplored, even if they share many of the same goals: accountability for past crimes, capacity building to strengthen the rule of law, and deterrence. This article traces and analyzes the inter-institutional division of labor between the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission in Kosovo, the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), and the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) concerning police reform and transitional justice processes in Kosovo. Transitional justice and SSR are critical in post-conflict settings, particularly when it comes to the reform of judicial systems, intelligence services, police, correctional systems, and the military, and addressing systemic massive human rights abuses committed by individuals representing these institutions. Accordingly, the SSR and transitional justice nexus deserves a special attention from the academic community. International efforts in Kosovo to build a multiethnic police force provide an interesting case study. After briefly summarizing the evolution of cooperation on SSR and transitional justice matters between different international organizations in Kosovo, the paper provides an overview of the literature on transitional justice, SSR and police reform, outlines the role of international organizations in establishing the police service, and discusses the process of recruiting minorities into the force. Following a discussion of some of the obstacles and challenges associated with building and reforming the police, the final section of the paper discusses the linkage between SSR and transitional justice and concludes with a summary of key findings