Membership of Kosovo in international organizations

Since Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia (enacted on 17 February 2008), international recognition of Kosovo has been mixed, and the international community continues to be divided on the issue. The Republic of Kosovo is member of some international intergovernmental and international non-governmental organisations.

Membership in international intergovernmental organizations

The Republic of Kosovo, as an independent state, is a member of 10 and an observer of 1 international intergovernmental organization. The Republic of Kosovo has formally applied for membership in 4 more international intergovernmental organizations.

Kosovo, under the designation United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), or Kosovo*, is a member of 6 and an observer of 1 international intergovernmental organizations.

Intergovernmental organisations do not themselves diplomatically recognise any state; their member states do so individually. However, depending on the intergovernmental organisation's rules of internal governance and the positions of their member states, they may express positive or negative opinions as to declarations of independence, or choose to offer or withhold membership to a partially recognised state.

International Organisation Political Entity Represented Application date Admission date Status
Before the Declaration of Independence
Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI) UNMIK Observer[1]
South East Europe Transport Observatory (SEETO) Kosovo* and UNMIK[2][3] 11 June 2004[4] Member
Energy Community Kosovo*[5][6] 1 July 2006 Member
European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) UNMIK 30 November 2006 Member
Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) UNMIK 6 April 2006 26 July 2007[7] Member
After the Declaration of the Independence
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Republic of Kosovo 10 July 2008[8] 29 June 2009[9] Member
World Bank (WB) Republic of Kosovo 10 July 2008[10] 29 June 2009[11] Member
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (ERBD) Republic of Kosovo[12] 2010 or 2009[13] 17 December 2012[14] Member
Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)[15] Kosovo*[16][17][18] 23 February 2013[19] Member[20]
Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) Republic of Kosovo 14 June 2013[21] Member
Council of Bureaux (CoBx) Republic of Kosovo 2011[22] Applicant
Adriatic Charter Republic of Kosovo 29 March 2012[23] Applicant
NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) Republic of Kosovo July 2012[24] Applicant
Council of Europe Venice Commission Republic of Kosovo 13 June 2014 Member
Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) Republic of Kosovo[25] 29 November 2014[26] Observer
South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) Kosovo*[27] 23 May 2015[28] Member
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Kosovo* 28 January 2016[29] Observer
Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units Republic of Kosovo 1 February 2017[30] Member
World Customs Organization (WCO) Republic of Kosovo 3 March 2017[31] Member
Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Republic of Kosovo 6 November 2015[32] 5 January 2016[33][34] Member
European Qualifications Framework Advisory Group (EQF) Republic of Kosovo 18 December 2015[35][36][37] Member
International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) Republic of Kosovo April 2015[38] Applicant
International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA) Republic of Kosovo 21 February 2017[39] Member
Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) Republic of Kosovo 18 March 2017[40] Member
Assemblée parlementaire de la francophonie (APF) Republic of Kosovo 9 July 2018 [41][42] Observer
Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) Republic of Kosovo 9 October 2018 [43] 11 october 2018[44] Associate
Council of Europe (CoE) Republic of Kosovo 12 May 2022.[45] Applicant
European Political Community (EPC) Kosovo* 6 October 2022[46] Member
European Union (EU) Republic of Kosovo 15 December 2022[47][48] Applicant
International Commission on Missing Persons Republic of Kosovo 19 July 2023[49][50] Member

Membership in international non-governmental organisations

See also: Membership of Kosovo in international sports federations
International organisationPosition Admission date Status
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO)UNPO issued a statement on 18 February 2008: "for regions in similar conditions, Kosova's independence represents new hope for the future of their own potential statehood".[51]
In the days that followed, several African UNPO members expressed their own individual secession-minded reactions to Kosovo's independence.[52] Kosovo is represented in the UNPO by the Democratic League of Kosova.		 6 August 1991 Member
International Road and Transport Union (IRU) Kosovo's road transport association[53][54] become member of IRU on 29 July 2008.[55] Kosovo officially became the 181st member of the IRU in May 2009.[56] 29 July 2008 Member
International Bar Association (IBA)Kosovo officially became a member of the IBA on 28 May 2009.[57][58] 28 May 2009 Member
International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Kosovo Amateur Radio Association (Shoqata e Radio Amatoreve te Kosovës; SHRAK) was proposed for IARU membership in 2014. SHRAK joined to the IARU on 11 December 2015.[59] 11 December 2015 Member
European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) Association of Journalists of Kosovo officially became a member of the EFJ on 1 January 2016.[60] 1 January 2016 Member
International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN) Kosovo officially became a member of the ICPEN in April 2016.[61][62] April 2016 Member
Association of Central and Eastern European Election Officials (ACEEEO)On 23 September 2016, the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kosovo became member of ACEEEO.[63][64] 23 September 2016 Member
European Federation of Psychiatric Trainees (EFPT) Kosovo Psychiatrists Association is a full member of EFPT as of January 18, 2017.[65] January 18, 2017 Member
World Economic Forum (WEF) Kosovo participates in the World Economic Forum under its own name and flag.[66][67] Member

International conventions, treaties, and agreements

Conventions, Treaties and AgreementsNoteSigned
Stabilisation and Association Process (SAA)SAA negotiations start on 28 October 2013. Kosovo's SAA was the first signed after the entry into force of the Lisbon treaty, which conferred a legal personality to the EU. As a result, unlike previous SAAs Kosovo's is exclusively between it and the EU and Euratom, and the member states are not parties independently. SAA entry into force on 1 April 2016. Yes
Apostille ConventionOn 8 November 2016, the Republic of Kosovo has received a formal confirmation on the acceptance of deposition of acts o admission to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legislation for Foreign Public Documents, or known also as Apostille Convention. In accordance with Article 12 of it, Apostille Convention, it is expected to enter into force on 14 June 2016.[68][69] Yes

Future membership applications

In 2012, according to the Mena Report Kosovo has applied to become a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), but the government of Kosovo neither confirm nor deny this news.[70] Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, Secretary-General of the OIC invited Kosovo to become a full member of the OIC.

In 2013, Enver Hoxhaj, Kosovo's Minister of Foreign Affairs, has stated that the country is considering making applications for membership in three United Nations specialized agencies in the first half of 2013,[71] and that an application for membership of the Council of Europe in 2014 is being prepared.[72]

In 2014, Kosovo's Deputy Prime and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hashim Thaçi, reiterated the state's desire to join in December 2014.[73] Kosovo's Foreign Minister Hoxhaj has said that Kosovo's goal was to be a full UN member state by 2020 and NATO member state by 2022.[74][75]

In 2015, Kosovo's Ministry of Trade and Industry is also preparing a membership application for the World Trade Organization.[76] Joining NATO's Partnership for Peace is a priority of the government.[77]

In 2016, Albanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ditmir Bushati, said that Kosovo will be member of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and Adriatic Charter.[78][79]

The Assembly of Kosovo has been an observer member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe since January 2016.[80] In February 2017, Kosovo's President, Hashim Thaçi, said that Kosovo will apply for membership in the Council of Europe and UNESCO in 2017.[81] Kosovo formally applied for membership of the Council of Europe in May 2022.[82] On 24 April 2023, Kosovo's application was approved by more than the 2/3 threshold of member states required in the Committee of Ministers and was referred to the Parliamentary Assembly for its consideration.[83][84]

Kosovo formally applied for European Union candidate status on 15 December 2022.[85]

Unsuccessful application

International organisationNote Application date
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)In July 2015, Kosovo applied for membership in UNESCO.

UNESCO Executive Board members have voted in favor of the Albanian initiative to recommend Kosovo to be allowed to join UNESCO, 27 members voted in favor, 14 voted against, and 14 abstained.

On 9 November 2015, UNESCO General Assembly voted Kosovo application. 142 members voted on the proposal: 92 in favor, 50 against, while 29 abstained. Kosovo's bid required 95 votes (2/3 of votes) in favor to be successful.[86]

 July 2015

See also

References

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