page_title: Kosovo
section_title: After declaration of independence
hierarchical_section_title: Kosovo / History / After declaration of independence
caption_attribution_description: English: New Born sign in Pristina Kosovo.
context_page_description: Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a partially-recognised state in Southeast Europe, subject to a territorial dispute with the Republic of Serbia.
  Defined in an area of 10,887 square kilometres, Kosovo is landlocked in the center of the Balkans and bordered by the uncontested territory of Serbia to the north and east, North Macedonia to the southeast, Albania to the southwest and Montenegro to the west. It possesses varied and diverse landscapes for its size by climate along with geology and hydrology. Most of central Kosovo is dominated by the vast plains and fields of Metohija and Kosovo. The Albanian Alps and Šar Mountains rise in the southwest and southeast respectively.
  The earliest known human settlements in what is now Kosovo were the Paleolithic Vinča and Starčevo cultures. During the Classical period, it was inhabited by Illyrian-Dardanian and Celtic people. In 168 BC, the area was annexed by the Romans. In the Middle Ages, it was conquered by the Byzantine, Bulgarian, and Serbian Empires. The Battle of Kosovo of 1389 is considered to be one of the defining moments in Serbian medieval history.
context_section_description: Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008. As of 2 March 2020, 112 UN states recognise its independence, including all of its immediate neighbours, with the exception of Serbia. However, 15 states have subsequently withdrawn recognition of the Republic of Kosovo. Since declaring independence, it has become a member of international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, though not of the United Nations.
  The Serb minority of Kosovo, which largely opposes the declaration of independence, has formed the Community Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija in response. The creation of the assembly was condemned by Kosovo's President Fatmir Sejdiu, while UNMIK has said the assembly is not a serious issue because it will not have an operative role.
  On 8 October 2008, the UN General Assembly resolved, on a proposal by Serbia, to ask the International Court of Justice to render an advisory opinion on the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence. The advisory opinion, which is not binding over decisions by states to recognise or not recognise Kosovo, was rendered on 22 July 2010, holding that Kosovo's declaration of independence was not in violation either of general principles of international law, which do not prohibit unilateral declarations of independence, nor of specific international law – in particular UNSCR 1244 – which did not define the final status process nor reserve the outcome to a decision of the Security Council.
  Some rapprochement between the two governments took place on 19 April 2013 as both parties reached the Brussels Agreement, an agreement brokered by the EU that would allow the Serb minority in Kosovo to have its own police force and court of appeals. The agreement is yet to be ratified by either parliament.
caption: The Newborn monument unveiled at the celebration of the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence proclaimed earlier that day, 17 February 2008, Pristina
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