[BRIEF NOTE] Canada and Kosovo

[rfmcdonald]

The list of countries which have recognized Kosovo's independence continues to grow. In the European Union, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy have all recognized Kosovo as an independent state, while all of the Nordic states save Iceland and all of the Baltic states have either already recognized or plan to recognize Kosovo, alongside other countries like Portugal, Austria, Slovenia, Belgium, Ireland, and Hungary. In Asia and the Pacific, Afghanistan, Malaysia and Australia have recognized Kosovo, and Japan and Pakistan are poised to follow. Libya and Egypt are still studying the issue, but Senegal's decision to recognize Kosovo's independence might presage a broader trend in the Islamic world; the 56-member Organization of the Islamic Conference has congratulated Kosovars on achieving their national independence. In the Western Hemisphere, Costa Rica and the United States are alone.

Why not Canada? The long involvement of Canadian troops in Kosovo from 1999 notwithstanding, Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence might set a precedent for Qubec separatists, federal government initiatives intended to bring separatism under the control of the federal government like the Clarity Act notwithstanding. The Globe and Mail has more in today's issue.

Mr. Joli-Coeur [. . .] said that should Ottawa recognize the declaration of independence of Kosovo, it will have difficulty refusing Quebec the same status should the province eventually declare its independence.

"The case of Kosovo clearly demonstrates that the essential factors in the creation of a state are the will of the population of the territory concerned and the attitude of the international community," Mr. Joli-Coeur stated in a letter to The Globe and Mail. "The predecessor state does not necessarily play a decisive role in such matters."

Recognizing Kosovo independence could one day backfire against Ottawa, he argued.

"Canada will be reminded of its probable support for the declaration of independence of Kosovo when the matter of Quebec's sovereignty arises in the future," he stated.

Mr. Joli-Coeur was appointed "friend of the court" in 1998 by the Supreme Court to argue Quebec's case in the secession reference referred by Ottawa in the hope of having an eventual unilateral declaration of independence by Quebec declared illegal.

Some commentators distinguish between the Kosovo and Quebec situations by pointing out that, in the former territory, the Kosovar Albanian population was subjected to a decade of apartheid-like rule that culminated in violent ethnic cleansing. Québec, thankfully, has escaped anything like that. Still, the suggestion of an editorialist in the Halifax Chronicle-Herald that should "[hold] off recognition until Kosovo satisfies the UN governance proposals" may well be Canadian government policy on Kosovo. This proposal seems to be similar to that of the Netherlands, and may be similar to the policies of all those countries currently on the fence or concerned about the consequences of Kosovar independence.

(As a side note, I was surprised to be greeted by "Përshëndetje rfmcdpei!" when I logged into my Flickr account for my first post of the day.)