Abstract
This article examines the human rights record of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) during its first years as the governing power in Kosovo. This is done mainly through the work of the Ombudsperson Institution in Kosovo, which was established to ensure the respect of human rights by the local as well as the international authorities in the province. UNMIK was established in 1999 within the UN framework for peacekeeping operations and its mandate included to govern Kosovo until the final status of the province would be determined by the international community. UNMIK therefore constitutes a unique example of an international administration which to a large extent is comparable to a State power. Central components of the mission are vast powers for UNMIK in all fields of society, legal immunity for the mission and its personnel and practically no possibilities for external or internal review of its policies and actions and it will be shown that these components are detrimental for the respect of human rights. It will be suggested that the poor human rights record of UNMIK, including the lack of means to deal with such violations, is in fact, to a large extent, a result of the structure and nature of the international administration.