The Kosovo crisis

On 18 May 1998, the Refugee Studies Centre hosted a workshop titled ‘Preventing a Humanitarian Crisis in Kosovo’ which was funded by the Department for International Development and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. The workshop provided a forum in which influential guests from the Balkans could exchange view on the current situation, and allowed participants to explore elements of possible political arrangements that take into account the human rights of the local Albanian population and the legitimate concerns of the Serb people and Yugoslav government. Two international principles guided most of the discussion throughout the day: the right to self-determination, and respect for the territorial integrity of states. Lastly, the workshop contributed to the launching of a research project at the Refugee Studies Centre to provide policymakers with analytical research that can contribute to attenuating the tensions in Kosovo and dealing with refugee outflows.