International Peace Enforcers and Indicted War Criminals: The Case of Ramush Haradinaj

Abstract

Since the cold war the deployment of missions that focus on developing peace and the establishment of international criminal tribunals that focus on delivering retributive justice have dominated the international approach to peacebuilding. Referencing the actions of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), and especially the case of Ramush Haradinaj, this article examines how the objectives and actions of these two institutions have adversely affected each other's work. It is important that all international actors follow the same approach in order to achieve a coherent peacebuilding process. The article also explores some of the consequences for international institutions if they are to follow either the peace approach or the justice approach.