The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (Albanian: Misioni i Administratës së Përkohshme të Kombeve të Bashkuara në Kosovë, Serbian: Привремена административна мисија Уједињених нација на Косову, Privremena administrativna misija Ujedinjenih nacija na Kosovu; UNMIK) is the officially mandated mission of the United Nations in Kosovo.

The UNMIK describes its mandate as being to "help the United Nations Security Council achieve an overall objective, namely, to ensure conditions for a peaceful and normal life for all inhabitants of Kosovo and advance regional stability in the Western Balkans.

[6][7] In that Resolution, the UN decided to "[deploy] in Kosovo, under United Nations auspices, [an] international civil and security [presence]".

[22] The Dissolution of the Pillar of Humanitarian Affairs caused the Police Commissioner and the Director of the Department of Justice to report to SRSG instead of DSRSG as previously.

UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari, a former president of Finland, led the status process with Austrian diplomat Albert Rohan as his deputy.

Ahtisaari brought the parties together for the first direct dialogue in February 2006 to discuss decentralization of local government, an important measure in the protection of Kosovo Serb communities.

Ahtisaari later told the press that the meeting resulted in no breakthroughs, but added that the discussion was "frank and candid" and the atmosphere was better than he could have expected.

[29] Ahtisaari briefed Contact Group foreign ministers on 20 September 2006, in New York City at a meeting chaired by U.S. Secretary of state Condoleezza Rice.

Whilst not mentioning the word "independence," the draft included several provisions that were widely interpreted as implying statehood for Kosovo.

Ahtisaari conducted several weeks of consultations with the parties in Vienna to finalize the Settlement, including a high-level meeting on 10 March 2007 that brought together the Presidents and Prime Ministers of both sides.

[34] The Russian ambassador to Serbia asserted that Russia will use its veto power unless the solution is acceptable to both Belgrade and Kosovo Albanians.

[42] The Contact Group said that, regardless of the outcome of the present negotiations, a new International Civilian Office (ICO) will be established in Kosovo to take up the civil administration provided for under UNSCR 1244, supervise the implementation of any status settlement and safeguard minority rights.

The EU will establish a European Security and Defense Policy Rule of Law mission to focus on the policing and justice sectors.

[47] Whilst the draft resolution on Kosovo's status had yet to be endorsed by the Security Council, senior US officials had been suggesting that an agreement might be reached by 2008.

The US assistant secretary of state for European affairs told delegates at a NATO conference in Croatia that he hoped that Kosovo's future could be resolved in the months leading up to the alliance's next summit meeting in Romania in April of that year.

British and European Union officials suggested on 17 July 2007 that a final draft would be presented 'within days' in an effort to secure Russian support.

European Union foreign policy chief proposed new talks between Belgrade and Kosovo Albanians if this final draft failed, lasting for a period of four months and under the guidance of the Contact Group of leading nations.

French foreign minister and former UN Kosovo chief, Bernard Kouchner, warned that a unilateral declaration would split the European Union over recognition of the independence, whilst US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack commented that, 'There is nothing to be gained by short-circuiting the diplomatic process that is under way.'

An EU chief representative would continue to perform the same duties as the SRSG, with veto power over government decisions and the authority to fire officials found obstructing the implementation of the UN Security Council resolution.

[53] After the war ended, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1244 that placed Kosovo under transitional UN administration (UNMIK) and authorized the KFOR, a NATO-led peacekeeping force.

According to Amnesty International, the presence of peacekeepers in Kosovo led to an increase in the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation.

[73] Two United Nations Specialized Agencies, The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, granted membership to Kosovo in July 2009.

[83] In July 2006, a book, Peace at Any Price: How the World Failed Kosovo, written by two former senior staffers at UNMIK, outlined errors made by the institution between 1999 and 2006.