- Date of the event
- Place
- Unknown
- Evidence status
- Evidence status: Documented. Supported by contemporaneous documents, institutional reports or independent studies that corroborate one another.
On 13 October 1998 the North Atlantic Council authorised activation orders for NATO air strikes. Holbrooke and Milošević agreed a framework for complying with Resolution 1199, with an OSCE verification mission and NATO air surveillance.
The ICTY Chamber noted that “there was no written record” of the agreement itself; its terms were carried out through follow-up agreements of 15 and 16 October 1998 (NATO–FRY and OSCE–FRY), which Resolution 1203 endorsed [1] [2] [3].
Historical context
1998
The attacks in Drenica in February and March 1998 turned a limited insurgency into open war. By October, hundreds of thousands of people had been displaced and international diplomacy was directly engaged.
Read the chapter “1998: from Drenica to open war”Sources
- [1]Tribunali Penal Ndërkombëtar për ish-Jugosllavinë (ICTY). Prosecutor v. Milutinović et al., Judgement, Volume 1 of 4. 2009-02-26. IT-05-87-T. https://www.icty.org/x/cases/milutinovic/tjug/en/jud090226-e1of4.pdf. Accessed 2026-09-16. — paras 329–335
- [2]NATO. Kosovo Air Campaign (March–June 1999): Operation Allied Force. 2024-10-21. https://www.nato.int/en/what-we-do/operations-and-missions/kosovo-air-campaign-march-june-1999. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- [3]Këshilli i Sigurimit i OKB-së. Security Council Resolution 1203 (1998). 1998-10-24. S/RES/1203 (1998). https://docs.un.org/en/S/RES/1203(1998). Accessed 2026-09-16.