NATO air strikes lasted 78 days. The NATO-led ground force which entered Kosovo immediately thereafter set about stabilising the province. The rebuilding of Kosovo society will be a long process, as its people recover from decades of neglect, ten years of discrimination and a bitter and brutal period of armed repression. But the prospects for the future are good as the people of the province have the opportunity to work together in partnership with the international community. The UK will continue to play a key role in this effort.

The aim of this paper is to set out the background to the crisis, explain why the UK and NATO had to intervene, give our assessment of how we performed and give details of the lessons we have learned and are implementing for the future.

It is right that we should look closely at how we might have done better. But this must not obscure the fact that we were successful. We forced Milosevic to halt his ethnic cleansing and to allow the people of Kosovo to return to their homes, so preventing a potential humanitarian disaster. Our experience in Kosovo has demonstrated the effectiveness of the international community working together in a just cause, with clear objectives.

This report was commissioned by George Robertson before he left to become NATO Secretary General last year. A great deal of the credit for the success of the campaign is due to him. I am determined to ensure that we build on his work as we move forward to implement the lessons set out here.