Human rights violations in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) in the process of the presidential election and establishment of a new government was on the sharp increase recently (in 1997). The majority of these violations have been committed on political opposition forces, journalists and conscientious objectors to the war. Types of the violations include arbitrary detention, physical harrassment, unfair trials and political prosecutions. Many ethnic Albanians who remained in the prisons of Yugoslavia after the Serbian and Yugoslavian forces withdrew from Kosovo were sentenced to prison terms in unfair trials. Some of them were political prisoners. Many people testified that they had been harassed or tortured in prison. The situation has dramatically improved since the transfer of power, but police harassments continue to be reported.

The UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) and NATO peace-keeping forces have experiencing considerable difficulties in carrying out their missions. Providing guidance to the UN-led interim government and performing the chief executive's rights and responsibilities have been commissioned to a special envoy of the UN Secretary-General.