Kosovo and DXCC

Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on February 17, setting off new speculations on what this means to Amateur Radio and specifically, to the DXCC program.

ARRL DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, said he understands that there are many questions about the DXCC status of
Kosovo, especially concerning whether or not the new state will be added to the DXCC list.

Moore said the DXCC rules, modified in 2000 to better handle inclusion to DXCC, are clear on how additions can be made: "For inclusion in the DXCC List, certain conditions must be met. Gaining entry on the DXCC List is not contingent upon whether operation has occurred or will
occur, but only upon the qualifications of the Entity."

According to Moore, adding Kosovo to the DXCC List would be considered under the "Political Entity" DXCC guidelines. The DXCC rules state that "Political Entities are those areas which are separated by reason of government or political division. They generally contain an indigenous population which is not predominantly composed of military or scientific
personnel."

Kosovo, according to the DXCC rules, would then be added to the DXCC List as a Political Entity if it meets one or more of the following criteria:

* The entity is a UN Member State.

* The entity has been assigned a call sign prefix block by the ITU. (The exceptions to this rule are international organizations, such as the UN and ICAO. These Entities are classified under Special Areas, 3.a; and Ineligible Areas, 4.b.) A provisional prefix bloc assignment may be made
by the Secretary General of ITU. Should such provisional assignments not be ratified later by the full ITU, the Entity will be removed from the DXCC List.

* The Entity contains a permanent population, is administered by a local government and is located at least 800 km from its parent. To satisfy the "permanent population" and "administered by a local government"
criteria of this sub-section, an Entity must be listed on either (a) the US Department of State's list of "Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty" as having a local "Administrative Center," or (b) the United Nations list of "Non-Self-Governing Territories."

"New Entities satisfying one or more of the conditions above will be added to the DXCC List by administrative action as of their 'Event Date.' Kosovo will be added to the DXCC list if it becomes a member of the UN, or if it receives a prefix bloc from the ITU. The third condition does not apply," Moore said. "The 'Event Date' will be either the date Kosovo became a UN member or it receives its prefix from the ITU.

Contacts made before the Event Date will be counted as Serbia."

Source: The American Radio Relay League