Newborn Monument in Pristina, Kosovo, symbolizes the birth of the new country. Kosovo was an autonomous region within the former country of Yugoslavia. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, leaders of the Kosovo region expressed their desire for independence. Forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (by then consisting of the Republics of Montenegro and Serbia) attacked, and the brutal 16-month war that followed was ended only when NATO forces intervened in 1999. The Newborn Monument was unveiled on February 17, 2008, the day that Kosovo formally declared independence. To date, 108 out of 193 United Nations member states, including the United States, have recognized Kosovo.
