KOSOVO COMMUNITIES PROFILES 2010 KOSOVO COMMUNITIES PROFILES ope ganization for Security and Or Co-operation in Eur Mission in Kosovo Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Mission in Kosovo KOSOVO COMMUNITIES PROFILES Foreword by the Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo Foreword by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Introduction Table Of Contents Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Mission in Kosovo Foreword by the Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo Dear reader, Welcome to the second edition of the Organization for Security and Co- operation in Europe Mission in Kosovo (OSCE) Communities Profiles.T he protection and promotion of community rights, as well as the monitoring of community rights compliance by Kosovo institutions, continues to be one of the OSCE Mission’s key activities. One of the challenges to building sustainable peace in Kosovo remains the lack of recognition and understanding of non-majority communities’ distinct attributes, needs and concerns, by broader society, local institutions and international stakeholders. In order to contribute to enhancing knowledge among its interlocutors, the OSCE Mission published in 009 the first Communities Profiles, incorporating demographic, socio-economic, political and cultural data on Kosovo Serbs, Kosovo Turks, Kosovo Bosniaks, Kosovo Croats, Kosovo Montenegrins, Gorani, Roma, Ashkali, Egyptians and Kosovo Albanians (in the municipalities where they constitute the minority). The success of the 009 edition, which generated a great amount of positive feedback among the OSCE Mission’s interlocutors within and outside of Kosovo, has been a crucial motivator for a second edition. The 00 Communities Profiles, expanding upon the data collected, offer an even more comprehensive and detailed picture of the challenges affecting Kosovo’s non-majority communities’ enjoyment of their rights. A stronger gender perspective has been mainstreamed throughout, although the lack of disaggregated data by gender held by institutions remains an obstacle to accurately convey the distinct experiences and concerns of women and girls belonging to non-majority communities. This time around, the Communities Profiles have been translated into Albanian and Serbian languages to ensure that they become a reference document to the OSCE Mission’s local counterparts in Kosovo, while also providing an opportunity for local civil society to use this tool as a platform for community rights advocacy. Furthermore, they will be available electronically to ensure broader distribution and, therefore, a greater understanding of community rights issues in Kosovo for a much larger audience. The 00 Communities Profiles do not aim to label or define communities, a particularly difficult endeavour considering the fluidity of identity, but rather to illustrate their role and current situation in Kosovo society. The ten communities profiled in this publication are based on self-identification, a principle applied throughout the extensive field work carried out by theOS CE Mission’s field teams, and in the subsequent drafting and editing of the final product by theOS CE Mission’s headquarters. The 00 Communities Profiles’ aim is to continue to promote and protect the rights of all communities in Kosovo. They convey the voices of communities, their representatives, and other relevant interlocutors in the field, in order to portray a realistic picture of the situation on the ground. With this publication, the OSCE Mission offers a greater understanding and acknowledgement of the positive contribution that Kosovo’s communities make to society, as well as the challenges affecting their enjoyment of rights. We hope that they will remain a relevant resource for our local and international partners. Ambassador Werner Almhofer, Head of Mission Foreword by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) to the OSCE Mission in Kosovo’s Community Profiles Respect for the rights of ethnic communities is an important key to maintaining peace and stability. These rights include the effective participation in public life, in particular in those matters which directly affect them. This requires both a deep understanding into the needs of different ethnic communities, and the political will to include them in decision-making processes. In line with the High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) conflict prevention mandate, my office developed in 999 the “Lund Recommendations on the Effective Participation of National Minorities in Public Life”, with the aim of clarifying the content of minority rights in this area and, ultimately, to alleviate tensions between ethnic communities. Together with other rights relating to persons belonging to ethnic communities, such as the right to mother-tongue education, and certain linguistic rights, the right to effective participation in cultural, social and economic life and public affairs constitutes the very basis for the protection, maintenance and promotion of their identity. At the same time, effective participation calls for ethnic communities to seek redress for their concerns through an integrative approach. The integration of ethnic communities – not forced assimilation, which is prohibited by international standards – is a prerequisite for a peaceful, democratic and prosperous society. In this context, integration with respect for diversity has become an informal motto for my work. By identifying and highlighting the conditions affecting Kosovo’s different ethnic communities, including the Kosovo-Albanian community when non-majority at the municipal level, the second edition of this publication helps us to better understand their conditions. This is not only a prerequisite for enhancing participation of all groups in Kosovo society, but also for building trust and confidence in one another. I am convinced that these Community Profiles can help policymakers and other actors identify the necessary measures to be taken in order to improve the current situation. Their translation into Albanian and Serbian languages will surely further contribute to this goal. These Profiles are also useful reading for those who are looking for either an overview of Kosovo’s ethnic communities or for more in-depth information, including regional and local perspectives. They will, no doubt, also be of value to international stakeholders, such as members of OSCE Missions, the staff of international organizations and country representatives, and visiting delegations. Finally, the Community Profiles represent an important contribution by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo to promoting and protecting the rights of Kosovo’s communities and attest to the seminal role the Mission plays in this endeavour. Knut Vollebaek, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities In the spring of 007, the Organization for Security and Co-operation Kosovo in Europe Mission in Kosovo (OSCE Mission) decided to build upon its municipal profiles and began mapping all of Kosovo’s communities. Communities In September 009, when the first edition of the Communities Profiles was published, it was the first time that such a comprehensive account Profiles of the situation of non-majority communities in Kosovo had been consolidated into one single publication. The success of the 009 Communities Profiles, coupled with valuable feedback from a number of the OSCE Mission’s interlocutors that received a copy, prompted Introduction the OSCE Mission to produce a comprehensive update for 00. This edition of the Communities Profiles provides both continuity and novelty to the reader. It can be considered as both a stand alone product and a complement to the 009 edition. By maintaining the structure of the first edition, the reader is able to track progress or regression in the key thematic issues identified in 009 (e.g., access to municipal services, security and freedom of movement, returns and reintegration, etc.). At the same time, new developments have been given a special focus. There is also continuity of approach in relation to the descriptive and factual nature of the assessment. Thus, no analysis or recommendations for addressing identified gaps in the protection of communities’ rights have been included. For example, the security and freedom of movement section includes all reported incidents affecting non-majority communities without speculation about the ethnicity of perpetrators or the motivation behind the acts. The reporting instead focuses on the impact of security incidents on the enjoyment of rights by affected communities and inter-community relations, and on the responses by relevant authorities. This factual and impartial approach ensures that the Communities Profiles remain a useful resource for all relevant stakeholders, in considerations of their varied perspectives. Special care has been taken to present facts, to use respectful language to describe potentially contentious issues, and to employ inclusive terminology. In this way, the Communities Profiles can become a platform for all relevant stakeholders in Kosovo to jointly examine the concerns of non-majority communities and discuss potential solutions. Many of the challenges affecting the research of the 009 edition remain today. For example, the collection of reliable demographic data about Kosovo’s communities continues to be based on the informed estimations of institutions, community representatives, and other stakeholders, while difficulties in obtaining accurate disaggregated data for communities and/or gender