DETAILS
Newsletter published by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo Volume 3 - Edition 5 - August 2005 Towards a functioning Property Rights System
Property rights must be protected as they are the cornerstone upon which a healthy market economy and an effective democratic gov- ernment are built. A functioning property rights protection system is essential to ensure the rule of law, sustainable returns, economic development – including foreign direct investment – and the protection of minorities’ interests.
Jose Arraiza and Isabel De Blas Marin, OSCE In Kosovo, the property rights system is still being reformed. Judicial and cadastral property-related records are incomplete or missing, a high number of property-related claims at the courts are stalled and the prop- erty-related legislation is in some cases unclear and incomplete. In addition, due to added institutional weaknesses, illegal constructions are not being regulated and continue to fl ourish, individual’s homes are being illegally occu- pied, agricultural land is illegally cultivated or used and there is a relative sense of impu- nity in relation to property rights. The Property Standard The Property Rights Standard was draft ed in order to strategically build up a function- ing property rights system that would take into account and move towards resolving all defi ciencies. To do so, the Standard requires Property is an issue all over Kosovo. Prishtinë/Priština is not an exception. that there is eff ective legislation in place; that there are eff ective property-rights dispute islative reform that is required to safeguard IN THIS ISSUE: resolution mechanisms; that rightful owners property rights. Support to this taskforce of residential, commercial and agricultural will be provided by the OSCE in the form Informal Settlements pg. 3 lands are able to take eff ective possession of an external consultant with expertise on of their property; and that there is an accu- ‘lessons learned’ and analysis from similar rate system for transfer, encumbrance and transitional economies in the Balkan region. The European Convention registration of property, as well as eff ective on Human Rights pg. 4-5 mechanisms for the prevention of coerced Displaced records and/or unlawful property sales. A signifi cant portion of cadastral and judi- Interview with The OSCE was involved in the draft ing pro- cial property related records were removed cess of the Property Rights Standard Imple- Marek Antoni Nowicki pg. 6-7 from Kosovo and taken to Serbia proper in mentation Plan, to later on take the role of 1999. In order to rebuild the integrity of the co-chairing the implementation group that cadastral and judicial systems, the returns The Status of oversees the progress that is being made in of these records is of essential importance. National Minorities pg. 10-11 this area. The OSCE has been coordinating a ‘common Legal reform approach’ between the four Pillars to request from the authorities of Serbia and Montene- One of the requirements of the Property gro to return these records. Rights Standard is the completion of an assessment and of an action plan for the leg- osce Continues on pg. 2 1 DETAILS EDITORIAL authorities human rights compliant. But A good example are the eff orts we take what exactly does that mean and how does in helping the judicial system. The OSCE it realistically impact on people? Mission monitors the judicial system while bringing a human rights perspective into The concept of rule of law is easier to grasp its eff orts. Issue highlighted have been the as its impact is seemingly more direct when, right to a fair trial and how higher courts for example, police are seen on the street or can guide lower courts with sound legal when one visit the court. Yet human rights decisions. This aff ect individual rights, and rule of law are intricately intertwined and if they are respected then the justice and cannot be separated. system will function bett er, human rights Human rights are those basic standards that will be respected and rule of law will be are considered to belong to every person strengthened. and individual. These include the rights OSCE’s reporting has also been to provide the to justice, freedom, and equality, the right responsible central or municipal authorities to health, education, shelter, employment, with the tools to improve the situation and Sven Lindholm property, food, freedom of expression and promote the development of institution that Spokesperson, OSCE Mission in Kosovo movement. To violate someone’s human serve all people without discrimination. rights is to not allow that person to live in dignity. To advocate human rights is to Human rights are also protected through Editorial with a focus of the overall OSCE’s role demand that the human dignity of all people eff ective and functioning rule of law in Human Rights and Rule of Law highlighting be respected. institutions. In the areas of police and justice Mission’s contribution to greater protection of the OSCE has hand through the Kosovo The OSCE is an advocate for human rights. Judicial Institute by training judges and human right and rule of law. Our tasks include monitoring, capacity prosecutors, and the Police School which has building, and raising awareness of human churned out the basis for a democratically- rights. While our work may not always A main task of the OSCE in Kosovo is to “take oriented police force. the lead role in matt ers relating to institution- seem visible, on a daily basis we are working and democracy-building and human rights with municipal administrations and legal But in the end it is not the institutions that and rule of law.” Human rights are a part of professionals to develop their understanding protect human rights or provide the basic the applicable law, leading to hearing about and capacities to bett er serve people, to make framework for the rule of law. It is each and eff orts to make legislation and acts of local the system more effi cient. every individual.
Continued from pg. 1 the Special Representative of the UN Sec- retary General regulating construction in Unsolved property claims Deçan/Dečani canyon area. This decision The resolution of confl ict related property may serve as a model for the future protec- DETAILS disputes not under the mandate of the Hous- tion of other cultural sites. Newsletter published by ing Property Directorate and Housing and Overall, the OSCE is aware of the impor- the OSCE Mission in Kosovo Property Claims Commission – which have tance of the protection of property rights exclusive jurisdiction over confl ict related for the future of Kosovo and is working to OSCE HQ, Prishtinë / Priština, Kosovo, UNMIK residential property claims - is one of the ensure that adequate support is provided to Tel: +381 38 500 162, Fax: +381 38 500 188 priorities for the OSCE. the local institutions. E-mail: [email protected] It is estimated that a number of disputes Web site: www.osce.org/kosovo over agricultural and commercial property Illegal occupation – It’s not a Publisher: need to be addressed through a specifi c Sven Lindholm mechanism. The OSCE has been involved in solution Managing Editor: the search for a solution that would address When a society perceives illegal occu- Nikola Gaon disputes over agricultural and commercial pation as an acceptable means of solv- Senior Editors: property. Currently there is a large back- ing one’s housing or economic needs, Hasan Sopa,(Detaje) log of property-related cases in the regular property legislation implementation Slaviša Mladenović (Detalji) courts. Approximately 20,000 of these cases becomes that much harder. Layout & drawings: are related to the confl ict. A strategic solution The property standard implementation Shpend Kada for the eff ective resolution of these cases, a plan includes, among others, an action number of which relate to agricultural and Contributors: point that addresses this concern. It commercial property, is needed. Joze Arraiza, Edita Buçaj, Oliver Schmidt-Guzat, calls for a public information campaign William Henley, Ronald Hooghiemstra, that would change public opinion and Rexhep Krasniqi, Fatime Lepaja, Protection of cultural heritage indicate that illegal occupation is not a Isabel De Blas Marin, Halide Sadiku, viable solution and that legal options Cultural heritage needs a special level of Mevlyde Salihu, Ardiana Sejdiu, Vasilija Stanić, need to be explored. protection. In Kosovo, such protection requires special measures directed to pre- At the request of the Ministry of Envi- ronment and Spatial Planning and UN’s osce vent damage and illegal construction in cul- Mission in Kosovo tural heritages sites. Standards Co-coordinator Offi ce, the OSCE Mission is currently assisting Disclaimer: The OSCE has been involved in develop- development of such a campaign under The views expressed and the presentation of the material published ing concrete proposals for the sustainable the slogan: do not necessarily represent the policies, opinions or positions of protection of cultural sites. For instance, an Illegal occupation – It’s not a solution. the OSCE Mission in Kosovo. Executive Decision was recently issued by 2 DETAILS Urban upgrading and protection of vulnerable groups – Informal Settlements in Kosovo All citizens of Kosovo have equal rights and obligations towards the local government, and the municipalities have clear obligations to ensure that all their inhabitants are treated equally and included in their development plans. In this regard, the OSCE has been involved in drawing the government’s attention to the rights of vulnerable communities, and especially to the rights of people living in informal settlements. Jose Arraiza and Isabel De Blas Marin, OSCE The development of informal housing areas is a frequent phenomenon in the Balkan region. Inhabitants of informal sett lements – especially those belonging to the most vulnerable groups, including Roma, Ash- kali and Egyptians – are oft en marginalized by the larger community. They are more prone to suff er violations of their human rights and sometimes they are not given the opportunity to fully participate in the work of government. They do not enjoy the gen- eral benefi ts of living in the cities as most others do. As such, informal sett lements may possess the following characteristics: informal or insecure tenure, inadequate access or depri- vation of access to basic services, inadequate or deprivation of participation in gover- nance and vulnerability to discrimination. Some informal sett lements are the result of a post-socialist, post-war transitional economy Children living in informal settlements are those who suffer most characterized by uncontrolled city growth - these are highly visible informal construc- The OSCE promotes housing rights At the central level, the OSCE has supported tion developed in the outskirts of the cities of with its expertise the ‘Stakeholders Group Kosovo. Other sett lements can be the result In October 2003, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and on Informal Sett lements’. This group was of the diff erent cultural habits of the vulner- created to act as a steering committ ee for all able communities. The nomadic habits of Herzegovina sponsored a “Regional Round- activities related to informal sett lements in the Roma/Askhali and Egyptian community table on Formalising Informal Sett lements Kosovo, not only within the standards pro- and the discriminatory practices have in of Roma and other vulnerable groups”. This cess but also with a long-term perspective. many occasions led to the establishment of Roundtable brought policymakers, activists informal housing areas, some of which were and donors together to learn about this com- Thanks to the awareness raising activities destroyed during or immediately aft er the plex, yet critical issue and provide recom- of the PISG institutions at the central level confl ict, like the Roma Mahalla sett lement in mendations to promote housing rights. about the need to regularize informal sett le- Mitrovicё/Mitrovica. The conclusions of this Roundtable were ments, municipalities are now becoming launched by the Prime Minister of Kosovo more familiar with the process of regular- Urban upgrading and the Head of the OSCE Mission in ization. Urban and spatial plans are used by the cen- Kosovo. For instance, in Istog/Istok, the Municipal- tral and the local governments to promote These conclusions have served to create ity has taken the initiative to regularize the economic development within its territory. awareness amongst government offi cials informal sett lement of Rudesh, where in These plans also help governments to ensure and to provide guidelines on how to regu- 1999, 60 families of Egyptian origin had to that all individuals, regardless of property larise informal sett lements. More than one be evacuated to Montenegro by UNHCR status and including vulnerable groups, are year aft er the launch of these conclusions, and KFOR. The OSCE, through its Human provided with the appropriate level of ser- the government included informal sett le- Rights Expert deployed in Istog/Istok vices, like access to education, sewage, street ments on its agenda and is aware that a municipality, encourages this initiative and cleaning, electricity, and health facilities. solution needs to be found to resolve this it is providing advice to ensure that the pro- When draft ing municipal spatial plans and complex issue. cess does not confl ict with the international undertaking expropriation procedures, human rights standards and that the rights informal sett lements must be protected Standards for Kosovo of those displaced are respected. unless there is an objective justifi cation to remove them. Regularization, not eradica- Informal sett lements were included as part The regularization of informal sett lements tion or relocation, should be the norm. At of the “Property Rights Standard”. Stan- is, however, by all means not reduced exclu- all times, municipal spatial plans also need dard Goals 8 and 9 require that central and sively to a minority community issue, but to ensure that the rights of inhabitants are municipal authorities protect and upgrade is rather linked to the overall concern of protected, including access to essential ser- informal sett lements. With its role of co- municipal urban management in Kosovo vices such as education, sanitation and other chair of the property rights standard imple- and to municipal eff orts to incorporate all municipal services. mentation group, the OSCE has been closely informally constructed housing areas into following the developments in this area. their plans and regularize them. 3 DETAILS The European Convention on Human Rights: A Convention for Kosovo ‘Human’ and ‘rights’ are two words undeniably married to one another in the contemporary political discourse of post-war Kosovo. Few statements, it seems, are made by politicians, international administrators or foreign diplomats without some mention of ‘human rights’, that ubiquitous coupling of words. But their signifi cance owes more to mere fashion. The popularity of talking about human rights in Kosovo and, more importantly, acting on human rights, is in large part due to a little known document signed fi fty-fi ve years ago in Rome, Italy.
William Henley & Ronald Hooghiemstra The Right to Life dom of expression, and prohibits wrongs The Court is authorized to make decisions such as torture, slavery, and discrimination. about a state’s actions, laws and policies In that capital, on 4 November 1950, the Although oft en not diff ering markedly from which are binding on all of the members member states of the newly-established the United Nations’ 1948 Universal Declara- of the Council of Europe - now numbering Council of Europe - Belgium, France, tion of Human Rights, it was important in forty-six countries in total. Its authority over Sweden and the United Kingdom included that it specifi cally sought to secure the eff ec- national laws and policies has been accepted - gathered to proclaim a new era of respect tive recognition and observance of human and maintained by all European countries for human rights in Europe. The signing of rights in law. and makes up the most sophisticated and the European Convention for the Protection eff ective system of human rights protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Free- available anywhere in the world. doms, which was brought into existence at European Court of Human Rights this meeting, was no mean feat considering Into international law, it introduced the the recent history of enmity, rivalry and war concept of a collective judicial body able to Safeguarding rights between Europe’s nations. But this some- make decisions on human rights which are During the 1970s and 1980s, this system of times obscure document has had a great enforceable in each of the member states of eff ect on the continent and, crucially, impacts collective protection led to hundreds of deci- the Council of Europe. This judicial body, sions by the European Court that obligated signifi cantly upon the future of Kosovo. known as the European Court of Human states to change their policies and laws, The Convention, also known as the Euro- Rights, has the authority to decide on claims as well as to compensate individuals and pean Convention on Human Rights, made by individuals and groups that a groups for violations of the human rights requires signatories to uphold certain rights, member state has violated their human contained in the Convention. All member such as the right to life, liberty, security of rights and freedoms as protected in the Con- states respected the decisions of the Court person, freedom of movement and free- vention. and, in many cases, states which had not been involved in a case before the Court also changed their laws and policies following a condemnation of another state. The European Court has always insisted that member states are obligated to ensure that human rights are “practical and eff ec- tive, not theoretical and illusory.” Today, most countries have incorporated the rules of the Convention into their national legal systems and the human rights provisions of the Convention can be used before national courts in order to put into practice the eff ec- tive enjoyment of human rights by all.
Applicable in Kosovo But the European Convention and the Euro- pean Court should not appear as irrelevant abstractions to life in Kosovo. People here have endured, and sometimes still endure, unacceptable violations of human rights. Recognising this, the Constitutional Frame- work of 2001 was drawn up to place a clear burden on Kosovo’s authorities to respect and address the human rights of all resi- dents. As such, the Provisional Institutions of Self- Government, although not an actual signa- tory to the European Convention on Human The European Court of Human Rights located in Strasbourg, France Rights, are nonetheless bound to abide by 4 DETAILS it. Under Article 3.2(b) of the Framework, Monitoring human rights The doors of Europe they are obliged to respect the rights con- Today, the decisions of the European Court As for Kosovo’s future, adherence to the tained in the Convention, such as the right number in the thousands, and the text of Convention has an important eff ect on to liberty and security of person, the right to the Convention and its interpretation of acceptance into the wider family of Europe. freedom of expression, and the right to a fair the rules of the Convention form the basis One need only look to the newly emerging public trial and ensure citizens’ participa- of numerous programmes organized in states of Central and Eastern Europe aft er tion in public life. In short, the Convention is Kosovo; infl uencing intensive training pro- the end of the Cold War to observe just how directly applicable in Kosovo law. grammes organized for judges, prosecutors important the Convention has been for aspi- and lawyers, as well as for public offi cials, The Convention has consequently had an rations to be accepted into Europe. and the education of children and the gen- important infl uence on a growing culture of eral public. During the 1990s, these countries were eager respect for human rights in policy-making in to demonstrate that they were civilized The OSCE Mission in Kosovo as one pillar Kosovo. The Convention and the decisions of European nations intent on engaging politi- of the United Nations Administration, in co- the European Court are used to ensure that cally and economically with the democra- operation with the Council of Europe and cies of Western Europe and North America. new laws in Kosovo are made in compliance the Offi ce of the UN High Commissioner for By joining the Council of Europe and rati- with human rights. There are also notable Human Rights, uses the European Conven- fying the Convention, they signalled their similarities between the rights enshrined in tion to monitor and analyse the workings commitment to democratic values and a the Convention and its Protocols with the of Kosovo’s Provisional Institutions of Self- common European heritage of political tra- Standards for Kosovo – for instance on free- Government and to make recommendations ditions, ideals, freedom and the rule of law. dom of movement and rights for members for changes and to discuss the development of ethnic communities. of new rules and institutions. In doing so, they also demonstrated their commitment to meeting many of the crite- ria for entry to the European Union, which require that a state demonstrate its compli- Guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights: ance with human rights. Consequently, the countries of Central Europe and the former Soviet Union joined the Council of Europe Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law. and the human rights protection system No one shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading of the Convention, paving the way for the treatment or punishment. 2004 accession of ten new member states to the European Union, including Poland, the No one shall be held in slavery and servitude. Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slo- venia. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. Everyone has the right to liberty of movement and freedom to Good of all people choose his residence. Similarly, by accepting an obligation to the Everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing by an independent Convention in the Constitutional Frame- and impartial tribunal established by law. work, Kosovo’s leaders signal their commit- ment to human rights principles. This has Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and important ramifi cations for its residents’ religion. future aspirations. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. Acceptance of human rights values, how- ever, is not enough alone to secure Kosovo’s The enjoyment of rights shall be secured without discrimination on future as a part of Europe. Looking at future any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or candidate countries for the Europe Union, other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national a large proportion of the diffi culties which minority, property, birth of other status. Turkey has experienced relates precisely to its diffi culties in demonstrating compli- ance with the European Convention. It has endured repeated condemnations by the European Court for serious violations of Web Links: human rights. Talking about ‘human rights’ is deserved • Library of the European Court of Human Rights – and correct, but, as the example of Turkey http://www.echr.coe.int/Library/COLENcedh.html illustrates, demonstrable, genuine and eff ec- • English Version of European Convention on Human Rights – tive action is also required. To truly benefi t http://www.humanrights.coe.int/aware/GB/publi/materials/13.pdf from the positive image aff orded to signato- ries of the European Convention on Human • Albanian Translation of European Convention on Human Rights – Rights, the leaders and public authorities of http://www.echr.coe.int/Convention/webConvenALB.pdf Kosovo should ensure that human rights are fully upheld and enforced, for the good of • Serbian Translation of European Convention on Human Rights – all the people. This is the only way that the http://www.humanrights.coe.int/aware/GB/publi/materials/13.pdf aspirations of Kosovo’s residents can possi- bly be met. 5 DETAILS Interview with the Kosovo Ombudsperson Marek Antoni Nowicki “Kosovo needs an ombudsperson who can stand alone, who can be a haven and a catalyst of daily human problems in the future,” The fi rst and likely the last International Ombudsperson in Kosovo, Marek Antoni Nowicki speaks about the challenges in his work. He stresses the challenge for the new ombudsperson who according to him should be a person that enjoys confi dence of the entire population and is able to cope with all of the issues fi rmly and objectively.
Edita Buçaj, OSCE The Institution of Ombudsperson at least, from our point prosecutors offi ces; there are too many has just issued its Annual of view, are of cru- complaints about ineff ectiveness of work report. Very briefl y, what cial importance, of the police. We cannot even speak of pro- is the situation of like problems tection of basic rights when we have situ- human rights com- present in the ations in which for example I am going to pared to last year? legal system. certain villages and people are talking to My general state- This rather me about plenty of diff erent cases - I do not ment is that the situ- chaotic situ- speak about violence - we’re speaking about ation has improved ation was things which are more trivial but at the to some extent. Very stressed same time very important for people, like generally, from the many times massive stealing. You have certain places point of view of min- by us in the in which everything was stolen and there imum human rights past. It is litt le is nothing to steal anymore. And when we standards, Kosovo is bit bett er now ask the question if there was a single case still quite below the but not to the that registered progress concerning fi nding extent that we can level that is consid- perpetrators, we get answers like: no, noth- change our general ered as this mini- ing, zero. mum. There are position. still a lot of is- From the point of basic The police complain that they do not have sues which protection of human competencies over security. rights we still have judi- Which competencies? Competency to go ciary which is still quite and search somebody’s house? weak in many respects; there is big problem with law You mentioned problems in the legal system. enforcement and police and Is it because we have many sources of leg- islation? There are multiple sources indeed: Former Yugoslav laws, Milosevic’s system, UNMIK regulations, Kosovo laws promulgated by UNMIK, international standards and cur- rent Serbian laws. To certain extent, you have a sort of double state here. The parallel system is strong enough to say that the current Serbian legal system is also present here somehow.
How much does this multiple legis- lation overlap? Which laws should be applied in certain cases? The question is why there are such problems because in many situa- tions you have a question which laws to apply? We have certain cases that are very concrete, for example persons who are the Second World War Inva- 6 DETAILS lids. They are coming to me and saying, “we do not receive any pensions.” Before, of course, they were receiving pensions from Serbia, now nobody is paying those pensions, apart from this general 40 euros. Before, they were in a special system. But this special system according to us is still in force, because no other law or UNMIK regulation really changed the situation in this respect. The rule is that the laws from the period before 1989 stay in power unless there is a new UNMIK regulation or Kosovo law which is changing this. But nothing has been changed. It means this people still have right to claim pensions but sometimes you have impression that government authori- ties simply do not remember or they do not want to remember that they are certain laws which are in force. But when you have such a discussion, which law to apply, it is hard to fi nd someone who could address this question. You do not have a system in which you can raise a question of applica- bility of certain laws and in this complicated legal situation it is extremely important to have, in one instance, authoritative organ who could answer such a question. Ombudsperson’s main building in Prishtinë/Priština, Kosovo
Is a Human Rights Court answer to this When we speak about this new laws which need an international but of course friendly, question? are very close to our institutions, also Access professional, independent oversight institu- It must be a human rights judicial body who to Offi cial Documents we can say that they tion, in order to help us in this respect.” And could deal with such questions, questions of are very sophisticated. But what hap- this is exactly our position. It is needed. It is conformity of law with international stan- pens with their implementation? I have an needed in this context, but at the same time dards and also questions related whether in impression that almost nobody knows how it is needed because one should remember, concrete cases there was a violation or not. to do it – some persons are quite irritated whatever status will be of Kosovo, you will I express my opinion, I raise this opinion or upset that there are no governmental still have certain international structures, with UNMIK, with SRSG and SRSG has a plans of actions…The problem is that some- you will have also certain reserved powers diff erent opinion. And what happens aft er? times we make a mistake. Societies in cer- and my suspicion is that these reserved tain areas are on level A or level B, but most powers will very much be in this context We stay on these opinions and we do not certainly on diff erent levels. And when you - the area of minorities. In my view, inter- have any other procedures or organ which introduce certain laws which are very far national community should not resign so could fi nally solve this issue. This is a situ- from the level on which society is, you do easily from the only independent institution ation which is diff erent in comparison to not have any communication between the which exists in this fi eld. More importantly that in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There was message which you try to send through this this is an institution which enjoys trust of all a Human Right Chamber and the Ombud- law and the level of understanding of such communities, which is important. sperson could send a case simply to the thing by the society. Chamber as the judicial body. And they What is your relationship with local insti- decided fi nally. So you had a fi nal judicial Speaking at the Parliamentary Assembly of tutions? position concerning human rights issues. the Council of Europe in Strasbourg earlier Until recently we have been dealing mainly This is part of the discussion about a lack of this year you said that the Ombudsperson with UN and of course they liked this. proper mechanism of protection. You must should continue to be an international. People do not like to be criticised but they have a system. If you have only certain part Why is that? are happy if you criticise others. Senior of the system, certain pieces but you do not In January, this year, when I was in Stras- Kosovo offi cials told me in the past “we are have a complete system, it will not work. bourg, there was a debate about human very happy because somebody is doing the right protection in Kosovo. More recently on job we should do”. But I responded that Another problem present in Kosovo is the 21 and 22 of June current political situation the time will come when you get involved. non-implementation of laws. was discussed as well. You have two resolu- But I would like to see greater co-operation Many laws get signed. Laws are in the paper tions that say the same – the international from their side. very much. Ombudsperson in Kosovo must continue Those interested can visit the Ombudsper- until the end of the international mission. son’s webpage to access the full text of the One of them is Anti-Discrimination Law. It is important because Kosovo is still in annual report in three languages Why it is not being implemented? transition in many respects. Hashim Thaci in Anti-Discrimination, Gender Equality… the lett er to Kofi Annan stressed, “…we still htt p://www.ombudspersonkosovo.org/ 7 DETAILS Human Right Clubs Hasan Sopa, OSCE Back in 2002, the OSCE Mission began es- the position of people with special needs,” ing and methodology,” said Hooghiemstra. tablishing Human Rights Youth Clubs in she said. Youth capacity building needs to be linked various cities in Kosovo. Their purpose is Elvin Huduti, from the “Gjon Buzuku” into a local institution in order to become a to teach secondary school children, ages 14 Gymnasium in Prizren, is a relatively new sustainable part of Kosovo culture, accord- to 18, about basic human rights and what member of the club. He joined the club ing to him. “What we will be looking into is they mean. Currently there are nine active seven months ago and has already partici- those institutions that deal with youth such Clubs. pated in some of the activities. What he likes as the Ministry of Education, the Ministry The Human Rights Clubs programme fore- most with the club is the interactive group of Culture, Youth and Sports or any other sees supporting the Club members in a vari- work and especially the respect for others’ appropriate body or institution,” he added. ety of activities intended to raise awareness points of view. of the general public about human rights “One of the activities that I liked most was Human Rights education issues while also building a bett er under- the documentary ‘Stand up now for human Furthermore, the Mission is co-operating standing of these rights by the members of rights.’ Our club showed it at the city cinema closely with the Ministry of Education, Sci- the clubs. In other words, the objective of on 10 December last year, on International ence and Technology (MEST), in order to the programme is to open young peoples’ Human Rights Day. The documentary high- anchor human rights education into the minds to the principles of human rights and lighted the adoption process of the Universal overall school curriculum. to demonstrate to them that it is possible to Declaration of Human Rights as well as dif- Through a pilot project carried out in 2003 take responsibility for oneself in a manner ferent Human Rights Campaigns conducted and 2004, aiming to introduce Human that it is fair and respectful of the human around the world,” says Huduti. dignity of others. Rights Education in sixth grade civic edu- These kinds of activities have a positive cation classes, the Mission has been able to Ronald Hooghiemstra, Chief of the Capac- impact on club members, according to Re- fi nalize a Student’s Workbook and Teacher’s ity Building Section within the Mission’s nda. When new members join the club they Guidebook. “Initially we started with 70 Department of Human Rights and Rule of are usually very shy because they fi nd them- schools where we trained civic education Law, explains: “The primary purpose of selves in the company of new people. “Once teachers in teaching methodology. We moni- the program is to increase the capacity of we start with the activities and they get tored their use of the methodology with youth in understanding human rights and connected to the concept of human rights, their pupils and, based on positive feedback to develop themselves through informed they become very active and express their from the evaluation we did, we proposed debates, as well as to encourage and assist thoughts freely. I’m personally surprised it to the Minister of Education. Follow- youth in reaching out to their community when one of the members stands up and ing a few changes proposed by the Minis- with a human rights message.” freely says that he does not agree with his try, this project will be implemented in all Once a group of interested teenagers is colleagues’ point of view. This shows that sixth grade classes in Kosovo schools,” said identifi ed, regular meetings are set up for they are not only actively participating in Hooghiemstra. 16 weeks. “They basically get lessons on the sessions but also learning things,” she The OSCE has fi nancially supported the human rights concepts and how these rights said. printing and distribution of 2,000 Teacher’s relate to them,” said Hooghiemstra. A fi eld Based on positive feedback about the pro- Guidebooks and 10,000 Student’s Work- offi cer also facilitates discussions among the gramme the Mission received from youth, books, which is considered to be suffi cient group and teaches them to write project pro- parents, teachers and public offi cials, it was for two years. At the beginning of the 2005- posals. encouraged to carry on. “However, in order 2006 school-year the civic education teachers The Human Rights Club from Prizren is to reach a larger cross-section of the youth will receive training and their teaching will very active and has conducted a series of population, our Section will develop this be monitored in order to help teachers in activities, which include a photo exhibition, activity into a standardized package of train- providing eff ective human rights education. a human rights concert, school debates on human rights issues and many other activi- ties, which intend to further increase gen- eral public knowledge about human rights issues. According to Diana Renda, Human Rights Assistant with the Capacity Building Sec- tion, OSCE Offi ce in Prizren, one of the main activities of the Prizren club has been the project dedicated to illustrating the situation of persons with special needs. Members of the Prizren club, in close coop- eration with ‘Handikos’ Prizren, spent sev- eral months visiting families and persons with special needs. “They visited families in the most distant villages and took photo- graphs of them illustrating their situation,” says Renda. Later on, the best pictures, were exhibited in the main public institutions and in town centers in the region. “The main idea of the project was to raise the aware- ness of the institutions and the public about Pictures of people with special needs exhibited in the Gymnasium ‘Gjon Buzuku’ Prizren 8 DETAILS Will Zoçishtë/Zočište be multiethnic again? Situated in the region of Rahovec/Orahovac, a region well known for wine growing, Zoçishtë/Zočište village used to be multiethnic. It had approximately 70 Albanian and 50 Serbian families living there.
Vasilija Stanić, OSCE However, aft er the 1999 confl ict, Serbian with his wife. His son with wife and two we are making a strong base for sustainable inhabitants fl ed the village leaving their children lives in Kraljevo, in Serbia proper. return.” houses and property behind. During the Đorđe said that if his house was to be rebuilt However, houses are not enough for returns to past six years no one had returned, the main they would all come back. become sustainable. Returnees cannot count reason for it being that they had nothing to Đorđe Krstić is one of those villagers from on making living of irregular and insuffi cient return to – houses were burnt and vineyards Zoçishtë/Zočište whose house should be humanitarian aid or public welfare. They and lands could not be accessed due to rebuilt by the Ministry for Communities need regular monthly incomes - they need security concerns. As a result their once and Return. The project valued at 1.8 million employment. “We do not wish to return fertile soil is either neglected or somebody euros should provide for construction of 44 people if they will only be a statistics and if else is cultivating it. houses, medical emergency facility, and other that would mean that we are only creating While most of former villagers of Zoçishtë/ necessary infrastructure. Size of houses will new social problems,” says Šćepanović. Zočište had left to Serbia proper and now vary from 44 to 70 square meters, depending “The idea of the Ministry is to support not live in some of collective centers or with of the size of the returnee family. only returns, but also further existence of relatives and friends, Đorđe Krstić had never Implementation of this project has already those people. So with our economy program left Kosovo. He lives in Velika Hoča/Hoçë e started; a contractor chosen through a tender the Ministry intends to help to returnees Madhë which is only few kilometers away has cleaned up the ground preparing it for in implementation of small business from his home. He said it would take him construction works. Mihailo Šćepanović, projects; we also plan to build factories. only fi ft een minutes to walk to Zoçishtë/ permanent secretary in the Ministry for We are going to insist on implementation Zočište. Communities and Return said that the of regulation on employment which says “I would love it if I could go there. The last deadline for houses to be ready for returnees that within municipal structures and other time I was there was in September last year. I to move in is 1 September 2005. “The Ministry parts of provisional institutions 20 percent went with KFOR”, said Đorđe. “I went there fi rst conducted a research to establish were of employees should be from non-Albanian for a meeting with village representatives, the largest interested for return was, so communities.” that we could talk to the president of the Albanians, to discuss if they would accept However, this is a complex process, says respective municipality”, he said. “Then us to return. They said they object to return Šćepanović and adds: “There are projects in we organize go-and-see visits. There were of three families. They did not oppose plan to be implemented when people return. people who, for the fi rst time aft er six years, other neighbors coming back but they said There are a lot of details that should be taken that they were not sure what people from came and saw how their property looks like now, they spoke with their neighbors... All care of, for example what kind of project to other neighboring villages would have to inhabitants of Zoçishtë/Zočište who will get implement in which area and how old the say about that – they could not give any new house have signed statements that they people that will work on the project are. This guarantees for them.” will return if the Ministry builds houses for is going to be a slow and a complex process, In Velika Hoča/Hoçë e Madhë Đorđe lives them. We believe that with this approach but those people will get the jobs for sure.” The job is something that worries Đorđe Krstić too. Before the confl ict he worked as a driver and a superintendent in school in Zoçishtë/Zočište. Now he is doing the same job in school in Velika Hoča/Hoçë e Madhë: “I don’t know what to do when the houses are ready. If I was pensioned there would be no problem. But I can not leave my job. The best solution would be if it was safe and I would have a car to travel. It is not far and I would not mind traveling every day.” Of course, everything starts and ends with security problem. As most of possible returnees, Đorđe wants to return and says he would return right away “if there was freedom, law and order, and if he knew that there would not be some situation when you have to run away as it was on 17 March”. And implementation of law and order in a democratic society should not be taken by groups or individuals, who then decide on who should be allowed or forbidden to return. Investigation on somebody’s Some of the former villagers of Zoçishtë/Zočište still live in neighboring village Velika Hoča/Hoçë e eventual responsibility and guilt should be Madhë as IDPs, Rahovec/Orahovac Municipality carried out by institutions in charge. 9 DETAILS The Status of National Minorities Minority Ethnic Communities in Kosovo and the involvement of the OSCE Mission in minority rights protection
Oliver Schmidt-Gutzat, Senior Advisor on Minority Rights
The protection of national minority rights does not exist apart from, but is rather an integral part of the human rights protection system. In Europe, this principle fi nds its expression in the Article 1 of the 1994 Coun- cil of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The European human rights protection system, however, does distinct between spe- cifi c rights of persons belonging to national minorities, on one hand, and generally bind- ing human rights and the principle of non- discrimination on the other hand. The principle of non-discrimination oft en, but not always, simply requires a mere abstention by public authorities from adopt- ing and/or applying discriminatory mea- sures and treatment towards individuals or groups. In contrast, specifi c minority rights (not to be confused with special or addi- tional rights) have been developed with the aim to enable persons belonging to national minorities to enjoy equal chances and oppor- tunities. Minority rights are therefore a necessary complement to the right to equal treatment and generally applicable human rights, such as freedom of expression, freedom of move- Ambassador Werner Wnendt and his team listen to the concerns of National Minorities during his visit ment, freedom of assembly and association, to Bellopojë/Bello Polje, Pejë/Peć or the right to property. Specific Minority Rights and of persons belonging to national minori- Communities and Return, the att empt of ties into society. The former derives from the PISG to increase the number of minor- Freedom from Discrimination the principle that “[a]ll human beings are ity employees in the ministries, and the fi rst Specifi c minority rights mainly encom- born free and equal in dignity and rights”, OSCE facilitated Serbian-language training pass linguistic rights, including the right as laid down in Article 1 of the Universal by the Kosovo Institute for Public Admin- to use minority languages in the broadcast Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by istration (KIPA) for civil servants from Rah- media, educational rights, and the right to the United Nations General Assembly on 10 ovec/Orahovac, are only some examples of participate in public life, including decision- December 1948. affi rmative action carried out by Kosovo making. institutions. The Situation in Kosovo From the content of these rights it is obvi- Another positive example of affi rmative ous that the abstention from discriminatory In Kosovo, both UNMiK and the Provisional action aims at the integration into main- behaviour is not suffi cient. In addition to the Institutions of Self –Government (PISG) have stream schools of the traditionally most right to equal treatment, the adoption and over the last years adopted a number of laws disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in implementation of regulations or measures and regulations in the area of minority rights Kosovo, Roma and Ashkali. The Ministry of for positive discrimination or affi rmative protection and anti-discrimination. Many of Education, Science and Technology, in coop- action are required. Their implementation these rights have found their way into the eration with the OSCE, has implemented, will guarantee that persons belonging to Kosovo Standards Implementation Plan during the last school-year, catch-up classes national minorities enjoy equal chances and and have thus contributed to an increased for Roma and Ashkali children in eight opportunities. awareness within the PISG and among the municipalities in Kosovo. However, a gen- majority population in Kosovo. The aim of specifi c minority rights is two- eral PISG strategy for improving the situ- fold: to specify the right of every person to Progress, though very slow, has also been ation of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians, preserve and develop one’s identity, and to made in the implementation of these rights. comprising, among others, illegal sett le- facilitate the integration, not assimilation, The recent establishment of a Ministry of ments and housing, registration, education, 10 DETAILS health, and employment, has not yet been and the right to property (repossession) From 2003 until present, the Mission has developed. are generally applicable, and not specifi - supported the Community Committ ees, one cally minority related rights. It is obvious, of the standing committ ees of each Munici- A closer view into a genuine minority rights however, that persons belonging to national pal Assembly att ending to minority rights protection situation discloses a bleak pic- minorities in Kosovo and elsewhere in the protection. The OSCE participated in the ture. When it comes to linguistic rights, region, are particularly restricted in the draft ing of the administrative instructions offi cial signs of villages, towns, cities and exercise of these rights. In these areas, there regarding the procedural rights and the streets have to be writt en, apart from Alba- is oft en not only open opposition among the competencies of the Community Commit- nian, at least in Serbian language. On many majority population, varying in diff erent tees. Subsequently, the Mission provided offi cial signs the Serbian version is mis- parts of Kosovo, but in many cases there is training for its members on human and spelled or has been painted over. The obli- also a lack of commitment by the competent minority rights as well as on the way on how gation to establish such signs is useless, if Kosovo institutions to apply these rights to deal with cases. These capacity building they are not maintained or replaced by the without discrimination. Open opposition activities are still ongoing. competent authorities, in case they have and lack of commitment is oft en accompa- been destroyed. In addition, the Mission has commented on nied by hidden and indirect discrimination, numerous draft laws dealing with the rights Persons belonging to the Serb, Bosniak and such as the apparently common practice to of persons belonging to national minorities. Gorani minority ethnic communities have charge returnees with the electricity bills for Recent examples are the anti-discrimination the right to address and receive replies from their houses or apartments, which have been law and the draft law on languages – imple- central and municipal authorities in Serbian accumulated by the illegal occupant, oft en mentation of both laws is closely followed (Bosnian and Gorani languages are very over several years. As long as such indirect by the Mission. close to Serbian), while Turks in some areas discrimination is not tackled by the insti- have the right to communicate with civil ser- tutions in a systematic manner, the imple- In the area of media, the Mission inter alia vants in their mother tongue, Turkish. Writ- mentation of these fundamental rights will has facilitated Kosma network of 28 Ser- ten information of the central and local levels be slow for persons belonging to national bian language radio stations in Kosovo. In administration has to be printed in Alba- minorities. Strpce/Shterpce the Mission supported the nian and Serbian, and in some areas again establishment of a bilingual (Albanian and Serbian) TV Herc. The Mission also fi nanced in Turkish. This legal obligation has not yet The Kosovo Standards been implemented all over Kosovo. When it trainings for journalists from minority com- munities, including Roma, enabling them to comes to personal contacts, the providers of Implementation Plan run their own radio stations or to provide public services have to provide for interpre- It should be noted that minority rights cannot minority language programs in public or tation to Serbian or Turkish if required. In be reduced to the current process of Koso- private broadcast media. practice, Serbs oft en do not feel comfortable vo’s Standards Implementation Plan. The - for justifi ed reasons or the fear of being dis- assessment of standards is just a necessary This enumeration of the OSCE’s activities criminated - to address the local authorities fi rst step for the start of negotiations about in the area of minority rights protection is directly, but go through the Chief Executive Kosovo’s fi nal status. In this regard, it could not exhaustive. It should be noted, however, Offi cer of the municipalities. In some cases, be helpful for Kosovo’s institutions to have a that the Mission’s programmes and activities translation is not available. Therefore, in closer look into the countries of the former promote an institutionalised protection of many cases non-Albanians are accompanied Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. For the rights of persons belonging to national by Albanian speakers when they approach example, minority rights protection is still minorities, facilitate – directly or indirectly the civil servants. high on the agenda in Croatia, which is get- – inter-ethnic dialogue, and help create the conditions for sustainable return of minority Regarding the right of persons belonging to ting closer to membership in the European refugees and internally displaced persons. national minorities to participate in public Union. Among others, the OSCE Mission to life, including in the decision-making pro- Croatia and the OSCE High Commissioner cess, it is questionable whether the system of on National Minorities are still closely fol- Groups of international experts, tasked reserved seats in the Kosovo Assembly, can lowing the situation of national minorities in by the OSCE High Commissioner on in itself secure this participatory right. In a Croatia and are providing advice regarding National Minorities (HCNM), have post-confl ict area such as Kosovo, reserved the implementation of minority rights. developed “The Hague Recommenda- seats are an adequate tool to guarantee the tions regarding the Education Rights presentation in the central assembly. But The involvement of the OSCE of National Minorities” (1996), “The for a substantial participation in decision- Oslo Recommendations regarding the making, at least in the form of institution- Mission in Kosovo in Minority linguistic Rights of National Minorities” alised consultations in matt ers that directly Protection (1998), “The Lund Recommendations on aff ect minority, such as education and the The respect for and the implementation of the Eff ective Participation of National preservation of culture and tradition, other the rights of persons belonging to minority Minorities in Public Life” (1999), and, mechanisms should be considered. Such ethnic communities in Kosovo has, in the six together with the offi ce of the OSCE mechanisms are enumerated in the Lund years of OSCE Mission’s existence, always Representative on Freedom of the Media, Recommendations on the Eff ective Partici- been one of the its main focuses. the “Guidelines on the Use of Minority pation of National Minorities in Public Life. Languages in Broadcast Media” (2003); In the fi rst two years following 1999, and in Apart from reserved seats these recommen- The purpose of these recommendations view of the local elections in Kosovo in 2000 dations include establishment of committ ees is to provide interpretation of the existing and the general election in 2001, part of Mis- that would address issues such as housing, international minority rights standards sion’s activities were aiming at supporting land, education, language and culture with and guidelines to governments and the establishment and the capacity building relevant authorities, as well as undertaking institutions regarding their implemen- of the political representation of minority of special measures for minority participa- tation. communities. Throughout 2002 and 2003, tion in the civil service (affi rmative action). These documents can be found at: the Mission supported the establishment of www.osce.org/hcnm Freedom of movement, the right to return and training for minority NGOs. 11 DETAILS Domestic violence and trafficking in human beings – Comprehensive problems that require comprehensive solutions
Hasan Sopa and Nikola Gaon, OSCE “The Mission provided technical expertise and fi nancial support in the draft ing process. The OSCE will be part of the Advisory Board as foreseen by the KAPCT, and will continue to provide technical expertise and to monitor its implementation by local executive and legislative bodies,” said Chase.
Standard Operating Procedures Prior to the completion of the KAPCT, in late 2004, the Mission helped develop Standard Operative Procedures (SOPs) for providing assistance to foreign adult and child victims of traffi cking. Similar SOPs for Kosovan victims are currently being developed. According to Chase the SOPs proved how successful coordination of anti-traffi cking services can lead to effi cient referral Training of Trainings session on Domestic Violence, organized by OSCE in Gjilan /Gnjilane region mechanisms that work in the best interest of the victim. “We facilitated an inter-agency Issues of traffi cking in human beings The aim is to ease and increase victims’ ‘Direct Assistance’ working group in the and domestic violence are widespread in access to justice mechanisms, such as legal creation of the SOPs. The SOPs constitute southeast Europe. While domestic violence remedies and direct forms of assistance part of the eff orts to establish a system which was historically present, the issue of traf- for the victims, and to ensure victims’ maximizes the transfer of power to the fi cking in human beings is of a newer date rehabilitation and reintegration in society. Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Kosovo. Following the 1999 confl ict, and relevant Kosovo civil actors and Kosovo was primarily a destination point for create sustainable mechanisms for victims’ traffi cking victims, both adult and underage. Advisory role and training protection,” she said. More recently, cases of women and children activities being traffi cked from Kosovo are also being The Mission advises central level institutions recorded. Comprehensive trainings on policies development to ensure Creating KAPCT and SOPs is not suffi cient in The OSCE Mission att ends to both these compliance with the applicable law and the itself. People working on domestic violence problem areas. It monitors work of local and international human rights standards. On and traffi cking issues needed to be trained UNMIK institutions and provides advice the other hand it builds the capacity of local on how to use these two comprehensive and technical support as needed. At times institution at all levels, through training and tools and ensure eff ective interaction of all it gets involved with specifi c cases in order technical support. Ensuring sustainability bodies involved. to identify gaps in existing services, oft en of governmental structures that support aiding in addressing these gaps through victims of sexual and gender based violence In this respect, most recently, from January institution building and capacity building. is one of its key priorities in this area. to April of 2005, the Mission and its partners held fi ve regional trainings on the SOPs on More importantly, the Mission is working Working with the Advisory Offi ce on Good Direct Assistance and Support to Foreign to create comprehensive mechanisms that Governance (AOGG) of the Offi ce of the Victims in Prizren, Pejё/Peć, Gjilan/Gnjilane, will provide for protection of victims of Prime Minister the Mission helped develop Prishtinë/Priština and Mitrovicё/Mitrovica. gender based and sexual violence, victims of Kosovo Action Plan to Combat Traffi cking These three day trainings were att ended traffi cking in human being, and child abuse. (KAPCT), which was approved by the In developing such mechanisms it brings by approximately 35 participants in each government on 17 May 2005. A national together key actors: Ministry of Labor and region and have included Victim Advocates Domestic Violence and Anti-Traffi cking Social Welfare, Offi ce of the Prime Minister, from Department of Justice, municipal social Policy Adviser, Ariana Qosaj Mustafa, secon- Department of Justice, Department of Social workers, and police offi cers. ded by the Mission to the AOGG helped this Welfare, UNMIK Police’s Domestic Violence process from the off set. Currently, the Mission is following up on Unit, UNMIK Police’s Traffi cking in Human these trainings by reviewing the eff ectiveness According to Jennifer Chase, Mission’s Beings Investigation Section, International of implementation of the SOPs, including Organization for Migration, municipal Senior Human Rights Advisor, KAPCT is a coordination and clarity of institutional social workers, shelter providers, NGOs, and comprehensive plan to address issues related roles. other relevant domestic and international to traffi cking in human beings in areas of organizations. protection, prevention and prosecution. Continues on pg. 15 12 DETAILS Supporting Kosovo judical system
Kosovan judges faced a challenge when they resumed work in 1999 – regaining the trust the people had lost in the judicial system. OSCE, offering regular trainings for old and young legal workers, helped get the system up and running again.
Mevlyde Salihu, OSCE “Justice exists; we are the ones that must all the cases fi nished on time with 12 judges,” apply it,” says Judge Fllanza Kadiu, sitt ing Berisha said and added, “we need at least 6 in her small offi ce at the District Court of more judges to deal with the last year’s cases Pristina, the second instance court of the as well as those we received this year.” Kosovo legal system. Poor communication with the international Judge Kadiu began her work at the Pristina police force was another diffi culty Kosovo District Court in January 2000, aft er pre- courts had to face. viously having worked as a lawyer for 10 years. She chose law because she believes in “The beginning was diffi cult also because justice. international police force members came from diff erent places and could not adjust; The Kosovo judicial system comprises they simply didn’t understand the way we a supreme court, fi ve district courts and worked,” Judge Kadiu explains diffi culties 24 municipal courts. The District Court deals with serious penal cases, as well as she faced at the beginning. complaints/appeals that come from Muni- But, over the course of time, things started cipal Courts, the lowest instance. changing and slowly improving. Penal cases are Judge Kadiu’s fi eld of expertise. She presides over cases dealing New laws and skills with adults as well as minors, both diff erent and challenging, yet equally carefully dealt Meanwhile the supplementary institutions with. had started functioning, making the work of the courts easier, in April 2004 judges Kosovo courts worked in diffi cult conditions had something else in their hands eff ecting aft er the confl ict in 1999. Supplementary their everyday work – two new laws, the institutions to support the work of the courts Provisional Criminal Procedure Code and lacked, and there were not enough judges to Provisional Criminal Code of Kosovo, came deal with the increasing number of cases, into force. especially in bigger towns. Kadiu says that the new laws are good and Overloaded Courts functional. “Although we come across a few Judge Fllanza Kadiu gaps when implementing it in practice,” she The District Court administrator Feriz Beri- says, “we [judges] are happy for the new She explains that it takes more than just sha, points out that the courts are even now laws and are fi rmly gett ing used to them.” judges to fi nish a case successfully. “Not overloaded with cases, as the number of Besides these two new laws helping Kosovo everything depends on our work, she says, judges as well and professional cooperators “it also depends on the prosecutors, inves- judges carry out their tasks successfully, the is too small to handle the workload. tigators, as well as the nature of the case.” OSCE established Kosovo Judicial Institute, “Currently we have 12 judges, and Prishtina provided, and still provides, numerous According to Judge Kadiu, her colleagues District Court, including other towns under trainings and seminars for them. and herself are independent, apolitical, and its jurisdiction, covers more than 1 million don’t belong or support any political party, inhabitants,” said Berisha, adding, “before “I participated in diff erent trainings and because they swore in that they will work the war, the court covered only 600,000 seminars organized by the OSCE since 2000, according to law, fairly and justly, and they inhabitants and the smallest number of and then KJI,” the judge said, and added, “of wish and give their best for every case to be judges it had was 22.” course they had a good impact on my work. fi nished as soon as possible. Experiences the international experts shared “The District Court of Prishtina has juris- Kosovan judges are up to their tasks
14 DETAILS working partnership with municipal Apart from building the necessary Q: How does the work of the HREs relate authorities takes time and we do not want to partnership and confi dence with municipal to central level institutions functioning and jeopardize such possible results and eff orts authorities, we have to help civil servants policies they set, e.g. on use of languages, just for the sake of reporting. understand that human rights are not property legislation etc. something abstract or just a political tool. Kosovo’s system is such that all the decisions Q: What are the expected results and how do Human rights today are directly applicable taken at central level get implemented at you measure their implementation – when is in Kosovo, and to have rights means also to local level, and usually directly by municipal the programme implemented? have obligations – for example the obligation authorities. To have an implementation Our main mandate is to build a long- of municipal authorities to be fully compliant that is fully compliant with human rights term, self-sustainable, and internal human with the law. standards you should have a central level rights capacity in municipal government To explain the concept of discrimination is institutions functioning, promoting and that would be taken up by all our local another challenge. Those who have been pushing in the same direction. From time to counterparts. In my opinion we should discriminated for long time usually have time you can feel the lack of communication lobby for the establishment of a general problems to accept that they also can, and among institutions at these two levels. body in municipalities – Law Review from time to time, do discriminate. Improvements in this fi eld are defi nitely Commissions or most likely Legal Offi ces desirable. The Memorandum of Understanding att ached to CEOs – that would be in charge between the UNMIK Police and the OSCE of advising and reviewing all legislative Q: What kind of follow up is planned or was signed in January 2005. Taking into acts, executive or administrative decisions, needed once HREs leave municipalities and account that one of the key points of its or any other actions that have legal police stations? Terms of Reference is to provide assistance to consequences from a human rights point of the police authorities in the transition of the We would like to close down the programme view. Meanwhile, we are also supporting policing functions from the UNMIK police by the end of 2006. Nevertheless, as I the work of other civil servants with human to the Kosovo Police Service (KPS), from 1 commented before, we will start reducing rights responsibilities, such as Municipal April 2005 the OSCE ceased the traditional our activities in some municipalities this Gender Offi cer, Equal Opportunities Offi cer monitoring of the police activities and coming September. Aft er that we will have or Heads of Municipal Communities Offi ce started to perform the advisory functions. a period of follow-up where municipal who should be employed by municipalities authorities would still enjoy our support but and be fully operational. When we say they At the moment the main challenge to the HRE not the full presence; and fi nally we will go should be fully operational, we mean that all programme is again to build relationships of back to monitoring. the above mentioned civil servants should trust with the police at the fi eld level. Some be fully aware of main human rights tools of the police offi cers still have problems in Municipal offi cers are being strengthened applicable in Kosovo, how to access them realizing the role and benefi t of the HRE and we would like to know the result of and how to use them. programme. Due to this reason we are still our job, meaning how deep they are fully facing some problems at fi eld level regarding compliant with European human rights Q: What are the main challenges HREs faces access to basic information. Removal of standards. To have rights implies to have in their work and what are the main human these obstacles would allow both sides to responsibilities… so let’s monitor how rights concerns at municipal level and with fully gain from the co-operation and benefi t responsible PISG municipal structures are the police work? mutually. towards their citizens.
Continued from pg. 12 offi cers and NGO representatives from Regional application of Kosovo both Kosovo Albanian and Kosovo Serb strategies Training, however, could not be limited to communities. The participants will in turn municipal level actors. Issue of traffi cking Experiences and strategies developed in Ko- facilitate workshops on domestic violence sovo are fi nding their use in a much wider in human beings needs to be att ended to at for students in secondary schools of the region. Most recently Standard Operating all administrative levels. On 13 and 14 June, region. The Training of Trainers is designed Procedures for providing assistance to the Mission delivered a counter-traffi cking to contribute to Mission’s eff orts to raise foreign adult and child victims of traffi ck- training to the Anti-Traffi cking Inter- awareness of domestic violence by helping ing were presented at the conference en- Ministerial focal points from nine Ministries students both identify abuse and seek titled “Ensuring Correct Identifi cation and in Kosovo. The training was organized in legal remedies. “The Dating and Domestic Adequate Assistance to Victims of Traffi ck- collaboration with the AOGG. “The aim of Violence Workshops have been ongoing ing in Human beings” that was organized the training was to educate the participants in Belgrade by the OSCE Mission to Serbia since 2001 Kosovo-wide but this is the fi rst about the problems of traffi cking in human and Montenegro, in partnership with the time that Municipal Gender Offi cers have beings in Kosovo and to enable them to Alliance Against Traffi cking in Human Bei- understand their roles and responsibilities taken part in the training,” said Chase. ngs. SOPs developed in Kosovo enjoyed as focal points, as foreseen in the Kosovo Overall, the Mission seeks to ensure that full endorsement by Dr. Helga Konrad, the Anti-Traffi cking Action Plan, said Qosaj legal protection is accompanied by the OSCE Special Representative on Combating Traffi cking in Human Beings, based in Mustafa. comprehensive assistance and support Vienna. With regards to domestic violence the mechanisms. Through its fi eld offi ces the Mission works within local structures, In an earlier stage a multi-level approach Mission is working to assist victims but used to combat domestic violence in Kosovo including police, Centers for Social Work, also to try and prevent such occurrences. that includes working at both the policy In May this year The Mission organized a Victim Advocates from the Department of and legislative levels as well as with NGOs, Training of Trainers on domestic violence Justice, shelter providers and local NGOs media and civil society was included in the in the Gjilan/Gnjilane region. Participants in order to best meet the needs of victims of 2004 OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of included Municipal Gender Offi cers, KPS gender-based violence. Gender Equality. 15 DETAILS HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FIELD Strengthening the role of youth - a challenge for the future One of the main priorities of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo is increas- trainings and the work of the people from the Network. “From my ing youth involvement in all aspects of social life. This is simply point of view trainings provided by the Network are not only an because the Mission believes that working with youth is a produc- opportunity to bring closer youth from diff erent communities in our tive and a sustainable eff ort. region, but also to help in developing their capacity to bett er under- The best example of such eff orts is close co-operation between the stand their duties and responsibilities,” he said. regional OSCE Offi ce and Youth Network of Pejё/Peć. Results of this According to Pelaj, over the last three years, a lot has been achieved co-operation speaks for them itself. in overcoming prejudices and stereotypes that existed among the youth of diff erent communities, as the consequence of the problems The bYouth Network of Pejё/Peć was established in April 2002 at the from the past. “An important step has been made especially in bring- initiative of the OSCE offi ce. The desire to establish the network was ing closer Albanian and Serbian youth from our region, even though foremost with seven youth NGOs and Youth Centers who wanted this still remains a big challenge for the future.” to join forces. To date, the Network has conducted number of suc- cessful projects. Future activities The Youth Reconciliation Initiative 2005, which began this past april, is a project that is supported by the OSCE and the Youth Network of Pejё/Peć. “This nine-month project and it aims to strengthen youth’s role and at the same time reconcile youth of diff erent ethic com- munities,” says Latifi . The project will be implemented by the Youth Network of Pejё/Peć and will be off ered to all youth organizations in the region. According to Latifi there is a number of activities that will be taking place during the second half of the year under the Youth Recon- ciliation Initiative. “Main activities will include public information campaigns on Standards for Kosovo, protection of environment and tolerance. These will be carried out in all cities of the region,” she said. In addition, a follow up training - Training of Trainers - will be orga- nized at the end of July for youth networks from Klinë/Klina, Deçan /Dečani and Istog/Istok. “As part of this project, Youth Network of Pejё/Peć together with the Youth Network of Pejë/Peć distributing leaflets in Pejë/Peć town Youth Networks from Klinë/Klina, Deçan/Dečani and Istog/Istok will hold their annual meeting, where they will be discussing their strategy for the coming year. They will also work on the action plan Projects with multiethnic character for the year 2006,” Latifi said. To keep the record of their work and build on experiences they accu- Youth Network brings together member of all communities living in mulated, Pejё/Peć network will produce an annual report for 2005 Pejё/Peć region, Kosovo Albanians, Kosovo Serbs, Bosnians, Egyp- that will be published as manual to be used by other youth NGOs tians and Roma, all members of founding NGOs and Youth Centers. and networks said Latifi . Needless to say their activities have multi-ethnic character. Hysen Pelaj, National Democratization Offi cer at the OSCE Offi ce, said that special att ention is being paid to the multiethnic compo- nent and gender equality aspect of all implemented projects. According to Vlora Latifi , Coordinator of the Youth Network of Pejё/ Peć, one of such projects was the Training of Trainers (ToT), which took place in Kotor, Montenegro, at the end of 2004. This training was organized by the OSCE to establish Network’s core group of trainers. “This group now has 17 trainers that represent all communities,” she said. The training they received provided them with skills in confl ict management, gender equality, human rights, interethnic dialogue, strategic planning, and has enabled them to start taking this knowledge to other young people.
Experiences gain through the trainings Zyliha Kuqi has been very enthusiastic about the work of the Youth Network. She provided trainings to three other Youth Networks in Klinë/Klina, Deçan /Dečani and Istog/Istok. Gazmir Raci, one of the training participants, highly praised these Another group of Pejë/Peć Youth Network during a session 16