Albanian Language Media:

• Thaci: Internationals’ silence enabled Vucic to deny the massacre (media)
• Veseli’s interview at Specialist Chambers ends after three hours (media)
• Abazi: Agreement between LVV and LDK by week’s end (Klan Kosova)
• Apostolova: The people need new institutions (Lajmi)
• Jashari: Law on salaries must be suspended (RTK)
• CDHRF: Internationals have experimented with mortal remains (RTK)
• A week after Kurti-Mustafa meeting, no decision on President’s post (G Express)
• S. with a request for the new government (Klan)

Serbian Language Media:

• Media in Pristina publish indictment for murder of Oliver Ivanovic (N1, KoSSev)
• Djuric: Indictments in case of Ivanovic’s murder, continuation of hunt against Serbia (RTS, Prva TV)
• Marko Rosic transferred to North Mitrovica detention facility (KoSSev)
• Zyberaj: We will forward 10,000 pages of evidence of Serbia’s crimes to the Prosecutor’s Office (KoSSev)
• Ombudsman: Attacks on Roma woman result of incited hatred on social media and media portals (KoSSev)
• Ricardo Gutierrez: Most killed and missing journalists in Kosovo (Free Serbian, Radio Mitrovica North, KIM radio)
• Aleksandar Spiric’s lawsuit against the KoSSev editor dismissed (KoSSev)
• "Anti - Handke hysteria": How did we end up with Christiane Amanpour's comments? (B92, Tanjug, N1)
• Argentina will not change its stance on Kosovo (Radio kontakt plus)

Opinion:

• The Children of ISIS Don’t Belong in Cages, Either (The New York Times)

International:

• Oliver Ivanovic Murder: Indictment Names Kosovo Serb ‘Crime Gang’ (Balkan Insight)

Humanitarian/Development:

• Haradinaj: Our responsibility to build the state on values of tolerance (media)
• “RAE community, especially women, experience violence on a daily basis” (EO)
• Campaigners demand EU action against Western Balkan heavy polluters (Reuters)
• Ex-Yugoslav States Failing on Gender Justice, Report Says (Balkan Insight)

   

Albanian Language Media

  Thaci: Internationals’ silence enabled Vucic to deny the massacre (media)

Most news outlets report that Kosovo President Hashim Thaci paid homage at the graves in Recak today, highlighting his remarks that the silence of internationals made it possible for Serbian President Vucic to deny the massacre in Recak. Thaci said the massacre of 45 Albanian civilians in the village of Recak in January 1999, marks the highest point of Serbian genocide in Kosovo.

“Today is the international Human Rights Day. The state of Kosovo is working maximally to ensure the full respect of the highest standards of human rights in Kosovo. At the same time, we need to remember the past in order to move safely forward. On this day, I decided to visit Recak, which marks the highest point of massacres committed by the state of Serbia against the civilian population in Kosovo, as part of the genocide carried out by the state of Serbia,” Thaci is quoted as saying in Indeksonline. 

Thaci also said that “Serbia has carried out around 400 massacres against Albanian civilians in Kosovo”. “It murdered around 1,300 children, raped over 20,000 women. We have around 13,000 civilians killed,” he added.

Commenting on the statements of Serbian leaders about the Recak massacre, Thaci said the perpetrators of the crimes have yet to face justice and that an apology is still missing. “Serbia has carried out genocide. Regrettably, those that carried out the genocide have yet to be brought to justice,” he said.

Thaci said the future cannot be built by denying crimes and by labelling and insulting the victims. “The future can be built if Serbia’s leadership admits the guilt and apologises. The silence of internationals and the fact that they have not visited Recak has amnestied the current leadership in Serbia and its efforts to try to deny the crimes,” Thaci added.

Veseli’s interview at Specialist Chambers ends after three hours (media)

Interview of the leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Kadri Veseli at the Specialist Chambers in the Hague, ended after more than three hours.

“As I publicly promised, I appeared today for the interview. I have finished the interview. The ‘90s were difficult years for our population, a submission to Serbia’s ethnic cleansing, so, genocide against our people. We have opposed them, our liberation movement has been the Kosovo Liberation Army, confronting the Serbian genocide. The KLA war was a confrontation with ethnic cleansing, which Serbia aimed to commit in Kosovo," Veseli told reporters.

Veseli, who is also Acting Assembly Speaker, had stated earlier that he would remain silent, however everything is expected to be cleared in the future being that the interview lasted more than three hours.

Veseli had received the invitation for this interview on 7 November, however it is not known if he was invited as a witness or as a suspect.  

Abazi: Agreement between LVV and LDK by week’s end (Klan Kosova)

Vetevendosje (LVV) MP, Haki Abazi, told the news website today that an agreement between the LVV and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) for a coalition government is expected to be reached by the end of this week. Abazi said the office of Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti upon his return from Berlin will call a meeting with LDK leader Isa Mustafa. Abazi also denied rumors that international officials in Kosovo were pressuring the parties to form the new government. 

Apostolova: The people need new institutions (Lajmi)

Natalyia Apostolova, Head of the European Union Office in Kosovo, sent a clear message today to the winning parties from the October 6 elections, that they need to form the new institutions, the news website reports.

Apostolova said it is very important to form the new government and that the citizens of Kosovo need functioning institutions. “I want to use the opportunity to stress that the formation of the new government is very important. The citizens of Kosovo want to see a functioning government,” she said.

Apostolova said many important tasks await Kosovo institutions, such as next year’s budget and other important projects.

Asked about visa liberalisation for Kosovo, Apostolova did not want to give any specific timelines, saying that Kosovo has done its homework and that everything is now in the hands of EU member states.

Jashari: Law on salaries must be suspended (RTK)

Kosovo’s Ombudsperson Hilmi Jashari said today that the Constitutional Court of Kosovo must suspend the law on salaries, the news website reports. “There is no equality with this law. The law has failed to meet the requirements. The rights of one category are violated. The rights of over 15,000 positions are violated and there are an additional 5,000 in the healthcare system … The law needs to be accurate and precise,” Jashari said in an interview with RTK. He added that they have authorisations to ask the Constitutional Court to suspend the law.

CDHRF: Internationals have experimented with mortal remains (RTK)

The Pristina-based Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) said today in a statement that it was wrong to treat the issue of missing persons as a political issue, rather than as a basic human rights issue, and that politics prevented any possible progress in the process.

The CDHRF in its statement highlights several problems in failing to resolve the fate of missing persons such as: the lack of readiness in the international community to resolve the fate of missing persons, the extreme politicisation of the issue, the lack of principles or the implementation of double standards by international organisations, the lack of a data base, etc.

The CDHRF also argued that “internationals, namely Jose Pablo Baraybar, have experimented with mortal remains, and has taken away, without the permission of Kosovo’s authorities, a number of samples, thus seriously damaging the process of identifying missing persons”.

 A week after Kurti-Mustafa meeting, no decision on President’s post (G Express)

Sources from Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) and Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) told the mews portal that meeting between the leaders of these two political parties Albin Kurti and Isa Mustafa will not happen today. On the other hand, only two weeks remain for President’s call of the constitutive session.

More than a week has passed since the last meeting of the LVV and LDK leaders in an attempt to reach agreement on ruling coalition.

Since then, except from different statements, no meeting that could finalise the agreement has been planned.

Such meetings cannot happen today, as LVV leader Albin Kurti has not returned from his official visit to Germany.

This portal informed on Monday that LDK’s deputy leader Vjosa Osmani is also in Berlin, invited by German institutions to participate at the “Kosovo after the elections: A political earthquake and its consequences” conference.

Sources from LDK also confirmed that coalition with LVV will also be discussed there, however no meeting between Kurti and Mustafa is planned to take place in Berlin.

Discussions between the two political parties stagnated when LDK leader Isa Mustafa requested the post of the President of Kosovo. 14 days have passed since Central Election Commission certified the 6 October early elections result.  

U.S. with a request for the new government (Klan)

Philip Kosnett, Ambassador of the United States of America to Kosovo, has requested from the new government of Kosovo to be mindful on distribution of information. “The government has a role in combating misinformation. Freedom of Speech is essential for every democracy. The initial duty of the government is to be cautious about distributing accurate information.” 

During the conference organized by NDI, to discuss discovering and combating misinformation, and presence of this phenomenon in Kosovo and the Balkans, Kosnett also requested contribution of journalists. 

“Journalists, use your power, give us accurate information, and citizens can contribute in this respect. Citizens should select media which inform accurately and not those that misinform,” Kosnett said. 

   

Serbian Language Media

  Media in Pristina publish indictment for murder of Kosovo Serb politician (N1, KoSSev)

After the defence lawyers of the two suspects in the assassination of Oliver Ivanovic, a local Serb opposition politician, said they did not receive the indictment, Kosovo’s Special Prosecutors Office published the charges in the media, the KoSSev website reported on Monday.

The extracts from the indictment named four former police officers, a native of the northern town of Mitrovica, a vice president of the Serb List, the political party in Kosovo supported by Belgrade, and Ivanovic’s administrative secretary, all local Serbs.

It also detailed their activities before, during and after the assassination outside Ivanovic’s office on January 16, 2018.

They are accused of complicity to commit the first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.    

See at: https://bit.ly/2P7Fbn4 Djuric: Indictments in case of Ivanovic’s murder, continuation of hunt against Serbia (RTS, Prva TV)

Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Marko Djuric said today that indictments against suspects in the murder of Oliver Ivanovic, published in the newspaper, demonstrate a complete atrophy and powerlessness of Pristina judiciary, as well as a continuation of a lynch and hunt against the Serbs and Serbia, RTS reports.

Djuric told Prva TV that Pristina in fact conceals the evidence and details from the investigation adding he can say that all the traces regarding the murder investigation lead towards Pristina in fact.

“I am neither a judge or prosecutor, but as someone who had certain insight into operative work of our services, I can say that all the traces related to this horrific crime lead towards Pristina,” Djuric said.

He also said he is not surprised over hysterical campaign by Pristina aiming to place all the burden on the shoulders of a very few Serbs from Kosovo who are available to them.

Marko Rosic transferred to North Mitrovica detention facility (KoSSev)

One of the six people suspected of involvement in the assassination of Oliver Ivanovic, Marko Rosic was transferred to a detention facility in North Mitrovica on Friday, Rosic’s lawyer, Mahmut Halimi confirmed for KoSSev.

Rosic repeatedly requested a transfer from the detention facility in Gnjilan to North Mitrovica. His lawyer, Mahmut Halimi told KoSSev that his transfer request was finally granted only after an assessment was made by the Pristina Correctional Institution and an indictment was filed.

Recently, Rosic’s father also presented claims about Rosic’s bad mental state during his detention in the Podujevo facility.

Rosic, along with another suspect, a police officer from the North, Nedeljko Spasojevic, has been in custody since their arrest in North Mitrovica on November 23rd of last year.

According to the indictment, Rosic is charged with knowingly assisting in the commission of the crime of „aggravated murder“ by following Oliver Ivanovic before the murder.

No indictment submitted to the defense – „be patient“

Even though the indictment was filed as early as December 2nd – according to the Special Prosecutor’s Office, it has not yet been submitted to the defense, both Halimi and Faruk Korenica, the lawyer of another police officer suspected of involvement in this murder, Nedeljko Spasojevic, confirmed for KoSSev.

However, a few hours later, Pristina-based Gazeta Express published an excerpt from what was presented as the alleged original indictment, while also posting a few scanned passages. The media has gone even further claiming they will publish the statement of the protected witness tomorrow.

Halimi claims that the Special Prosecutor’s Office told him this morning „to be patient“.

He, however, added that the deadline for submitting an indictment to the defense is not defined by law.

See at: https://bit.ly/36i6IIe Zyberaj: We will forward 10,000 pages of evidence of Serbia’s crimes to the Prosecutor’s Office (KoSSev)

The Foreign Ministry’s main objective during Behgjet Pacolli’s tenure was ''collecting the evidence of Serbia’s war crimes in Kosovo,'' which was documented on as many as 10,000 pages, Pacolli’s advisor, Jetlir Zyberaj announced yesterday. 

''Collecting documents and other important materials that show Serbia’s barbarism was a major part of the job. About 10,000 pages of documents and evidence which have not yet been reviewed by the international judiciary have been recovered,'' Zyberaj wrote on Facebook.

According to him, these documents will be submitted to the Kosovo Special Prosecutor’s Office in the coming days in order to bring ''Serbian war criminals to justice''.

''Bearing in mind the limits of our justice system, we will find, together with the prosecution, the right solution to bring these criminals to justice,'' he added.

See at: https://bit.ly/2DZtgl1 Ombudsman: Attacks on Roma woman result of hatred incited on social media and media portals (KoSSev)

A 29-year old Roma woman was physically assaulted on May 29 this year in Lipljan and then on May 31 in Urosevac town. These assaults were preceded by allegations put forward by certain Kosovo media portals and social media that she was kidnapping children across Kosovo, KoSSev portal reports.

The Kosovo Ombudsman prepared the report on this case in which it said these assaults “came as a result of hatred incited on social media and various media portals”.

Ombudsman also found a list of irregularities in the work of institutions and in the reporting on this case by certain Kosovo portals and assessed that basic human rights and freedoms have been violated.

At the end of May, the Ombudsperson launched an investigation based on the article published on “KlanKosova.tv” portal titled “Police speak about “mysterious” women seen in Kosovo.”

On social media, but also on some portals, as the report notes, there were news that Z.S. has kidnapped children in several Kosovo towns (Malisevo, Prizren and Kosovo Polje). A video footage shared on Facebook included a photo of a woman in a bus station in Malisevo, with inscription “Beware of this woman, she kidnaps children.”

This information quickly spread on many portals in Kosovo, causing wide concern in the public, the report added.

Based on the investigation, that Ombudsman conducted, the responsible bodies did not offer enough protection to the victim Z.S, who was exposed to the danger which as a consequence had two attacks against her in a short period of time.

According to the Ombudsman, Kosovo prosecution did not fulfill its legal obligation because it did not open the case ex-officio, in order to open the investigation against persons who have published the photos of a victim on social media, as well as in regards to publishing various messages by certain media portals. The report also noted the responsible authorities did not undertake measures in regard to the positive obligations towards the victim. In this regard, the Ombudsman found that police station in Lipljan, which had information from citizens about the presence of Z.S. in this town, before she became target of the assault, did not fulfill its primary duty – protection of life and offering security to all persons. Police officials in Lipljan did not fulfill their duties – to prevent the attack against the victim, the report said. Additionally, the Ombudsman found that in this case publishing information, by certain media and Kosovo police on ethnic background of the victim, as well as prejudices about her sexual orientation, were completely unnecessary and it has negatively impacted multiply discrimination, which as a consequence has resulted in assaults against her. The Ombudsman report also included a list of recommendations to the respective institutions.   Ricardo Gutierrez: Most killed and missing journalists in Kosovo (Free Serbian, Radio Mitrovica North, KIM radio)

Secretary General of the European Federation of Journalists Ricardo Gutierrez said in the Slobodno Srpski (Free Serbian) TV Show that today we are facing a global threat to media freedoms.

"There are 38 unsolved cases of murder and disappearance of journalists in Europe," Gutierez noted.

"Looking at the impunity for the killings, Kosovo is the worst, with 15 or 17 cases, depending on how you count those cases. Then, Ukraine seven cases, Russia six, Turkey four cases for which no sentence was imposed, Azerbaijan two cases, and then a number of countries with only one case, such as Malta, etc.''

Gutierrez drew attention to a case of not reporting in a precise manner, which is a global trend related to self-censorship. According to a survey conducted in collaboration with the Council of Europe, interviewing thousand journalists across Europe, a third said they had self-censorship, did not report the story in its entirety, the did it at certain levels, they do not hide things but they are mitigating the story, Gutierrez explains.

“Since April 2015, we have reported 642 violations of freedom of the media in 47 member states of the Council of Europe. These include attacks, including 26 murders of journalists,” Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez participated in the Conference on Killed and Missing Journalists on December 4-5, this year in Gracanica and Pristina.

Aleksandar Spiric’s lawsuit against the KoSSev editor dismissed (KoSSev)

The Leskovac Basic Court dismissed the head of the Kosovska Mitrovica Provisional Authority, Aleksandar Spiric’s lawsuit against the editor of the KoSSev portal, Tatjana Lazarevic for intentional infliction of emotional distress as unfounded. Spiric filed the lawsuit in connection with an article headline from May 2017 – “Protesters of the Economic School: Spiric is behind the armed attacks? Headmistress: If this is not sorted – it will have to be shut down!“ According to the court’s decision, Spiric is obliged to pay 29,000 dinars to Lazarevic for legal expenses. This judgment is not final and the parties have the right to appeal.

More at: https://bit.ly/2LUHYhF "Anti - Handke hysteria": How did we end up with Christiane Amanpour's comments? (B92, Tanjug, N1, RTRS)

A day preceding the award presentation ceremony of the Nobel Prize for Literature to Austrian writer Peter Handke, the critics announced a protest in Stockholm

Just to recall, Handke is accused of endorsing Slobodan Milosevic and his politics.

The protests, which will take place around 6 pm in downtown Stockholm, will also be attended by the mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa, as well as the representatives of the Genocide Victims' Association.

Several countries, including Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, have announced that their representatives will not attend the awards ceremony.

According to TV N1 BiH, American CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour, known for her anti-Serbian rhetoric during the coverage of the war in BiH, tweeted on Twitter: "I was there. We all know who's guilty".

Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, who also reported for the US media during the BiH war, wrote on Twitter ahead of tomorrow's awards ceremony: "On 7/14/95, I filed a @BostonGlobe story from Sarajevo containing initial reports of massacres in Srebrenica. The world would soon learn the extent of the genocide being committed by Bosnian Serb soldiers, who murdered 8,000 Muslim men & boys. Undeniable fact", Power concluded.

What Handke has to say?

On the other hand, Peter Handke, the laureate of the Nobel Literature Prize for 2019, said that he was surprised by the campaign against him over the Nobel Literature Prize, adding that his idea was to reconcile views.

“I would like to meet a mother from each side. A mother from Kravica (a Serb village in eastern Bosnia which was the site of a massacre carried out by Moslem forces) where all the massacres started and a mother from the Srebrenica area. That was my idea, but I think it was slightly naïve. I think it can’t be realized at this moment”, Handke said on Monday for the Republika Srpska state TV (RTRS). 

Asked about the moment of him getting the award, implying that the award was two decades late, according to colleagues and acquaintances, he estimated that the Nobel came at the right time. "I don't know why, but I feel now is a good time to get it", Handke said.

See at: https://bit.ly/2LF9CPc Argentina will not change its stance on Kosovo (Radio kontakt plus)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic who is on an official visit to Argentina met with a newly appointed Argentinian Foreign Affairs Minister Felipe Sola, Radio kontakt plus reports.

During the meeting PM Brnabic highlighted the significance of friendship between the two countries, adding Serbia remains committed to advancing bilateral cooperation.

Minister Sola thanked Brnabic for her visit, adding he looks forward to the better cooperation between Serbia and Argentina, and underlined that his country will not change its stance regarding unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo.

   

Opinion 

  The Children of ISIS Don’t Belong in Cages, Either (The New York Times)

The world is failing innocent victims of the war on terrorism.

Children peer out from behind the bars into the light, scarred by intense trauma and uncertain of their future, terrified both of their prison and the outside world. The images and stories of these youngsters, robbed of their childhood by the extreme violence of life under the Islamic State, are harrowing. Many are unaccompanied, the large majority are under 12. They now find themselves abandoned in appalling conditions in rudimentary camps in Syria. Governments have to do better: This is not the way to treat children who are also victims of terrorism. Nor is it effective counterterrorism policy. 

Tens of thousands of men, women and children with an alleged connection to the Islamic State are currently held in camps in northeastern Syria. Most are Iraqis and Syrians, but there are also thousands from some 70 other countries. The situation is tense, and fears have grown recently that remnants of the Islamic State will attack the camps in order to free the actual terrorists.

With notable exceptions, most governments have been slow or reluctant to take back their own nationals, citing security risks and the challenges they face identifying nationalities, gathering admissible evidence to prosecute, and developing reintegration programs. Governments clearly have legitimate security concerns: The fight with the Islamic State is not over. And some of those in the camps — men and women — are hardened fighters who have committed horrifying crimes and must be brought to justice.

But it is wrong to leave the countries and communities of this conflict-battered region to bear such a large burden of this fight. Governments in the rest of the world can demonstrate solidarity in countering terrorism by at least taking responsibility for their own nationals.

The response to terrorism also requires a preventive approach. Leaving tens of thousands of people to languish in camps in Syria is deeply shortsighted. The conditions in the camps provide the ideal environment for the nurturing of further extremism and hatred. The lessons from Camp Bucca, the American-run detention facility in Iraq where the Islamic State’s founder, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was schooled, are clear — grievance and radicalization only deepen the longer people spend there.

Moreover, it should be clear that tarring the children in the camps with the same brush as hardened Islamic State fighters is not right: Born of rape, into detention, indoctrinated into the Islamic State’s cult of cruelty, these children have had little or no agency over their predicament. The situation in Al-Hol camp in Syria is particularly dire: Just getting to the camp, or soon after arrival from late 2018 onward, hundreds of children died from pneumonia, dehydration and malnutrition. Infants — some with shrapnel injuries — are acutely malnourished and many have limited or no access to medical care. These children desperately need care, not further victimization.

Governments should immediately take back their citizens in these camps who are most vulnerable: unaccompanied children and orphans; pregnant girls; persons with disabilities; and children with mothers with no record of violence, taking into account the best interests of the child. Many have been subject to abuses, including sexual violence, and they should be provided with appropriate assistance as well as support with reintegration.

Governments should also allow for the immediate return of terrorist suspects in cases where there is enough evidence to prosecute them in their national courts with fair trial protections without resorting to the death penalty. Where evidence is difficult to obtain, governments should explore if lesser crimes can be prosecuted to allow for some accountability. Risk and, where in doubt, nationality assessments should be undertaken for the remaining categories. Governments should adopt tailor-made security measures depending on the individuals, with a view to a progressive repatriation of all concerned and effective reintegration programs for returnees.

This isn’t utopian thinking. A number of governments have been more forward-thinking: Kazakhstan and Kosovo, for example, have taken back hundreds of women and children, and some men. Other countries, including Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Tunisia and Britain have accepted back individual children, sometimes with their mothers. But this is simply not enough.

In the course of many United Nations postings over 30 years, mostly in countries confronting a terrorist threat, I’ve always been struck by how often governments pursue counterterrorism campaigns in such a brutal way that the result has been to create more terrorists. As we survey the illegalities, barbarities and strategic blunders that marked the ill-named “global war on terror” after the attacks of Sept. 11, there can be little doubt that counterterrorism can only succeed if it is based on human rights. We should start with an approach to foreign nationals in Syria that ensures accountability, while giving these children some hope, dignity and whatever remains of their childhood. 

Andrew Gilmour is the United Nations assistant secretary-general for human rights.

See at: https://nyti.ms/2P8dfQ    

International 

  Oliver Ivanovic Murder: Indictment Names Kosovo Serb ‘Crime Gang’ (Balkan Insight)

The indictment for the murder of politician Oliver Ivanovic says two prominent Kosovo Serbs, Milan Radoicic and Zvonko Veselinovic, were leaders of a criminal group responsible for the killing, and accuses several policemen of aiding the crime, BIRN has learned.

The 48-page indictment, which has been obtained by BIRN, describes two well-known Kosovo Serbs from the divided town of Mitrovica, Milan Radoicic and Zvonko Veselinovic, as leaders of an “organised criminal group” responsible for the January 2018 murder of political party leader Oliver Ivanovic.

Radoicic, the vice-president of the main Belgrade-backed Kosovo Serb political party, Srpska Lista, is a businessman who is widely seen as the real power-holder in Serb-majority northern Kosovo.

He and Veselinovic are currently at large, and are wanted for arrest together with Zeljko Bojic, the former commander of Kosovo Police’s northern, Serb-majority region.

The indictment charges Nedeljko Spasojevic, Marko Rosic, Silvana Arsovic, Dragisa Markovic, Zarko Jovanovic and Rade Basara with involvement in the killing of Ivanovic.

See at: https://bit.ly/2ryaAWH    

Development/Humanitarian

  Haradinaj: Our responsibility to build the state on values of tolerance (media)

Kosovo’s outgoing Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj, said on Monday that the Republic of Kosovo is built upon the universal principles of Human Rights. “On the International Human Rights Day, I can say with full confidence that the Republic of Kosovo is built on the basis of the universal principles of Human Rights and it is our responsibility to build our state on the most sublime values of tolerance,” Haradinaj wrote in a Facebook post. He said Kosovo has more to do in terms of implementing human rights. “We have more work to do in resolving daily problems related to the implementation of human rights, but Kosovo is a state that is improving continuously, and every improvement should be based on universal rights.”

“RAE community, especially women, experience violence on a daily basis” (EO)

The news website covers a press conference organised by the French Embassy in Pristina and the Kosovo Advocacy Group (KAG), at the end of the campaign against gender-based violence, with special emphasis on gender-based violence against women from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian (RAE) communities.

KAG Director Mimoza Gavrani said the RAE community in general, and especially women, suffer from violence on a daily basis. “We are marking the end of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence in Kosovo, a campaign that focuses on the elimination of all forms of discrimination. We are witnesses that the RAE community suffer from violence on a daily basis, especially the women. Cases of violence must be reported to the authorities,” she said.

The French Ambassador to Kosovo, Marie Christine Butel, said the objective is to prevent violence against women and that they are seriously committed to the process. “I am happy to be here with you today. The conference is aimed at preventing violence against women. The objective of the international campaign is to raise awareness about the violence against women. There is violence against women all over the world, also in France and in Kosovo. Violence against women is a key topic in the campaign of President Macron. Our institutions are seriously engaged in the campaign,” she said.

“Equality between women and men is a key foundation for our democratic societies and for the rule of law. Today, in France and in Kosovo, women and young girls are more exposed to violence in general and sexual violence in particular,” Butel added. “Women need to pursue their personal and professional ambitions, and this starts at an early age, with young girls having access to education and being protected from violence. The victims must have access to the police and the judiciary”.

BRAN Director Bajram Gashi said the RAE communities are the most marginalised in Kosovo. “Meetings like this one show that we really want to work on this issue. The RAE communities are the most marginalised communities in society. The position of women in these communities is very grave and it all beings at an early age,” he said. Gashi further argued that young girls from RAE communities are discouraged from attending schools because they are away from their communities. “Girls are also married against their will. Women from these communities are subject to violence, but they have started reporting cases of violence to the authorities,” he added.

Campaigners demand EU action against Western Balkan heavy polluters (Reuters)

Most Western Balkan countries have failed to fulfill the first requirement to meet European Union industrial emissions standards despite commitments governments made in 2005, environmental campaigners warned on Tuesday.

Total sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions in EU aspirants Serbia, Bosnia, North Macedonia and Kosovo in 2018 were six times higher than the 98,696 tonne ceiling set by the bloc, according to a report to be presented to the European Parliament by central and eastern European advocacy group CEE Bankwatch Network.

See at: https://reut.rs/2LIkn3A Ex-Yugoslav States Failing on Gender Justice, Report Says (Balkan Insight)

Authorities in the former Yugoslavia have focused on prosecuting conflict-related sexual violence while underlying issues of gender inequality have been ignored, says a new report by the Impunity Watch NGO.

The new report by Impunity Watch, entitled ‘Balkan Chronicle: Gender Equality, Transitional Justice and the International Community’, was launched on Friday in Sarajevo as part of BIRN’s Transitional Justice Programme.

The report criticises the attitudes of former Yugoslav states to gender justice, saying that authorities have focused exclusively on criminal prosecutions for sexual violence and not addressed underlying problems within society.

See at: https://bit.ly/38kFUZT