strategy for integration of roma, ashkali and egyptian...

Strategy for integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities

Reality or fireworks

Opinions and conclusions or recommendations given in this report are the sole responsibility of the Fund for Humanitarian Law Kosovo and do not in any way reflect those of the Kosovo

Foundation for Open Society.

Decembar 2013

Publisher: Kosovo Foundation for Open Society

Prepared by:Fund for Humanitarian Law KosovoBetim Zllanoga

Pre-print and layout:XHAD - Studio

Circulation: 300 copies

Strategy for integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian com

munities Reality or firew

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SUMMARY 5

FOLLOW UP RESEARCH 7

PART I - Protection And Promotion Of Minority Rights

(In Particular Those Addressing Roma, Ashkali And Egyptian Communities)

At The Local Level

Peja/Peć- Municipality 7

Community Committee (Cc)

Municipal Office Of Communities (Mco)

Budget And Local Action Plan

Property Rights And Informal Settlements

Information And Awareness

Municipality Of Ferizaj/Uroševac 13






Municipality Of Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje 17

The Community Committee (Cc)





Municipality Of Gjakova/ Đakovica 21






Municipality Of Gjilan/Gnjilane 25



CONTENTS

4 Budget And Local Action Plan



Municipality Of Istog/Istok 29






Municipality Of Prizren 33






Municipality Of Mitrovicë/Mitrovica 37


Municipal Office Of Communities (Mco

Budget And Action Plan



Conclusion For Local Level 39

Part II - Protection And Promotion Of Minority Rights

(In Particular Those Addressing Roma, Ashkali And Egyptian Communities)

At The Central Level 41

Ministry Of Education, Science And Technology - Mest

Ministry For Culture, Youth, And Sport (Mcys)

Ministry Of Health And National Institute Of Public Health

Ministry Of Labor And Social Welfare -Mlsw

Ministry For Communities And Return (Mcr)

The Institutional Structures For Communities In Kosovo

Central Level Conclusion



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5SUMMARY

This paper is a follow up of the previous publication “Governance of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Rights in Kosovo”1 which was supported by KFOS and conducted by the Humanitarian Law Center Kosovo (HLC Kosovo) and published in 2009. Aim of the study is to evaluate the implementation of the Strategy and Action Plan for the Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in the Republic of Kosovo.

In preparing this report, HLC Kosovo used different research methods such as visiting municipalities, conducting interviews with local and central institution officials as well as analysis of secondary data from the media, institutions and other organizations reports.

The research is very informative and evaluates the work and the role of the Central level in making available the necessary resources, the work and efforts of municipalities (i.e. Mayor, municipal assembly, Community Committees, Municipal office of Communities etc). The work of Ministries such as: Ministry of Education, Science and Technology - MEST; Ministry for Culture, Youth, and Sport (MCYS); Ministry of Health and Na-tional Institute of Public Health; Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare -MLSW; and Ministry for Communities and Return (MCR).

This study assesses the quality of activities and services offered for the implementation of the Strategy and Local Action Plans and improvement of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities’ participation in municipal decision making processes. The study further-more shows the impact of the Strategy and local Action plans in the improvement of pro-motion and protection of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities’ rights.

According to the Government of Kosovo’s decision dated December 24, 2008 Nr.20/48, Office for Good Governance has drafted the Kosovo Action Plan for the Implementation of the Strategy for the Integration of Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian 2009-2015. The Action Plan was approved on December 23, 2009 by the Government of the Republic of Kosovo.

In the opinion of HLC Kosovo when comparing the report which was published in 2009, the current situation leaves much to be desired. In general Kosovo institutions have failed to fulfill their commitments in implementing the Strategy and Action Plans for the inte-gration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities 2009 – 2015. However, it should be noted that positive results have also been documented and will be shown in the report below.

Even thought Central and Local level institutions have drafted the Action Plans, the same institutions have failed to deliver a special budget line for the implementation of the Ac-tion Plans. Thus, the foreseen activities were not conducted due to lack of funds.

The establishment of the Technical Working Group and the Inter-Institutional Steer-ing Committee had an impact in increasing the political commitment in local and cen

1 Governance of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Rights in Kosovo (2009) http://kfos.org/governance-of-roma-ashkali-and-egyptian-rights-in-kosovo/

6 tral levels; however, these commitments are still not met. All the necessary human and fi-nancial resources are needed in order to fully implement the foreseen activities within the Strategy and the Action Plan.

None of the Municipalities are working in line with the drafted local Action Plans for the implementation of the Kosovo Strategy for the integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, but rather have ad-hoc activities. Since 2010 all Municipalities have failed to implement their drafted local Action Plans as a result of lack of financial and human capaci-ties.

Overall, HLC Kosovo considers that the Kosovo Strategy for the integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities did not improve the position of these communities in Kosovo society. Employment, education, representation in public institutions and decision making process, support of cultural activities, access to health, access to justice and social welfare issues remain big challenges for the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in Kosovo.



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7FOLLOW UP RESEARCH

PART I- Protection and Promotion Of Minority Rights (In Particu-lar Those Addressing Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Communities) At the Local Level

Peja/Peć- Municipality

The municipality of Peja/ Peć, is situated 90 km west of Prishtina/ Priština and encompass-es a territory of 603 square kilometers. According to the data provided by Kosovo Agency of Statistics, data from census that was organized in April 20112, Municipality of Peja/Peć has 96,450 inhabitants the vast majority of whom are Albanians (87,975), followed by Roma (993) Ashkali (143) and Egyptian (2,700), Gorani (189), Bosniaks (3,786), Serbs (332) and Turks (59)3.

Residents of these communities live mainly in four neighborhoods: Qerhane/Qerhan, 7 Shtatori, Kristal and Zata.

There are twenty two (22) members of minority communities employed in Peja/Peć Mu-nicipal Assembly, out of which fourteen (14) are Bosniaks, five (5) are Serbs, two (2 ) are Egyptians and one (1) Roma. On September 28, 2008 the Municipal Assembly of Peja/ Peć adopted the statute of Peja/ Peć municipality which guarantees the use of the native lan-guage in communication with municipal bodies, in line with the requirements deriving from the Law on the Use of Languages. Assembly meetings, committee meetings as well as all other meetings shall be held in Albanian, Serbian and Bosniaks languages. All the official municipality documents shall be translated into Albanian, Serbian and Bosniaks languages. The statute foresees the establishment of permanent committees and other committees.

Community Committee (CC) - is one of the permanent committees of this municipality. The Community Committee is comprised of seven (7) members (which includes assembly members and community representatives). Each community in this municipality shall be represented with at least one representative. There are seven (7) members appointed to the Community Committee in Peja/ Peć municipality: three (3) Albanians, one (1) Bosniak, one (1) Serb, one (1) Egyptian, and one (1) member of the Roma community4.

The Community Committee (CC) has a consultative mandate. CC jointly with the Municipal Office for Communities holds monthly meetings. During the meetings both the Committee and representatives from the Municipal Office discuss issues relating to the needs of the mi-

2 Kosovo Agency of statistics, April 2011 http://esk.rksgov.net/rekos2011/repository/docs/Te%20dhenat%20krye-sore_ALB.pdf 3 ibid4 Rustem Nurkovic chairman(VAKAT), Sali Ukaj (AAK), Hashim Shala (PDK), Avdi Sefa (LDK), Shaip Gavrani (Egyptian community representative), Sofije Toska (Roma community representative), Branimir Jovovic (Serbian community representative

8 nority communities. Furthermore, meetings are organized to meet with representatives of minority communities, visit their settlements and have information meetings with them in order to best identify their problems and look for solutions.

Among other tasks assigned to this committee is the monitoring of the implementation of legislation, sub legal acts and other policy documents pertaining to minority rights in Peja/Peć municipality. The Community Committee also reviews requests and complaints submitted by citizens of minority communities and presents them to respective munici-pal directorates and other municipal institutions. In the majority of cases, these requests and complaints relate to the reconstruction of houses, road infrastructure, electricity and education. According to the MALG report5, this committee reported regular meetings from 2010 to 2012. From January to June 2013 the committee reported six (6) meetings6.

“The municipal Community Committee has regular monthly meetings in order to discuss situation of the minority communities and their needs in Peja/ Peć municipality. The Com-munity Committee is responsible for monitoring the implementation of all municipal regu-lations and other strategic documents that affect minority rights in our municipality”.

S. C. Head of municipal Office of Communities in Peja/Peć HLC Kosovo Interview, July 24 2013

Municipal Office of Communities (MCO) – is body of the municipality which is foreseen within Civil Service with the municipality statute7. This office is responsible for the pro-motion and protection of minority rights, ensuring equal access of minorities to public services at municipal level and other duties with the view of improving the status of the minority communities. This office has drafted an Action Plan on integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities 2013-2015 covering the area of Education, Health and Social Welfare, Employment and Economic Development, Housing and informal set-tlements, Culture, Youth and Sports, Information, Representation and Decision-Making, Safety, Police and Justice8.

Despite the fact that the Action Plan was approved by the Mayor of the Municipality, to date the budget foreseen for the implementation was not delivered by any of directorates involved in the Action Plan. In most cases it is local NGOs that work towards the im-plementation of the Action Plan through their projects and activities. The work of these NGOs goes towards contributing to the achievement of goals outlined in the Action Plan. MCO is also involved in projects which aim to improve road infrastructure, water supply and the sewage system.

5 http://mapl.rks-gov.net/getattachment/dabe921f-fd4a-438e-b4be-c090fde72897/Raporti-i-funksionimit-te-Komunave-te-Republikes-s.aspx6 http://mapl.rks-gov.net/getattachment/e559b0ce-3a20-44a9-8046-866b70ecfdd7/Raporti-i-funksionimit-te-kuvendeve-te-komunave-pe.aspx7 Municipal statute amendment February 2010 8 Action Plan of integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities 2013-2015, Municipality of Peja/Pec



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9Action Plan for the Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities was approved by the Mayor of Municipality, but nothing concretely has been done towards its implementation in practice. I consider that since 2009 we didn’t work in line with Kosovo Strategy and Action Plan, but more with ad-hoc activities that are linked with our Action Plan. None of the directo-rates delivered any budget for drafted Action Plan”

G.T. Coordinator of municipal office of communities in Peja/PećHLC Kosovo interview, July 24 2013

The MCO in Peja/Peć currently has eight (8) employees, three (3) Bosniaks, two (2) Serbs, one (1) Albanian, one (1) Egyptian and one (1) Roma. The mandate of this office is the pro-motion and protection of minority rights through various activities.

Residents of the Municipality do visit the office with various requests and daily issues they face. Requests mainly deal with housing, social problems, education and unemployment.

According to the field research which was conducted for the purpose of this report, there were issues initially in drafting the Action Plan. Most of the directorates that were involved in drafting the plan failed to attend meetings. The Action Plan was drafted in accordance with the Kosovo Strategy for the Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities.

There were problems in drafting the Action Plan. Whenever we invited directorates to attend con-sultation meetings they would ignore our invitations. Our Action Plan addresses all components foreseen in the Kosovo Strategy such as Education, Health and Social Welfare, Employment and Economic Development, Housing and Informal Settlements, Culture, Youth and Sport, Information, Representation and Decision-making, Safety, Police and Justice.

S. C – Municipal Office for Communities, Municipality of Peja/PecHLC Kosovo interview July 24, 2013

Through field research it also became evident that involvement of community representatives in drafting the Action Plan was quite low.

We are not satisfied with how the strategy has been drafted and definitely not satisfied with the im-plementation of it. I consider that since 2009 when the initial Strategy for the Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities was adopted not much has been realized in practice and none of the components of the Strategy have been fully implemented.

G. T – Municipal Office for Communities, Municipality of Peja/PecHLC Kosovo interview July 24, 2013

Budget and Local Action Plan – The municipal assembly adopts the municipal budget annu-ally. However, no special budget has been allocated by the Municipal Assembly for the needs of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities residing in the municipality, or special budget for the implementation of the Action Plan for Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities.

10 A total of 149,397 EUR of Peja/ Peć municipality is allocated to the MCO and for projects desig-nated for minority communities. This sum includes expenditures for salaries of the employees, goods and services, municipal services and capital investments. This budget is also used for road reconstruction, other infrastructure projects and utilities under the capital investment com-ponent.

Nothing has been done in order to implement the foreseen activities outlines in the Action Plan 2013 – 2015. We have ad-hoc activities that are linked to the Action Plan; however, we do not carry out our work in line with the plan. None of the directorates have provided the needed budget for Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities needs. Activities which are implemented are mainly focused on capital investment such as infrastructure, sewage, renovation or hous-ing.

G.T– Municipal Office for Communities, Municipality of Peja/Pec

Property rights and informal settlements - At the moment, there are four (4) informal multiethnic settlements in Peja/ Peć municipality. One is located in “Zata”, two in “7 Shta-tori” and one in “Kristal” neighborhood. Approximately 1500 members of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities are living in these informal settlements. Albanians and Bosniaks also inhabit these settlements. In total there are around 400 houses in this area. These set-tlements are multiethnic and Albanians, Serbian and Bosniaks also reside in them. The mu-nicipality has not taken any steps to either legalize or dismantle these four informal settle-ments.

Lack of documentation over their previous property presents the biggest problem that members of Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian community are facing.

We don’t have any plan to legalize informal settlements in our municipality. Besides, some members of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities cannot prove that they have been in possession of a property because they lack documentation. The municipality cannot help them and cannot take responsibility for resolving ownership issues.

G.T. - HLC-Kosovo Interview, July 24, 2013.

Information and Awareness – Municipal officials are informed about the Strategy for the Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in Kosovo in the 2009 - 2015 pe-riod. The Municipal Office of Communities is where members of communities go to ask for assistance and receive support for solving their problems. Mainly MCOs are dealing with social issues. The Office of Communities in Peja/Peć has good cooperation with the civil society sector. They work together on the implementation of various projects in the area of education, infrastructure and health.



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11I would say that Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities are living in miserable condition. Representatives from these communities were mainly ignored from municipal directorates. This especially applies to Roma communities who lack education and reside in areas where living conditions are bad.

S. C – Municipal Office for Communities, Municipality of Peja/PecHLC Kosovo interview July 24, 2013



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13MUNICIPALITY OF FERIZAJ/UROŠEVAC

The municipality of Ferizaj/Uroševac is located in the southern part of Kosovo. The munici-pality covers an area of 345 square kilometers and consists of a city and 44 villages. It is largely an agricultural plain. Ferizaj/Uroševac has a population of approximately 111,1419 inhabitants. The majority of them are Albanians. Other communities residing in the mu-nicipality include Ashkali (3,971), Roma (292), Egyptians (52)10, Gorani (32), Bosniaks (76), Serbs (14) and Turks (25)11. Most Serbs have returned to Kosovo after spending years as refugees or displaced persons and are now living in the villages of Bablak/Babljak, Srpski Babuš/Babushi and Talinoc i Muhaxherëve/Muhadžer Talinovac. Roma, Ashkali and Egyp-tians mainly live in the village of Dubravё/Dubrava and the settlements of Halit Ibishi/Halit Ibiši, Sallahane/Salahane and Koçi Xoxe/Koče Zoze12 in the city of Ferizaj/Uroševac.

The municipality of Ferizaj/Uroševac has a network of primary healthcare consisting of the Main Center of Family Medicine and three smaller clinics. The villagers receive medical services at nine Health Stations, including mobile teams. There are 31 primary schools in the municipality. Number of students from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in the Municipality are as follows - 96 pupils in pre-school education out of which 89 are Ashkali, 6 are Roma and 1 Egyptian; 877 pupils in primary school out of which 818 are Ashkali, 58 are Roma and 1 Egyptian; 89 students in secondary schools out of which 84 are Ashkali and 5 are Roma. In total there are 14 students enrolled in the university out of which 13 are Ashkali and 1 is Roma. Illiterate residents in total from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian com-munities equal to 222 persons.

In the following table are presented data on employment of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian com-munities13:

Number of Houses 741 Ashkali 49 Roma 10 Egyptian

Number of Families 683 Ashkali 47 Roma 9 Egyptian

Number of em-ployed in public sector

94 Ashkali 6 Roma No Egyptian

Number of em-ployed in private sector

83 Ashkalil 18 Roma No Egyptian

In 2013 in total 23 families have been repatriated out of which 4 were Ashkali, 2 were Roma and 17 were Albanian families.

9 http://esk.rks-gov.net/, Kosovo Agency of Statistic, September 201310 �nformati on from M�� Feri�aj, updated on June 2013 �nformation from M�� Feri�aj, updated on June 201311 Kosovo Agency of Stati sti c, Kosovo �ensus, April 2011 Kosovo Agency of Statistic, Kosovo �ensus, April 201112 �ntervie� of HL� Kosovo, Rahman Bajrami M�� Feri�aj/Urusevac July 2013 �ntervie� of HL� Kosovo, Rahman Bajrami M�� Feri�aj/Urusevac July 2013 13 M�� o� ce data M�� o�ce data

14 On June 2013, the Municipal Assembly of Ferizaj/Uroševac adopted the statute of the mu-nicipality14. Anti-discrimination principles and the use of official language in communica-tion with municipal bodies are guaranteed by this statute in line with the Anti-Discrimina-tion Law and the Law on the Use of Languages. The statute foresees the establishment of permanent committees and other committees15.

Community Committee (CC) – is one of the permanent committees of the municipality. The CC is comprised of assembly members and community representatives. According the municipality statute each community that lives in the municipality should be represented with at least one representative, which is not the case in CC of Ferizaj/Uroševac. Currently members of the CC in Ferizaj/Uroševac include two (2) Albanians, one (1) Serb and one (1) member of the Roma community, no representation from Ashkali and Egyptian communi-ties. This committee meets every month but also meets on special occasions or when the need arises.

The CC is responsible for ensuring that persons holding public positions in the municipality do not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity and language. The main duty of this committee is to ensure that all municipal policies and decisions regulating the area of minority rights are in line with applicable legislation and have the best interests of the minorities living in this area. The CC may also review any alleged violation of minority rights and reports that issue to the municipal assembly. The CC in Ferizaj/Uroševac was involved in municipal projects related to education and healthcare.

The mandate of this body is to improve the status of minorities in our municipality and con-tribute to the promotion and protection of minority rights.

HLC Kosovo interview July 2013- R.B MCO Ferizaj/Urusevac

Municipal Office of Communities (MCO) – according to the statute this office is an integral part of the municipality administration and it is supported by the municipal budget. The position of the Chief of the Municipal Office of Communities is equal to the position of the Director of the Municipal Directorates16. The Chief of the MCO reports directly to the Mayor. According to the statute and MCO officials this office is responsible for monitoring of all projects related to minority affairs, including the promotion of the protection of minority rights, equal access of minorities in public services at municipal level in the area of educa-tion, healthcare and employment opportunities.

Currently at MCO in Ferizaj/Uroševac there are 13 persons employed as staff out of which two (2) are Roma, one (1) Serbian, one (1) Gorani, one (1) Turk, one (1) Albanian and seven (7) are Ashkali. The mandate of this office is to initiate and facilitate projects related to the promotion of minority rights in the municipality. MCO focuses its work in 9 different com-ponents such as Education, Employment and Economic Development, Health and Social 14 http://kk.rks-gov.net/feri�aj/getattachment/Municipality/Assembly/Statute/Statuti-i-Komunes-2013.pdf.aspx15 Statute of Municipality of Feri�aj/Urusevac, article 19 of the statute.16 Municipality of Feri�aj/Urusevas Statute



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15Issues, Housing and Informal settlements, Return and Reintegration, Registration or resolv-ing the issue of undocumented residents, Media, Culture and Information, Participation and Representation and Security and justice.

I believe that the Strategy was more of a political commitment towards international organi-zations. The Kosovo government and local institutions did not allocate the proper budget for the implementation of the Strategy which shows how unserious their commitment was.

HLC Kosovo interview July 2013- R.B. MCO Ferizaj/Urusevac

In 2009, KFOS through local NGO INPO, assisted the MCO in drafting local Action plan for the Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. MCO has established a work-ing group to revise/update the local Action Plan for the Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Communities 2013-2015. Staff of MCO, municipal Directorates linked through Ac-tion Plan components, local and international organizations, are members of this working group.,

We are planning to send the final draft of the local Action Plan for approval in September 2013 to Municipal Assembly and start its implementation properly in 2014. Despite the lack of budget for implementation of activities designed to assist integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities we have reached good results in improving the lives of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in our Municipality through activities designed by our office and also other projects which were implemented with the support of both local and international organizations. For example during this year we will start building 44 new houses in the village of Dubravë/Dubrava. We are also waiting for positive response from the municipality to give us approval for the rebuilding of 17 houses for community residents.


MCO also implements other activities that are part of the educational component and reg-istration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian community pupils in secondary schools. Another task of the MCO was to promote the representation of minorities in municipal authorities.

Budget and Local Action Plan – The Municipal Assembly decides on the allocation of the municipal budget on annual basis. The budget of MCO is broken down as follows 51,920.29 EUR for salaries and per diems, 48,184.26 EUR for salaries with payment lists and 10, 250.00 EUR for goods and services. The allocated budget is also used for reconstructing roads, infrastructure, electricity reparations, healthcare and education activities. MCO has established a working group to draft the local Action Plan. Staff of MCO, other Directorates linked through Action Plan’s component, local and international organizations such as INPO, OSCE, KFOS, and GYR are members of this working group.

For the year 2013 the Municipality of Ferizaj/Urusevac did not have a special budget al-located for the needs of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. It is important to note that despite receiving approval from the Municipal Assembly for a budget in 2010 no

16 delivery took place. Mayor of the Municipality and other officials stated that the reason for failure to deliver was due to lack of budget for this specific category.

Both the MCO in the Municipality of Ferizaj/Urusevac and all Municipal Directorates are in-formed about the Kosovo Strategy and Action Plan for the Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. Until today no directorates have supported allocation of a budget for the implementation of activities under the Action Plan.

Directorate for Education has assisted MCO in registering youth from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in secondary schools. Registration of students took place regardless of whether they have passed the state exam or not. Directorate for Social Issues has helped several families with goods and housing services.

Property rights and informal settlements – In the municipality there are 4 informal set-tlements: Dubravё/Dubrava, Halit Ibishi/Halit Ibiši, Sallahane/Salahane and Koçi Xoxe/Koče Zoze. Property legalization in informal settlements is a big problem. Until today in Dubravё/Dubrava in total 43 properties have been legalized out of 192, in Sallahane/Sala-hane 94 legalized out of 165 and 1 occupied, Halit Ibishi/Halit Ibiši 20 legalized out of 43 and in Koçi Xoxe/Koče Zoze 62 properties legalized and 21 still remain.

Unemployment and a lack of property deeds are the biggest problem for members of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. The municipal administration claims that they cannot take the responsibility resolving the ownership documentation in these circumstances but tries to support members of these communities in all other ways that they can.

The problems with informal settlements are usually due to lack of documents as property deeds and also uncertainty of who really owns the land.


Information and Awareness- The MCO staff in Ferizaj/Uroševac is well informed about the Strategy for Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian community for the period 2009 - 2015.

The MCO cooperates with various international and local organizations that deal with ed-ucation programmes. On a daily basis this office is open for all citizens to come to voice their problems and concerns. The MCO in Ferizaj/Uroševac cooperates closely with IOM, UNDP, OSCE, UNICEF and local NGOs on education programmes, return process projects and awareness campaigns.

The MCO office staff has regular field visits. They keep community members informed through NGOs, weekly visits and through media. Also there are regular visits from commu-nity members at the MCO office with different request.



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17MUNICIPALITY OF FUSHË KOSOVË/KOSOVO POLJE

The municipality of Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje is located 8 km southwest of Prishtina/ Priština. It consists of 17 villages and the town of Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje itself. Three villages are populated by Serbs (Ugljare/Uglar, Kuzmin/Kuzmin and Batuše/Batushë), whereas the village of Bresje/Bresje and Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje town are multiethnic. This municipality has a total of 36,897 inhabitants17. Besides Albanians who make up the overwhelming majority of the population, there is a substantial number of minority com-munities living in this municipality - 292 Roma, 3,870 Ashkali and 262 Egyptians18, 162 Serbs, 23 Bosniaks, 8 Gorani and 27 Turks 19.

Prior to the 1999 conflict, Serbs comprised 25% of the population. However, their number is now estimated at 162 according to Kosovo Agency of Statistic. Most of the Serbian popula-tion are Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) or are refugees in countries of the region. Despite the efforts made by the municipality to unify the healthcare system, health facilities remain divided. Albanians, Ashkali and Egyptians seek medical attention and treatment at the Family Health Centre in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje and 11 health centers in the sur-rounding villages. Serbs and Roma receive medical treatment at the Health Center in the village of Ugljare/ Uglar, as well as other centers of primary healthcare in Kuzmin/Kuzmin and Batuše/ Batushë.

The problem of non-attendance and late enrolment in education system were successfully tackled in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje when 53 Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian children were enrolled in the 2011–2012 academic school year in the multiethnic school of “Selman Riza”. This was achieved following the intervention of the international community and with the assistance of the municipality and MEST20.

There are 680 pupils from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in the ‘Selman Riza’ primary school which is taught in the Albanian language. ‘Mihal Grameno’ primary school is attended by 4 Roma and 30 Ashkali pupils. Number of pupils enrolled in the Serbian lan-guage primary school equals to 83 Roma.

In the Municipality of Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje as part of civil servant staff there are two (2) Ashkali, one (1) Roma and one (1) Egyptian. Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities are also represented in the Municipal Assembly with one (1) Egyptian and one (1) Ashkali, both of whom are members of political parties. Two (2) Serbs, one (1) Ashkali, one (1) Roma and one (1) Albanian works at MCO.

The Municipal Assembly of Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje adopted its statute on July 30, 2012. It guarantees the use of official languages in oral and written communication with munici-pal bodies, in line with requirements of the Law on the Use of Languages. The statute fore-sees the establishment of permanent committees21 and Municipal Office of Communities22.17 http://esk.rks-gov.net/eng/ Kosovo Agency of Statistics, �ensus April 201118 M�� - intervie� of HL� Kosovo June 2013 M�� - intervie� of HL� Kosovo June 201319 Kosovo Agency of Stati sti c, �ensus data April 2011 Kosovo Agency of Statistic, �ensus data April 201120 �S�E report - �ommunity rights assessment third editi on �S�E report - �ommunity rights assessment third edition 21 Municipal Statute. Arti cle 36 Municipal Statute. Article 3622 Municipal Statute, Arti cle 49 Municipal Statute, Article 49

18 The Community Committee (CC) – is one of the permanent committees of the munici-pality. The CC consists of assembly members and community representatives living in Fushë Kosovë/ Kosovo Polje. Each community living in the municipality is represented by at least one representative. There are eight (8) members appointed to the Community Committee in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje municipality: 3 (three) Serbs, 2 (two) Albani-ans, 1 (one) Egyptian, 1(one) Roma and 1 (one) Ashkali 23. This committee holds its meet-ings depending on the events and needs of the communities.

The mandate of the CC is to protect and promote minority rights at the municipal level. The main duty of the CC is to ensure that all municipal policies and decisions regulating the area of minority rights are in line with applicable legislation and best interests of minorities living in this area. The CC also recommends measures to be undertaken by the municipality with a view of promoting ethnic, cultural, religious and language identity of all communities. The requests of the citizens and complaints are generally related to the reconstruction of houses, the return process, road infrastructure, electricity and educa-tion.

Members of CC have monthly meetings where they discuss the situation of minority commu-nities and address their needs in respective directorates and the Assembly.

HLC Kosovo interview F.G member of CC, July 2013

Municipal Office of Communities (MCO) - according to the statute of the municipality the mandate and function of the MCO is regulated with the statute of the municipality.24 This office supports and facilitates integration of minorities into society and helps in the implementation of the minority rights legislation. Furthermore, MCO cooperates with all directorates of the municipality in implementation of various projects aiming at improv-ing the status of minority rights and establishes priorities of the municipality on minority rights affairs. There are currently five (5) employees in the MOC of Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje out of which two (2) are Serbs, one (1) Ashkali, one (1) Roma and one (1) Albanian.

The mandate of this office is to cooperate with all directorates of the municipality and to contribute to the promotion and protection of minority rights through different activities. It encourages citizens to forward and raise their problems and concerns.

The Municipality of Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje in partnership with the Ministry of La-bour and Social Welfare held training on completing job applications. This activity was targeted at non-majority communities and returnees. The MCO also provided details of training sessions that have been held by the municipal employment office in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme aimed at providing non-majority com-munity members with better opportunities to enter the workforce25.

23 http://kk.rks-gov.net/fushekosove/Municipality/Assembly/�omittees/Komiteti-per-komunitete.aspx24 Municipal statute, arti cle 49, competences Municipal statute, article 49, competences25 �S�E report - �ommunity rights assessment third editi on �S�E report - �ommunity rights assessment third edition



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19Budget and Local Action Plan – The Municipal Assembly adopts a municipal budget an-nually. The municipality budget is allocated to meet the needs of minority communities. The budget of MCO amounts to 5, 000EUR for goods and service, 13, 500EUR for salaries and per diems. The capital budget goes through the Municipal Directorates. For 2013 MCO is still waiting for additional 10,000EUR to be delivered from the Municipality to carry out several activities. The MCO officers in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje have been en-gaged in awareness raising campaigns on healthcare and hygiene targeting Roma, Ashka-li and Egyptian girls and women as well as campaigns for family planning and against domestic violence.

Both the Strategy and the Action Plan were necessary in order to meet the needs of minority communities. It would be so much easier for MCO to work in line and within the framework of the Action Plan. In my opinion in this regards we could be more efficient. I also believe that failure for the local Action Plan to be implemented is largely due to lack of political will and failure to allocate a planned budget for the implementation of the plan.

HLC Kosovo interview MCO office, July 2013

There is no specific budget for the implementation of the local Action Plan. On several occasions Directorate for Culture, Youth and Sport has allocated budget for various activi-ties addressing the needs of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, however, overall directorates failed to provide the requested amount. KFOS through NGO-INPO, supported the drafting of local action plan for integration of Roma, Ashkali ande Egyptian communi-ties in municipality of Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje.

Action Plan for the Municipality was approved and work is being conducted in line with the local Action Plan. Our main focus still remains on education even thought the action plan has 9 components. Despite the lack of a special budget, we do meet the needs planned within the Action Plan.


Property rights and informal settlements – The municipality of Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje has no special programme for the registration of unregistered members of minority communities. Most of the settlements where Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities live are informal, due to lack of property deeds.

In our municipality the settlements where Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities live are generally regarded as informal. This is due to the fact that sale of land mostly happens through an oral agreement rather than legally bounding one.


High unemployment rates and lack of property deeds serve as problems for the mem-bers of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. The municipal administration has neither the obligation nor the desire to get involved in ownership disputes, though they have made it clear that they are ready to support members of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in all issues related to the municipality.

20 Information and Awareness – The MCO staff in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje were in-volved in drafting the Strategy for the Integration of Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian Com-munities for the 2009 - 2015 period. The CC is also well informed on the standards and priorities of this strategy.

The MCO officials believe that it is vital to organize debates and inform communities on what the strategy is about. MCO is open for all citizens to come and address their prob-lems and concerns. The MCO officials instruct and advise them on how to proceed with their complaints. The MCO in Fushë Kosovë/ Kosovo Polje cooperates closely with civil society as well as with international and local organizations. MCO keeps communication with members of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities through various NGOs and by holding both public and private meetings with minority representatives. They have worked with OSCE, UNICEF, Cultural-Youth Center, Balkan Sun-Flower and ECMI Kosovo on various projects and awareness campaigns.



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21MUNICIPALITY OF GJAKOVA/ ĐAKOVICA The municipality of Gjakova/ Đakovica covers a territory of 521 square kilometers. Accord-ing to Kosovo Agency of Statistic Gjakova/Đakovica has a population of 96,071 inhabitants26. Albanians constitute the overwhelming majority, minority communities living in Municipal-ity of Gjakova/ Đakovica are Serbs (17), Roma (738), Ashkali (613), Egyptian (5,117), Bos-niaks (73), Gorani (13) and Turks (16)27. According to the Municipal Officials minority com-munities have no security related problems. The municipal leadership claims it has played a crucial role in their return by supporting and facilitating this process. However, in order to fully integrate community members at all levels of the society, a lot more remains to be done especially in terms of employment and education. The employees in the Municipality are as follows: four (4) Egyptian in Civil service, one (1) political representative (Vice chairperson of municipal assembly), two (2) Egyptian, one (1) Ashkali and one (1) Roma in the MCO in Municipality of Gjakova/ Đakovica.

On December 26, 2008 the Municipal Assembly of Gjakova/ Đakovica adopted the statute of the municipality. This statute guarantees the use of official language in communication with municipal bodies in line with the Law on the Use of Languages. The statute foresees the establishment of permanent committees and other committees.

The Community Committee (CC) – is one of the permanent committees of the municipal-ity. The CC is comprised of assembly members and community representatives. Each com-munity living in the municipality is represented with at least one representative28. There are seven (7) appointed members of the CC in the municipality of Gjakova/Đakovica.29 Commit-tee holds monthly meetings.

According to the MALG report30, from January to June 2013 this committee held four (4) meetings. The committee is in charge of monitoring the implementation of legislation, sub legal acts and other policy documents regulating minority rights in Gjakova/ Đakovica mu-nicipality. Community Committee also reviews requests and complaints submitted by citi-zens of minority communities and presents them to respective municipal directorates and other municipal institutions.

In addition to this, the committee provides recommendations to the Assembly on measures that should be undertaken in order to implement applicable legislation and improve the status of minorities in Gjakova/ Đakovica31.

In the majority of cases, requests and complaints made by citizens relate to reconstruction of houses, road infrastructure, electricity and education.

26 http://esk.rks-gov.net//, �ensus April 2011 27 Number of �ommunities living in Municipality of Gjakova/ Đakovica - M��28 Municipality of Gjakova/ Đakovica Statute, Arti cle 35 Municipality of Gjakova/ Đakovica Statute, Article 3529 Nevru� Tafoshi (�RDK), Ali Gashi (�RDK), �enel �enunaj (PDAK), Arif ��rmjani (PRBK), Agneta Byty�i (LDK), �lfeta Nevru� Tafoshi (�RDK), Ali Gashi (�RDK), �enel �enunaj (PDAK), Arif ��rmjani (PRBK), Agneta Byty�i (LDK), �lfeta Jakupi (BSDAK), Saranda Hyseni (AAK)30 MALG report - �n functi onality of municipal assembly - January - June 2013 MALG report - �n functionality of municipal assembly - January - June 201331 Municipality of Gjakova/ Đakovica Statute, Arti cle 35.1, 35.2 Municipality of Gjakova/ Đakovica Statute, Article 35.1, 35.2

22 The mandate of the Municipal Community Committee is to monitor the respect of minority rights and review the requests and complaints coming from minority communities. This body meets once a month. CC also provides recommendations to the Assembly on how to solve different prob-lems of minorities and how to implement regulations concerning minority rights.

A.B. Head of municipal Office of Communities in Gjakova/Đakovica HLC-Kosovo Interview, July 2013.

Municipal Office of Communities (MCO) – The statute of municipality regulates the MCO mandate and function32. By statute, this office is responsible for promotion and protection of minority rights, equal access of minorities to the public services at municipal level and pro-moting anti discrimination principles. There are five (5) employees working at the MCO33. One (1) Albanian, two (2) Egyptians, one (1) Ashkali and one (1) Roma.

The mandate of the office is to cooperate with all directorates of the municipality in order to protect and promote minority rights through various activities. This office drafts its local Ac-tion Plan every year covering the area of education and awareness campaigns aiming at the inclusion of Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian children in schools.

Our office has managed to create equal access for all communities in public services, has elimi-nated informal settlements, has solved the problem of housing for residents of the Koloni, has managed to activate the active citizenship of young people in the community, has managed to approve and begin the implementation of local Action Plans for the Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in Gjakova. Furthermore we have managed to support the activities of the community center, as well as supporting the opening of Radio Prosperity as Egyptian com-munity radio which in its online mode broadcasts programs in Roma language as well.


Budget and Local Action Plan – Municipality of Gjakova/Đakovica has an Action Plan for the integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities and a small budget has been al-located for this purpose. The drafting of local action plan in 2009, and revision of it in 2012 was supported by KFOS. All MCO staff members are informed about the Strategy and the Ac-tion Plan. Action Plan for the Municipality of Gjakova/Đakovica focuses mainly on education, health care, culture and media. The allocated budget for the implementation of the Action Plan is used in education projects. At the local level MCO, CC and a working group direct their efforts towards monitoring the implementation of the local Action Plan.

The budget helps support projects aimed at education, such as the centre for community support for the maintenance of pre-school activities and help with homework and other educational ac-tivities. The budget furthermore supports projects such as launching of a local radio for Egyptian communities, launching of news programs in Roma language, infrastructure projects, health, etc.


32 Municipality of Gjakova/ Đakovica Statute, arti cle 48 Municipality of Gjakova/ Đakovica Statute, article 4833 Structure of the M�� o�ce - �hief of o�ce, coordinator for sustainable return, coordinator for rights and reinte-gration, o�cer for sustainable return and o�cer for rights and reintegration.



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23Strategy, action plan and also the municipal statute that has information regarding the re-sponsibilities of the office in protecting and promoting the rights of minority communities, and municipal regulation for MCO - Nr 02/2010 are among the documents which are used by the MCO in addressing the needs of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities.

The budget is usually planned by MCO or the Chief of the office for salaries, daily payments, goods and services and subsidies. Capital investments are managed by municipal directo-rates. Total yearly budget amounts to 63,500.00 EUR, salaries and per diem 20, 500.00EUR, goods and services 18, 000.00EUR and subsidies 25,000.00EUR.

With the allocated budget, MOC supports Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities by provid-ing various services in infrastructure and other activities. Different projects are also supported by the Municipality where it acts as a co-founder.


Property rights and informal settlements – The municipality of Gjakova/Đakovica has no programme for registration of unregistered persons who have fled and lived elsewhere af-ter the war and have recently returned to Kosovo. MCO has prepared an information leaflet with instructions on how to register.

There are currently three (3) multi-ethnic informal settlements in the Gjakova/Đakovica municipality. Koloni/Koloni has one informal settlement, Dardania/Dardani has also one informal settlement, and another such settlement is located in Brekoc/ Breko. Members of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities make up the majority of inhabitants in infor-mal settlements, though there are also members of other communities living there, includ-ing Albanians. Living conditions in these places are very poor. The municipality is preparing to legalize these settlements. In this regard it has allocated four hectares of land for building houses for all inhabitants living in these informal settlements.

Many returnees of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in Gjakova/Đakovica, like those in Peja/Peć, lack a property deeds which prevents them from enjoying their own pos-sessions. While the municipal administration has shown readiness to assist members of these communities in all possible ways, it says that it can do very little when it comes to documents which prove property ownership.

We are working to legalize informal settlements in our municipality. Municipality has allo-cated four hectare of land to build houses for citizens that live in informal settlements and hopefully we will soon begin construction of houses. The living conditions in these settlements are unbearable. On the other hand, members of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities lack original property documentation.


24 Information and Awareness – The MCO in Gjakova/ Đakovica is well informed about the Strategy for the Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian community for 2009-2015. The MCO participated in drafting the strategy; however, MCO officials are unhappy about the implementation of the strategy. Regarding the implementation of the Strategy, the document itself is considered to be a non-functional because the Government had approved it and itself has ignored it. When we talk about the Strategy we should think about the central level, the Government and ministries who have failed to call it into life. This action not only hinders the process of integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities into Kosovo society but questions the will of the govern-ment for its successful implementation.


This office is open for all citizens to address their problems and issues. The staff provides instructions and advice on where to go or how to proceed with complaints and issues. The MCO in Gjakova/Đakovica collaborates closely with local and international NGOs, mostly with IOM, UNDP, OSCE, KFOS and CARITAS on return projects, awareness campaigns and education initiatives.

During our working hours we have scheduled field visits to Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian settle-ments. We also receive community members in our office and try to assist them with any re-quests they might have. We also keep community members informed through their representa-tives, NGOs, phone calls, emails and meetings.




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25MUNICIPALITY OF GJILAN/GNJILANE

The municipality of Gjilan/Gnjilane is situated 47 km southeast of Prishtina/ Priština and encompasses an area of 515 square kilometers. It has a population of 91,413 inhabitants34, the vast majority of whom are Albanians, followed by a sizeable number of Serbs (322), Roma (182) ,Ashkali (9), Egyptian (1), Bosniaks (108), Turks (493), and Gorani (39).35 There are several ethnically mixed areas, including the city of Gjilan/Gnjilane and five vil-lages. Minorities move freely in the town and elsewhere throughout the municipality.

There are 25 Roma pupils registered in pre-school, 62 in primary school, 14 students in secondary school and 2 are enrolled as university students. All of pupils in primary school and those in secondary school attend parallel education system “Vuk Stafanovic Karadzic” where they are taught in the Serbian language. In the Municipality of Gjilan/ Gnjilane num-ber of employees from minority community comprise of 37 Serbs, one (1) Roma and three (3) Turks36.

The Municipal Assembly of Gjilan/Gnjilane adopted its municipality statute on November 21, 2008. The use of official languages in oral and written communication with municipal bodies is guaranteed with this statute, in line with the Law on the Use of Languages. In 2007, the Turkish language was declared a “language in official use” by the Municipal Assembly. The statute foresees the establishment of permanent committees and municipal Office of Communities.

The Community Committee (CC) – is one of the permanent committees of the municipal-ity. The CC is comprised of assembly members and community representatives living in Gjilan/Gnjilane. Each community living in the municipality is represented with at least one representative. According to the statute of the municipality the CC should have seven (7) members37. There are three (3) Albanians, two (2) Serbs, one (1) Roma and one (1) Turk appointed to the Community Committee in Gjilan/Gnjilane municipality38. The CC holds its meetings based on the needs of the communities and developments. According to the MCO officials, meetings of this committee are on regular basis. According to the MALG report39, the CC of Gjilan/Gnjilane municipality met six (6) times from January to June 2013.

The mandate of the CC is to protect and promote minority rights at the municipal level. Ac-cording to the statute of the municipality the main task of this committee is to ensure that all municipal policies and decisions regulating the area of minority rights are in line with applicable legislation and best interests of the minorities living in this area. Community Committee also recommends the measures that should be undertaken by the Municipal As-sembly in order to promote ethnic, cultural, religious and language identity of the communi-ties. The requests and complaints made by citizens usually deal with the reconstruction of houses, return process, road infrastructure, electricity and education.

34 http://esk.rks-gov.net/35 Kosovo Agency of Stati sti c, �ensus April 2013, main data page 145 Kosovo Agency of Statistic, �ensus April 2013, main data page 14536 M�� Gjilan/Gnjilane data, July 2013 M�� Gjilan/Gnjilane data, July 201337 Municipality of Gjilan/Gnjilane Statute - November 2008 Municipality of Gjilan/Gnjilane Statute - November 200838 Kemal Shahini Chairman, Enver Hajrullahu PDK, Bardhyl Kadriu LDK, Fadil Gashi AAK, Tomislav Nas-kovic, Zvonko Tasic, and Galip Hiseni39 MALG report - �n functi onality of municipal assembly - January - June 2013 MALG report - �n functionality of municipal assembly - January - June 2013

26 The Community Committee meets regularly, every month. We review all complaints that we receive from citizens. We present their concerns at the Municipal Assembly and we give rec-ommendations on how to resolve problems concerning minority rights in our municipality. K.SH, member of the Community Committee - Gjilan/ Gnjilane municipality

HLC Kosovo Interview, July 2013.

Municipal Office of Communities (MCO) – The mandate of the MCO in Gjilan/Gnjilane is not regulated by the municipal statute. According to the municipal officers the scope of work of this office is similar to the mandates of all MCOs throughout Kosovo, in other words the protection and promotion of minority rights is the cornerstone of activities of the MCO.

In total there are six (6) employees in the MCO - three (3) Serbs, one (1) Albanian, one (1) Turk and one (1) Roma. MCO in the Municipality of Gjilan/Gnjilane focuses its work on Education, Culture, Employment, Health Care, Reintegration and Repatriation compo-nents.

MCO in Gjilan/Gnjilane has initiated the establishment of a Roma Council. The role of the Council is to work mainly in cooperation with MCO and coordinate its field work. In other words work on researching and addressing the needs of the Roma community.

This initiative would also work towards establishing new schools in Roma language. Al-though this initiative was proposed a while ago due to lack of professional capacity (lack of staff) the initiative did not succeed.

K.SH, member of the Community Committee - Gjilan/ Gnjilane municipality HLC Kosovo Interview, July 2013.

MCO office has good cooperation with CSOs and IOs such as CARE international, IOM, DRC, UNDP, UNHCR, KFOS, CRP-K and has good relations with local media outlets. In co-operation with CRP-K, MCO has resolved the issue of civil status of Roma community. Currently, all Roma residents have civil registration documents.

Budget and Local Action Plan – The municipal assembly adopts the budget of the mu-nicipality and allocates funds annually. Almost 20% of the MCO budget has been allocated to the purpose of the returning process and other activities related to minority rights. Other part of MCO budget is used for capital investments and infrastructure.

Through its field research, HLC Kosovo found that no Action Plan has been drafted for the integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in the Municipality of Gilan/Gnjilane. Due to absence of Action Plan there is no special budget allocated for the imple-mentation of activities for the integration of minority communities. The local Action Plan was not drafted due to lack of participation from the side of representatives from minor-ity communities. When HLC Kosovo inquired about projects (including budget) which aim to integrate Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities MCO simply stated that they do not have a special budget and all requests go through the municipality which then



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27grants them budget to carry out activities. MCO declined to show or share any of the ac-tivities which have been implemented to assist Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian integration.

The strategy is not accepted as such from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in our Municipality. During our meetings with community representatives they did not agree with this strategy with excuse that there is no such thing as Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian com-munities. Representatives from minority communities could not agree on anything among themselves which subsequently led to failure to draft such an Action Plan. Despite the lack of Action Plan, our office works on the requests which come from communities.


Property rights and informal settlements - There are no informal settlements in this municipality. The MCO in Gjilan/ Gnjilane has joined efforts with the organization Civil Rights Programme in order to facilitate the registration of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyp-tian population that has not been registered. Unemployment is the biggest problem for members of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. The municipal administra-tion is providing members of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities with property documentation through witness testimonies and verification of given testimonies at the cadastral directorate.

The main problem of our community remains to be unemployment. I would like to under-line that unemployment does not discriminate and this is a big issue for our Municipality whether you be from majority or minority community.


Information and Awareness – The MCO staff members in Gjilan/ Gnjilane claim that they are familiar with the Strategy for the Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Community for the period 2009 -2015. The MCO organized information campaigns to inform communities about the strategy. This office assists all citizens in resolving their problems. The MCO officials instruct and advise citizens where to go or how to resolve their problems. Their requests usually relate to personal documentation, property issues, unemployment, etc.



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29MUNICIPALITY OF ISTOG/ISTOK

The Municipality of Istog/Istok is located in north-western Kosovo. It covers approxi-mately 454 square kilometers and includes Istog/Istok town and 50 villages40. According to Kosovo Agency of Statistic the total population in the municipality of Istog/Istok is 40,15041 inhabitants, the vast majority of whom are Albanians. According to the Kosovo Population and Housing census which was conducted in April 2011 the ethnic composi-tion is as follows: Albanians (36,154), Egyptians (1,544), Bosniaks (1,142), Serbs (194), Ashkali (111), Roma (39), Turks (10), others (45), and not specified (50)42.

In regards to number of returns, from 2009 to 2013 in total 270 Serbs, 41 Bosniaks, 15 Roma and 182 Egyptians have returned to Municipality of Istog/Istok. In 2013 number of returns equaled to only 5 Serbs43. There are no employees from minority communities in other municipal directorates besides employees in the MCO. There are no employees in public institutions from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities44.

There are 11 primary schools in the municipality with 6,935 pupils and 386 teachers, two (2) secondary schools with 2,158 students and 106 teachers and five (5) kindergartens with 241 children and 16 teachers45. The primary health care system currently includes five (5) municipal family health centers, one (1) located in town and four (4) in Vrellë/Vrela, Banjë/Banja, Gjurakoc/Đurakovac and Rakosh/Rakoš villages. In addition ten (10) primary health care centers are located in the main village. The health sector has 123 em-ployees, including doctors, nurses and support staff; according to MCO officials all com-munities have equal access to the health care system.

The Community Committee (CC) – Municipal Assembly, according articles 52 and 53 of Law of Local Self-governance nr. 03/L-040 established the Community Committee (CC).

CC has 5 (five) members comprised with community representatives living in the Munici-pality of Istog/Istok46. It is important to note that Roma and Ashkali are not represented in Community Committee. According to the MCO officials, meeting of this committee are on regular basis. According to the MALG report47 the CC of Municipality of Istog/Istok from January to June 2013 had 5 (five) meetings. The MCO officials are not satisfied with the representation and work of this committee.

40 http://��.osce.org/kosovo/13115, �S�E publication - Municipal of �stog/�stok profile, January 201341 Kosovo Agency of Stati sti c, Kosovo Agency of Statistic, http://esk.rks-gov.net/, �ctober 201342 Kosovo Agency of Stati sti c - �ensus Kosovo populati on and housing April 2011 Kosovo Agency of Statistic - �ensus Kosovo population and housing April 201143 HL� Kosovo - M�� ntervie� Bajram �elaj Municipality of �stog/�stok, HL� Kosovo - M�� ntervie� Bajram �elaj Municipality of �stog/�stok, 44 M�� - Municipality of �stog/�stok M�� - Municipality of �stog/�stok45 Municipality of �stog/�stok - Municipal directorate for educati on, August 2013 Municipality of �stog/�stok - Municipal directorate for education, August 201346 Fa�li Stolla -Vice �hairperson of the Municipal Assembly (Kosovo Egypti an) , Sadik Bujupaj � member (LDK), Fa�li Stolla -Vice �hairperson of the Municipal Assembly (Kosovo Egyptian) , Sadik Bujupaj � member (LDK), Shaip Qeta � member (AAK Party), Mirsad Baba�i� - Bosniaks community member, and Dobrivoje Radovanovi� - Serbian community member.47 MALG report - �n functi onality of municipal assembly - January - June 2013 MALG report - �n functionality of municipal assembly - January - June 2013

30 Even thought the mandate of the CC is to protect and promote minority rights at the municipal level, we are not happy with the work of the committee. There are no representatives from Roma and Ashkali community and this committee did not support the Kosovo Strategy for integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities 2009-2015.

HLC Kosovo Interview, B.C. MCO Istog/Istok, coordinator for returnee, August 2013

Municipal Office of Communities (MCO) – The mandate of MCO in Municipality of Is-tog/Istok is protection and promotion of minority rights at the municipal level. In the MCO there are seven (7) employees in total – two (2) Egyptians, two (2) Serbs and three (3) Bos-niaks. Total budget of the MCO per annum is approximately anywhere from 130,000EUR to 140,000EUR. Budget is used for salaries, investments, goods and services.

MCO in municipality of Istog/Istok in cooperation with CSOs have delivered different proj-ects with main focus on education. MCO also has implemented several projects such as re-construction of houses, road infrastructure, social help for poor families, etc.

In my opinion MCO has delivered several projects and has carried out enough work in address-ing the needs of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, however, if we compare the results and situation of the Bosniak community than we are far behind.


In the Municipality of Istog/Istok MCO office in cooperation with NGO Vizioni 02 organizes annual Summer School. The summer school is called ‘Together towards EU’ and conducts activities which includes all ethnicities from different ages. The main goal of the summer school is integration of communities in public and social life. MCO with support of donor organizations conducts activities for education and health.

We have a project supported by KFOS, implemented by local NGO Vision 02, with focus on Edu-cation and Health Care. As part of the project we have two mediators with the role of identify-ing the needs of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in Education and Health Care. Once the needs are identified, these needs are then addressed to Municipal Directorates and other Municipal bodies.


Budget and Local Action Plan – Municipality of Istog/Istok began drafting the Municipal Action Plan on July 6, 2012. A working group was established by the Mayor of Istog/Istok for this precise purpose. Despite the initial intention no concrete results arose from this work-ing group. This was mainly due to lack of political will from political representatives and lack of professionalism from local NGO that was responsible for drafting the Action Plan. One of the main problems associated with failure of implementing both the Strategy and Ac-tion Plan is due to the fact that Strategy did not go through the Assembly of the Republic of



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31Kosovo despite being approved by the government. Failure of going through and getting the approval of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo not only indicates lack of serious-ness but importantly has led to no budget allocation for the implementation of both the Strategy and Action Plan.

The problem is the target groups of the strategy. For example, Egyptian community mem-bers and representatives do not recognize the strategy and are not willing to be part of it. For instance, you have representatives from Egyptian communities in the Assembly who are requesting to be taken out of the Strategy. At the local level, the Vice Chairman of the Assem-bly, who is from the Egyptian community, does not support both the Strategy and the Action Plan by stating that the so called RAE community does not exist in reality.


No budget of any kind has been allocated by the Municipality for the implementation of the Action Plan despite the fact that we (MCO) have sent several requests.

In a meeting with the Mayor of Municipality on August 2, 2013, I have proposed a project for financial support in drafting a local Action Plan, and amount of this project was 4,200 Euros. During the meeting he gave me this answer: “I don’t know what Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities means and I have no budget for this project”


MCO in Istog/Istok does not work in line with the Kosovo Strategy; however, activities have been implemented that are linked to the government Strategy. MCO focuses its work on education, health care, social cases and road infrastructure.

Property rights and informal settlements - Previously there was one informal settle-ment in the Municipality of Istog/Istok called “Rodesh/Rodes” neighborhood. Around 60-70 families were living in this informal settlements before leaving for Montenegro to seek asylum. Since then 28 families have returned. Municipality offered 500 square me-ters of land for each returned family in the village of Serbobran/Serbobrane. There are also some problems with property documentation, occupied properties, property deeds but overall municipality resolved the situation by compensation of formal settlements.

Information and Awareness – MCO is open for all residents of the municipality. The office informs residents of new regulations and possibilities. MCO also conducts regular field visits to identify the most pressing needs of the minority communities.

It is also important to note that the situation of Roma and Egyptian communities in regards to education is quite different. Members of the Egyptian communities have fewer problems when it comes to education and finding employment whereas the position of Roma is quite bad as they lack both education and employment.




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33MUNICIPALITY OF PRIZREN The municipality of Prizren/Prizren is located in the southern part of Kosovo and makes up approximately 6% of the territory of Kosovo. According the statistic from Kosovo Agency of Statistic there are 181,75648 inhabitants living in this municipality, both in the town and 76 villages scattered around it. In addition to the Albanian majority, Prizren/Prizren is home to a large community of Bosniaks (8,446), Turks (4,660), Roma (1,483) , Ashkali (650), Egyptians (89), Serbs (132) and 345 residents of Gorani communities49 . Prizren/ Prizren is known for its ethnic diversity and enjoys a long tradition of tolerance and inter-ethnic cooperation. It is the most culturally and ethnically heterogeneous municipality in Kosovo.

There are 48 primary schools with 28,205 pupils and 1,599 teachers and 6 secondary schools with 9,608 students and 503 teachers. Kindergartens are run privately. There is also a public university in Prizren, offering lectures in Bosniaks, Albanian and Turkish lan-guages50.

The Municipal Assembly of Prizren/Prizren has approved the municipality statute on Oc-tober 15, 2008. The statute guarantees the use of native language in communication with municipal bodies, in line with the Law on the Use of Languages. The Municipal Assembly has adopted a regulation recognizing the Bosniak language as an additional official language in Prizren/ Prizren. This legal act regulates in detail the use of Albanian, Serbian, Turkish and Bosniak languages in all verbal and written communication with municipal authori-ties. Assembly meetings, committee meetings and all other meetings shall be held in these languages. All the official documentation of the municipality shall be translated in the above mentioned languages. This Municipal Assembly decision is also reflected in the statute of the municipality. The statute foresees the establishment of permanent committees.

The Community Committee (CC) - is one of the permanent committees of the munici-pality. The CC has seven (7) members, which includes assembly members and community representatives. Each community living in the municipality shall be represented with at least one representative. Appointed members in the CC from minority communities in the Prizren/ Prizren municipality are as follows: one (1) Bosniak, one (1) Serb, one (1) Turk, and one (1) member of Roma community.

According to the MALG report51 from January to June 2013, CC had four (4) meetings. Its duty is to ensure that all municipal policies and activities are in accordance with the ap-plicable legislation and the best interests of the minority communities in the municipality. The CC also recommends necessary measures and steps that should be undertaken by the Municipal Assembly in order to ensure implementation of central and local legal disposi-tions related to minority rights. All these activities will secure full respect of ethnic, cultural and religious rights. The CC also reviews requests and complaints of citizens coming from minority communities and presents them to respective municipal directorates and other municipal institutions.

48 http://esk.rks-gov.net/eng/, 25/09/201349 http://esk.rksgov.net/rekos2011/repository/docs/Te%20dhenat%20kryesore_ALB.pdf50 Municipality of Pri�ren/Pri�ren, Directorate for Educati on, July 2013 Municipality of Pri�ren/Pri�ren, Directorate for Education, July 201351 ALG report - �n functi onality of municipal assembly - January - June 2013 ALG report - �n functionality of municipal assembly - January - June 2013

34 Community Committee has the mandate to monitor the assembly meetings and to supervise the municipal Office of Communities activities. CC presents the report on the MCOs activities in municipal assembly and monitors the issues related to security, freedom of movement, reconstruction, social welfare and public health. Community Committee is responsible for monitoring the implementation of all municipal regulations and other strategic documents that affect minority rights in our municipality.

I.E. -municipal officer- Municipal office for communities in Prizren/Prizren HLC Interview, July 17, 2013.

Municipal Office of Communities (MCO) – The statute of the municipality does not regulate the establishment or mandate of the MCO in Prizren/Prizren. According to a municipal officer the mission of this office is to facilitate integration of minorities into municipal administration, decision making process and society in general. The MCO also liaises between communities and authorities, establishing communication and building relationships. The main focus of MCO deals with education, health and social issues.

Our office mainly focuses its work in the area of education, health and social issues. Several activities have been delivered in cooperation with local NGOs and with the help of donor organizations. Our work was focused in these areas due to the needs and requests that came from community representatives.

I.E. RAE Community official, Municipal Office of CommunitiesHLC Kosovo interview July 17, 2013

In Municipality of Prizren, the drafting of local action plan was supported by KFOS through Academy for Training and Technical Assistance (ATTA). Directorate of Health and Direc-torate of Education have been working towards implementing activities designed under the Action Plan and Kosovo Strategy. According to the available data around 600 pupils have been registered in primary school in 2013. The increase in number of pupils regis-tered in schools is mainly due to cooperation between schools, parent’s councils, local institutions and NGOs such as Initiative 6 working in the same field. Parent’s councils and directors of schools are used by MCO when it comes to dealing with dropout cases among children from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities.

Directorate of Health and Directorate of Education did a very good job in fulfilling the needs of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. Both Directorates use a special approach when it comes to community needs. This can be seen through positive discrimination, providing better health care services for community members, especially when it comes to serious cases. Directorate of Education have offered special conditions for registration in schools. This is done by registering kids from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in second-ary schools even though they haven’t passed the state exam. Just last year, in 2012, about 23 students from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities have benefited from this action.

I.E, RAE Community official, Municipal Office of CommunitiesHLC Kosovo interview July 17, 2013

Furthermore municipal services are used to help families that are identified as social cases. Financial assistance and other aid are also provided for Roma, Ashkali and Egyp-tian community members.



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35Budget and Local Action Plan – The Municipal Assembly adopts the municipal budget annually. Until 2013 there was no special budget for the implementation of the Kosovo Strategy for the Implementation of the Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian com-munities. This year (2013) the decision was taken by the Municipality to deliver 15,000 EUR that will be focused on Education, Health and Return components. The Municipal Ac-tion plan was approved in 2013; however, it was approved with a non budget. Currently, Directorate for Education and Directorate for Health have both delivered 5,000 EUR each to contribute to the implementation of the Action Plan. The Municipal Office of Communi-ties (MCO) will allocate 5,000 EUR as a special budget. In total 15,000 EUR will be used for the purpose of implementing activities under the Action Plan.

At the moment of writing this report, the budget allocated for MCO amounted to 78,000EUR out of which 48,000EUR is allocated for goods and services and remaining 30,000EUR is allocated for subsidies. In 2013 budget allocated for subsidies has mainly been used to deal with housing and social issues.

MCO has requested a total budget of 52,000EUR from the Municipality of Prizren for the implementation of the Action Plan for the Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities.

Property rights and informal settlements - The municipality of Prizren/Prizren has no informal settlements. Members of the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities lack property deeds. It is a widespread problem for these communities. The municipal ad-ministration cannot take responsibility over ownership documentation in these circum-stances.

Information and Awareness – The municipal authorities in Prizren/Prizren are familiar with the Strategy for Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Communities in Kosovo 2009-2015. The Municipal Office of Communities is present among minority communi-ties in the city and villages due to its liaison role. MCO keeps minority communities in-formed through local NGOs, local radios and by conducting visits to the settlements.

We make sure that minority communities are informed about our work through various channels including radio show which is conducted in Romani language - Romano Avazo-Romani voice.

I.E. RAE Community official, Municipal Office of CommunitiesHLC Kosovo interview July 17, 2013



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37MUNICIPALITY OF MITROVICË/MITROVICA

The municipality of Mitrovicë/Mitrovica is located in northern Kosovo. It covers an area of approximately 350 km². Since the 1999 conflict, the city has been divided along the Ibër/Ibar River with nearly all Kosovo Serbs living in the north and Kosovo Albanians in the south. The municipality consists of Mitrovicë/Mitrovica city and 45 villages. Accord-ing to the Kosovo Population and Housing Census 2011, the total population south of Ibër/Ibar is 71,90952.

According the Kosovo Agency of Statistics this is ethnic composition (south): Albanians: 69,497; Ashkali: 647; Roma: 528; Turks: 518; Bosniaks: 416; Gorani: 23; Serbs: 14; Egyptians: 6; Other: 47; Not specified: 213. In the northern part of Mitrovicë/Mitrovica, there are approximately 29,460 inhabitants.

Number of repatriated persons in the municipality of Mitrovica equal to 219 families in total. From minority communities in total 41 families (26 Roma, 6 Ashkali, 4 Bosniak, 4 Turkish and 1 Serbian) have repatriated.

Community Committee (CC) – is one of the permanent committees of the municipality. The CC is comprised of assembly members and community representatives. Each com-munity that lives in the municipality is represented with at least one representative. Ac-cording the municipal statute the duty of this committee is to ensure that all municipal policies and decisions regulating the area of minority rights are in line with applicable legislation and have the best interests of the minorities living in this area. The CC may also review any alleged violation of minority rights and reports that issue to the munici-pal assembly. The CC is comprised by 5 members: 2 (two) members from majority com-munity, and 3 (three) members from Minority communities living in Mitrovicë/Mitrovica municipality.

Municipal Office of Communities (MCO) - MCO office has total of six (6) employees out of which one (1) is Roma. There is no representation of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in the Municipal Assembly. The annual budget is usually planned by MCO, however the total amount of the budget depends on municipal income, subsidies and also budget from central level institutions.

Budget and action plan – Municipality has adopted the Strategy for the Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities.MCO in cooperation with OSCE is working on drafting the final version of an new Action Plan for the integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, the previous one supported by KFOS through CBM, covered the period from 2010 to 2013 . Municipality of Mitrovica/Mitrovicë does not have a special budget allocated specifically for the implementation of the Action Plan for the integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities nor did it before. MCO mainly conducted its

52 �S�E Municipal profi les �S�E Municipal profiles http://��.osce.org/kosovo/38678

38 work based on the requests of residents and their needs. MCO in Mitrovica mainly focuses its work on returnees, capacity building of community representatives, civil status, security, education and economic development.

There is no special budget allocated only for the needs of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian com-munities, however, we do have an annual MCO budget for the needs of all communities living in Mitrovica. The Strategy for the Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities has only been declaratively supported with no financial backup,, despite the fact that each depart-ment or directorate is obligated to have a separate budget for Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities needs.

HLC Kosovo interview,F.F MCO Mitrovicë/Mitrovica July 2013

It is important to mention that Municipality of Mitrovicë/Mitrovica, offered the space of ag-Mitrovicë/Mitrovica, offered the space of ag-riculture school to be used by Center for Communities. This Center is based in Roma Mahalla and it is being used for different educational, health, social and awareness raising activities.

Property rights and informal settlements – There are two informal settlements in Mitro-There are two informal settlements in Mitro-vicë/Mitrovica - Roma Mahalla and Kroi i Vitakut part. Informal settlements in south of Ibar river are 2 Korriku (2 July) and Roma Mahalla. Legalization of these settlements is foreseen in the urban planning of the Municipality of Mitrovicë/Mitrovica.

Information and Awareness - MCO office has daily communications with community members. They visit MCO offices, MCO organizes field visits, and the residents have access also in sub-office that is situated in Roma Mahalla.MCO office also organizes public meet-ings with communities in general but more often with their representatives.

Our office has very good relations with international organizations such as DRC (education and economic development), CARITAS Kosova (capacity building of the community members and representatives, security), TIERE DE HOMES (capacity building), and OSCE (promoting the protection of minority rights).

HLC Kosovo interview,F.F MCO Mitrovicë/Mitrovica July 2013



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39CONCLUSION FOR LOCAL LEVEL

Municipalities in cooperation and support of central level institutions are key for imple-mentation of policies, strategies and action plans for integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyp-tian communities. HLC Kosovo, comparing the research with the previous publication in 200953, estimates that local level institutions have failed to implement the local action plans. This is due to a lack of cooperation between local and central level institutions and lack of cooperation between MCOs and Municipal Directorates. It is important to note that MCOs and Municipal Directorates during HLC Kosovo research, were not able to provide all re-quested data regarding the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, due to deficiency of proper database.

Almost in all Municipalities, the drafting and implementation of local action plans were ignored by municipal directorates. Local level institutions mainly are informed about the strategy and action plans, but most of these institutions do not have enough knowledge on the content.

HLC Kosovo, believes that one of the main reasons why the implementation of the action plans in local level had limited progress, is due to lack of professional capacities of MCO of-ficials, and lack of good coordination between local NGOs working in promoting the protec-tion of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian rights. NGOs have failed to use the existing mechanisms in advocating the needs of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, also have not done necessary pressure towards responsible local institutions.

Despite of above mentioned obstacles, several municipalities in cooperation with local NGOs have taken positive steps implementing activities towards fulfilling the action plan goals. However, none of the Municipalities have delivered founding for strategy and local action plans. Most of mentioned activities in this research have been supported by donor organizations, and implemented by local NGOs.

53 Governance of Roma, Ashkali and Egypti an Rights in Kosovo (2009) Governance of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Rights in Kosovo (2009) http://kfos.org/governance-of-roma-ashkali-and-egyptian-rights-in-kosovo/



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41PART II- Protection and Promotion of Minority Rights (in particular those addressing Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities) at the central level

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - MEST Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (MLSW) are three key institutions responsible for the implementation of activities in the education sector according the Action Plan. These ministries are responsible for promoting an inclusive and high quality education system based on equality and respect for diversity and for contributing to the full integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in the society54.

MEST has adopted a strategy for the integration of Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptian commu-nities which will be implemented from 2007 until 2017. The forecast project budget is 14 million Euros: 55% of finances will be secured through the Kosovo Government while 45% of finances will come through donations.

A total sum of 1,129,000EUR during 2012 was delivered from donators for the purpose of educating of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in Kosovo.

The Roma community obtains education in institutions which are under the jurisdiction of the Kosovo Government (Albanian language) and the Serbian Government (Serbian language). However, according the MEST officials, in June 2010 MEST endorsed a curricu-lum in Romani language, making Romani grammar, Roma culture and history an optional subject during the school year 2010/201155.

During 2011, MEST started a pilot learning project of Romani language with elements of culture and history as facultative subject in the Municipality of Prizren/Prizren. Out of 1029 primary schools in Republic of Kosovo, only in five facultative subjects were intro-duced.

MEST has comprehensive approach. Our policy represents communities interests in general, and especially of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. One of the main problems is a high drop-out rate and late school enrollment from the communities. MEST in cooperation with local and International organizations, organized information campaigns, meetings with parents and roundtables in addressing these issues

M.J, Human Rights Unit, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology HLC Kosovo Interview 04.09.2013

54 Republic of Kosovo Acti on plan for integrati on of Roma, Ashkali and Egypti an communiti es 2009-2015 Republic of Kosovo Action plan for integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities 2009-201555 HL� Kosovo intervie� MEST, M.J 04.09.2013, Administrati ve �nstructi on No. 7/2010 HL� Kosovo intervie� MEST, M.J 04.09.2013, Administrative �nstruction No. 7/2010

42 MEST drafted National Action Plan against drop-outs in schools for the years 2009-2014. Following the Action Plan MEST realized following activities: a) provided free text books for primary school pupils, b) established and strengthen prevention and response teams for drop-out and non-enrollment kids in education, c) in cooperation with GIZ organized compensatory courses on non-formal education for kids that drop-out schools, d) MEST in Municipality of Fushë Kosovo/Kosovo Polje is implementing the project “Strength-ening the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in Municipality of Fushë Kosovo/Kosovo Polje”, with the aim to prevent drop-outs of students and strengthen their per-formance in learning, e) releases from payment all social cases, f) Municipalities offer transportation for students that live 5 km away from schools, g) certain Municipalities began to offer scholarship for students of secondary and high schools. As a result of these activities MEST considers that year by year rate of dropouts is decreasing.

According the Office of Good Governance (OGG), number of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in Republic of Kosovo are as follows: pre-primary school 349 pupils , 6485 pupils registered in primary schools, 526 secondary school students. From 142 repatri-ated Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian kids only 26 have been registered in education system56.

Continually MEST made efforts in increasing the involvement of Roma, Ashkali and Egyp-tian communities in the education system. In cooperation with partners and donors, over the years MEST has conducted roundtable discussions in municipalities in cooperation with education directorates, organized competition for essays written from Roma, Ashka-li and Egyptian pupils with such topics as “Me and my country”, organized workshops, training and seminars for teachers from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities as well as for teachers that work with the communities on topics such as diversity, children and human rights, and importance of cooperation between parents and teachers.

In the period 2010 - 2012 the European Commission through KFOS delivered 200 schol-arships for secondary school students and 20 scholarships for university students from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities all covering 2 academic years. Every academic year there are reserved quotas in public universities for minority community students from Bosniaks, Turkish, Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities.

According the data provided by MEST, in the school year 2012/2013 the numbers are as follows – in total 104,268 students, from which 101,676 or 97.5% are Albanian, 1,292 or 1.2% are Bosniaks, 295 or 0.2% are Ashkali, 42 or 0.4% are Roma, 148 or 0.14% are Egyptian, 811 or 0.78% are Turks, 2 are Gorani, and 2 are Croats.57

56 HL� Kosovo, �ntervie� K.S �ommunity o� cer, 16.10.2013 HL� Kosovo, �ntervie� K.S �ommunity o�cer, 16.10.201357 MEST annual report, Stati sti cal data on educati on 2012/2013 MEST annual report, Statistical data on education 2012/2013



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43MINISTRY FOR CULTURE, YOUTH, AND SPORT (MCYS)

MCYS has a mandate to implement Article 5 of the Law on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Minorities. The essence of this Article is the preservation of tradition and protection of the cultural legacy of minority communities.

This ministry is composed of three departments covering culture, youth and sports. The department for culture is directly engaged in the implementation of Article 5 of the Law. It consists of two sub-departments; one is sub-department for promotion (promotion of multiculturalism, interethnic dialogue, and integration of communities) and sub-department for the protection of cultural legacy. Based on objectives of the Action Plan of the Kosovo Strategy for the Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities 2009-2015, MCYS in April 2010 established a Committee for Culture as mechanism for improvement of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities position in culture, youth and sports. There are 6 (six) members of this committee, three (3) are representatives of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities and three (3) are representatives of MCYS. The committee for culture is headed by Vice Minister Mr. Gani Elshani58.

In December 2011, Department of Heritage established a working group to study and identify the cultural and spiritual heritage of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities59. The mandate of the working group was to collect data regarding cultural and spiritual heritage of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities and publish the list of informa-tion on the situation of the cultural and spiritual heritage of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities60. List of cultural objects and sites identified as heritage national resources of the three communities was adopted by the Government. Various campaigns were car-ried out in order to increase awareness of the cultural heritage of the communities. 4,400 EUR were spent on the implementation of the Law on Cultural Heritage 2006/02/L-88 for conservation, research and study of the cultural heritage of all communities61.

Two years in the row, in 2011 and 2012, European Commission through KFOS organized annual festival of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities’ culture. Both festivals were endorsed by the Ministry, but they did not allocated funds for its implementation.

However, the Ministry did not divided a special budget for the Strategy and Action Plan for the integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, even thought the com-mittees were successful in addressing the needs of the communities through subsidies for NGOs and increasing the amount of the budget for needs of Roma, Ashkali and Egyp-tian communities.

From 2010 to 2013, MCYS offered internships from 3-6 months to 8 (eight) students from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. During their internships students received an

58 Ministry of �ulture �outh and Sports, Human Rights Unit report May 2013 Ministry of �ulture �outh and Sports, Human Rights Unit report May 201359 Ministry of �ulture �outh and Sports, Department of heritage, Ministry of �ulture �outh and Sports, Department of heritage, http://��.mkrs-ks.org/?page=2,1060 ibid ibid61 HL� Kosovo intervie�, Ministry of �ulture �outh and Sports on 04.09.2013 HL� Kosovo intervie�, Ministry of �ulture �outh and Sports on 04.09.2013

44 intern stipend and upon completion of their internship were awarded certificates from the Department of Youth. In partnership with Ministry of Education, Science and Technol-ogy and KFOS summer school for Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians youth on active citizenry has been supported for three years in the row.

MCYS has supported Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities with projects, activities of NGOs, we provided internships for students of the communities, we have supported cultural and sports events organized for international day of Roma, and our budget has been in-creasing for the needs of the communities. Our Ministry has an Action Plan for the imple-mentation of the strategy and we implement foreseen activities in the Action Plan.

M.M. Minority rights official, Ministry for Culture Youth and SportsHLC Kosovo Interview 04.09.2013

In 2010 MCYS has allocated a total budget of 87,362EUR for the needs of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. The budget was delivered for the implementation of projects in area of culture, youth and sports. In 2011 Ministry allocated 35,613EUR for reparation of a mosque in Ferizaj/Uruševac, and also supported local Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities NGOs in implementation of their projects aimed at integration of minority communities into society.

Employed from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in MCYS in total are 14 (four-teen), from which: 3 (three) Roma, 5 (five) Ashkali, and 6 (six) Egyptians.



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45MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC HEALTH

According to the Law, the Kosovo Government needs to undertake all the necessary meas-ures in order to ensure that members of communities have equal access to health care without discrimination. The services provided by health care centers which are under the jurisdiction of the Kosovo Government are used by all ethnic communities except for Serbs who use parallel health care centers which are under the jurisdiction of the Govern-ment of Serbia. However, it is important to note that number of Serbs using health care centers under the Kosovo Government jurisdiction is increasing with each year.

Ministry of Health has been identifying the needs of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian com-munities. Ministry has undertaken and realized several information campaigns on the community rights for equal access to health care services. According to the Ministry of-ficials in total four vaccination campaigns have been conducted and 127 children from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians communities have been vaccinated during 2012. From 302 persons that have been tested for lead contamination 85 resulted in positive results with high levels of contamination.

In December 2010 the Ministry of Health (MoH) published a three-year action plan for the Health Sector Strategy62. The action plan does not define vulnerable groups specifical-ly, and makes no specific reference to the three communities or to the particular health-care needs and access challenges that these communities have.

MoH, organized six discussion groups with adolescents and youth on reproductive health and three campaigns on family planning. Literature for the rights, safety, hygiene, and reproductive health was distributed to members of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian commu-nities in the Albanian language; no material has distributed in the Roma language.

MINISTRY OF LABOR AND SOCIAL WELFARE -MLSW

In February 2011 the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (MLSW) adopted an action plan for the implementation of its sector Strategy (2011–2013) which was aimed at effec-tively addressing unemployment and social welfare issues, and among other steps, detail-ing employment creation policies and active labor market measures. There is, however, no specific mention of Kosovo Roma, Kosovo Ashkali and Kosovo Egyptian communities, or other communities, in the document63.

MLSW provides vocational training for members of these communities. Another measure that MLSW implemented was to not cut social assistance to minority communities that find temporary or short-term employment. MLSW organized awareness campaigns on

62 MoH, Acti on Plan, 2011 MoH, Action Plan, 2011�2014, for the Health Sector Strategy 2010�201463 �S�E report : �ontributi on to the Progress Revie� of the Acti on Plan of the Strategy for the �ntegrati on of Roma, �S�E report : �ontribution to the Progress Revie� of the Action Plan of the Strategy for the �ntegration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian �ommunities in Kosovo, 2009�2015 September, 2012

46 the criteria for receiving social assistance for members of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in the areas where they live. The law on social assistance establishes crite-ria and conditions for receiving social assistance and the ministry insures its implemen-tation. In cooperation with international organizations MLSW has implemented various projects aimed at supporting victims of domestic violence. Members of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities were also part of these projects.

During 2012 revision of the Law on Social Assistance was approved by Government. However, the new revision did not include basic elements which are needed to fight pov-erty among marginalized groups including inflation and indexing retroactive repeal of the maximum amount of benefit for large families. There has been a drastic increase in the number of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians community members who receive social as-sistance. In 2012 this number went from 4,353 to 13,171 persons receiving social as-sistance (4.541 Roma; 7392 Ashkali, and 1238 Egyptians). In addition, 135 requests for emergency assistance have also been approved (49 Roma, 58 Ashkali, and 28 Egyptians). There were two new cases of sexual abuse involving a Roma and Ashkali in 2012, and no cases involving trafficking of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian community members.

MINISTRY FOR COMMUNITIES AND RETURN (MCR)

The majority of MCR projects and activities focused on the improvement of the status of minority rights and initiatives related with the status of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian com-munities were done in cooperation with other ministries such as MoH, MEST, etc.

Even though the issue of repatriated persons is within the mandate of Ministry of In-ternal Affairs (MIA), cooperation between MCR and MIA was not coordinated properly. MCR is one of the Ministries that was not sufficiently involved in the implementation of the Strategy and Action Plan for integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Communities. However, there was a increase in the number of repatriated persons from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians communities, the number increased from 300 to 874 in 2012, but only 16% have applied for assistance and have benefited from reintegration package. During 2012 there were 264 voluntary returns from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities

With the goal of identifying steps towards implementation of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, the Ministry has established a working group. Representatives of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities are also members of this group. Support projects of the MCR were focused in the area of infrastructure, construction of roads and buildings, resolving informal settlements, education and health care.

All families (153 families in total) from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities have been removed from the Osterode camp and the camp is now closed. Strategy and Action Plan for the Prevention of Informal Settlements 2011-2015 has not yet been approved and currently there is a weak regulation of informal settlements. 19 municipalities have incorporated settlements in the Municipal Development Plans as is mandatory under the Law on Spatial Planning and the 25 municipalities have incorporated settlements in Ur-ban Development Plans64.64 HL� Kosovo intervie�, �� ce of Good Governance, 16.10.2013 HL� Kosovo intervie�, ��ce of Good Governance, 16.10.2013



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47THE INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES FOR COMMUNITIES IN KOSOVOInstitutional structures for communities do exist and operate in Kosovo. There is the Ad-visory Office on Good Governance, Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Gender Issues (AOGG). The AOGG has been working since 2002 under the Office of the Prime Minister.

The role of the AOGG is to review legislation, policies, procedures and practices in compli-ance with human rights standards and practices of good governance. In addition to that, the AOGG makes recommendations to the Prime Minister and to the Ministries. The Office for Community Affairs is now the key coordinating body for community issues. The Office for Community Affairs was created in 2008 with the objective of coordinating government and donor efforts in their work with communities, monitoring community-related legislation and advocating for government adherence to issues of key importance.

There is also a Ministry for Community and Return (MCR) which was established in 2005 by UNMIK regulation65. The MCR protects and promotes communities and their members. Its mandate includes development of policies and the promotion and implementation of leg-islation for the promotion and protection of the rights of communities and their members (including the right to return), promotion of the establishment of conditions conducive to return and the ensuring of a rights-based approach to return, the development and over-seeing of the implementation of a government outreach strategy related to communities and returns, and supporting the development and implementation of such strategies in all municipalities.

In 2007, Ministerial Human Rights Units (HRUs) were created within each Ministry. Their main task is to monitor compliance with Ministry policies, legislation and activities with rel-evant human rights standards. That same year (2007) the Prime Minister of Kosovo created the position of Human Rights Coordinator of the Government of Kosovo (HRC). The main task of the Coordinator is to coordinate the work of the Human Rights Units (HRUs) in the Ministries of the Government of Kosovo, with the aim to promote and protect human rights in Kosovo and coordinate the activities concerning the mechanisms of the government of Kosovo for Human Rights.

The President of Kosovo has also created a Communities Consultative Council (CCC). The CCC serves as a vital mechanism in facilitating the political participation of communities at the central level. In other words, the CCC serves as a bridge between communities and governmental institutions. It assists in creating a dialogue and giving an opportunity for the expression of the communities’ views in relation to the different legislations and policies adopted by the government.

In May 2007, the Prime Minister created the position of Human Rights Coordinator of the Government of Kosovo (HRC) and appointed Mr Habit Hajredini, who also holds the posi-tion of the Director of the AOGG. The position was created within the OPM and the HRC: Co-ordinates the work of the Human Rights Units (HRUs) in the Ministries of the Government of Kosovo, with the aim to promote and protect the human rights in Kosovo, coordinates 65 UNM�K regulati on 2005/15. Annex �� UNM�K regulation 2005/15. Annex ��

48 the activities concerning reporting to the mechanisms of the Government of Kosovo for Human Rights.

The mandate of the HRC is very broadly defined. Consistent with the tendency to treat minority rights as a part of human rights, there is also no express mention in this HRC’s mandate of the rights of communities and their members and issues relevant to them, but is considered implicitly part of the HRC’s mandate by some people.

In April 2012 was established the Office of the Language Commissioner within the Office of the Prime Minister, based on Regulation No.07/201266. Law on the Use of Languag-es67 obliges all public institutions and service providers to ensure access and equal status of both official languages, Albanian and Serbian language and the official language at the municipal level and languages in official use at the municipal level. In 2007, the Govern-ment of Kosovo has established the Language Commission as an authority established in accordance with Article 32 of the Law on the Use of Languages68 in order to monitor the implementation of this law, preservation, promotion and protection of official languages and their equal status in Kosovo as well as to provide, protect the languages of communi-ties whose mother tongue is not an official language.

Despite the power possessed according to Law on the Use of Languages69, in practice a number of structural factors limited the capacity and effectiveness of the Language Com-mission. In order to advance the implementation of the law, the Government of Kosovo in 2011, established a working group on the Language Commission reform70. This project reform was led by Office of the Prime Minister/ Office of Community Affairs and as a re-sult of this working group was issued Regulation 07/2012 for the Office of the Language Commissioner Languages, based on which have been created two supported mechanisms Language Policy Board and Language Policy Network71.

On 4 April 2012 is signed the Government Regulation no. 07/2012 for the Office of the Language Commissioner. On May 29, 2012 is established Language Policy Board, which acts as a forum to policy languages. Language Policy Network provides institutions to ap-point liaison officers or focal point by which the Office of the Commissioner of Languages could cooperate for better implementation of the language policy.

There is, of course, the office of the Ombudsperson. It was established in 2000 and is part of the Constitutional Framework72. It is mandated to receive complaints from individuals concerning human rights violations or abuse of authority in Kosovo. The Ombudsperson has been granted jurisdiction to receive and investigate complaints, monitor, take preven-tive steps, make recommendations and advise on any such matters. It can also open an investigation independently, without a formal complaint lodged by an individual (ex-offi-cio investigations). The Ombudsperson is also mandated to monitor policies and laws to ensure that they respect human rights standards and requirements of good governance.66 http://��.komisioneri-ks.org/repository/docs/Uredba_Regulore_Regulation__07_2012.pdf67 http://��.komisioneri-ks.org/repository/docs/2006_02-L37_en-.pdf68 ibid69 ibid ibid70 http://��.komisioneri-ks.org/repository/docs/Government_Decision.pdf71 http://��.komisioneri-ks.org/?page=2,4372 La� on the �mbudsperson, adopted 22/07/2010, entered into force 09/08/2010



orks

49Two main mechanisms are tasked for coordination monitoring and implementation of the Action Plan for integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities are: Techni-cal Working Group and the Inter-Institutional Steering Committee.

The Working Group harmonizes and coordinates government and donor investments, develops policies and recommendations, advises on funding priorities, and is responsible for coordinating and communicating among relevant stakeholders and for monitoring implementation progress. The Working Group includes representatives of various minis-tries and relevant external actors73. The Action Plan requires the Working Group to meet at least four times per year, and to publish progress reports on a quarterly basis, as well as semi-annual and annual reports to be approved by the Steering Committee. The Work-ing Group as one of most important mechanisms did not meet its mandate since its estab-lishment in second half of 2010. The reason for it still remains due to weak institutional cooperation, lack of professional capacities and lack of financial resources. The Steering Committee is a political body with broad high-level institutional representation, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister. Terms of reference for the Steering Committee drafted by the AOGG suggest that the Committee should meet at least twice a year. The Committee’s role is to facilitate dialogue and cooperation between the non-governmental sector and the Government in the discussion and implementation of the activities in the Action Plan, approve implementation reports and oversee proposed revisions to the Action Plan, as-sist with coordination of the public policy process, ensure that Action Plan needs are met by the Kosovo budget and assist with lobbying for additional resources74.

The Steering Committee, has failed to met regularly as it is foreseen by terms of refer-ence. Lack of political will from Ministers to attend The Steering Committee meetings was one of the main reasons. The Committee has undergone through several changes, it was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister in the beginning, but since May 2013 it is chaired by Ms. Vlora Çitaku, Minister of European Integration. A positive change that is important to be mentioned are the 6 (six) local consultants of The Steering Committee. The local consultant are playing crucial role in identifying priorities, organizing meetings with key stakeholders, evaluation of the implementation of the Strategy in Local Level and recom-mending the Chair of the Committee.

In 2014, the Committee is planning to organize donors conference for implementation of the Strategy and Action Plan for Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communi-ties. By the end of 2013, when the next meeting of the committee should be organized, the chair of the Committee will request from the Ministries to allocate founding for the implementation of the Strategy75.

73 he �orking Group also includes representati ves of the �� ce for �ommunity A� airs, the Ministry of �ommuni- he �orking Group also includes representatives of the ��ce for �ommunity A�airs, the Ministry of �ommuni-ties and Return, Ministry of European �ntegration, the Gender E�uality Agency, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the Ministry of Labour and Social �elfare, the Ministry of Health, as �ell as external donors. 74 Members of the Steering �ommitt ee the Deputy Prime Minister (�hair), the Minister for Educati on, �ulture and Members of the Steering �ommittee the Deputy Prime Minister (�hair), the Minister for Education, �ulture and Technology, the Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning, the Minister of Health, the Head of the A�GG, the Director of the ��ce of �ommunity A�airs, one member from the �ommunities �onsultative �ouncil, the �mbud-sperson, and one representative each of Roma, Kosovo Ashkali and Kosovo Egyptian communities. 75 HL� Kosovo, �ntervie� �ith T.K - Local �onsultant Ministry of European �ntegrati on, 14th of November 2013 HL� Kosovo, �ntervie� �ith T.K - Local �onsultant Ministry of European �ntegration, 14th of November 2013

50 CENTRAL LEVEL CONCLUSION

Central level institutions did not fulfill its commitments for the implementation of the Strat-egy and Action plan for Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Communities. Central level institutions have failed to establish and coordinate efficient communication with local level institutions.

Even though in above research are noted some of the activities that took place during this period by some ministries in addressing the needs of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Com-munities, these activities were not in line with the Strategy and its Action Plan. None of the ministries have allocated special budget for implementation of the Strategy and its Action Plan for integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. The issue of the budgeting was raised in several times in different roundtables organized by Civil Society Organiza-tions, Steering Committee and Working Group meetings, but nothing has been done to date of preparing this report. Since adoption of Action Plan in December 2009, The Steering Committee meetings failed or postponed due to lack of political will.

The Ministers who are part of the Committee and are obligated to attend the meetings, in most of the cases have delegated their deputies to participate, and as a result the meetings have failed.

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