OSCE sends High Commissioner on Minorities to Kosovo – government’s duty to involve and consult with communities

OSCE sends High Commissioner on Minorities to Kosovo – government’s duty to involve and consult with communities

The Vetëvendosje Movement led by the acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, in recent weeks has initially exerted great pressure within the Central Election Commission not to certify the Serbian List to participate in the local elections, while in recent days they have been trying to remove it from the presidency of the Assembly, which for many observers constitutes a violation of the constitution.

Diplomatic representatives accredited in Kosovo have reacted to these developments, while in the midst of all these tensions that have the LVV and the Serbian List as protagonists, the OSCE mission has brought the High Commissioner on National Minorities, Christophe Kamp, to visit Kosovo.

Kamp met with Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani on Thursday, with whom they discussed minority communities and urged that real work be done to foster trust and offered support for the mission with a focus on linguistic rights and inclusion. Osmani announced the same day that he had convened the Consultative Council for Communities, after which he said they had “expressed gratitude for her commitment.”

“We reiterated the need for genuine engagement with non-majority communities to foster trust and expressed support for functional mechanisms for political and public participation, with a strong focus on linguistic rights and inclusion,” the OSCE statement on Kamp’s meeting with Osmani said.

For the same meeting, as announced by the Presidency of the Republic of Kosovo, Osmani said that Kosovo has the most advanced system of human rights protection in all of Europe and that it remains committed to guaranteeing the rights of all citizens regardless of ethnicity, religion or other affiliation.

In addition to Osman, Kamp also met with the acting Minister for Communities and Returns, Nenad Rashic.

“The Government’s duty to ensure inclusion, effective consultations with communities and access to education and services was discussed with the Minister for Communities and Returns, Nenad Rasiq, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Sveçla, and the Deputy Minister of Education, Arsim Ademi,” the OSCE statement said.

Kamp also met with Police Director Gazmend Hoxha, emphasizing that community representation in the police is essential.