Aspects of the Human Rights Situation in Kosovo

KiM-Info Newsletter 21-07-05

Certain Aspects of the Human Rights Situation in Kosovo

(from the Fifth Annual Report by Ombudsperson Institution in Kosovo, July 8 2005)

General aspects

Any discussions on the human rights situation in Kosovo would not be complete without bearing in mind the special circumstances of the society here, which is still suffering from the aftermath of an armed inter-ethnic conflict that ended only six years ago.

One of the main effects of this conflict is the fact that the relationship between the ethnic Albanian majority and certain minority groups, primarily Serbs and Roma, which had already deteriorated significantly shortly before, during and after the end of fighting, has still not improved much since 1999.

There are many reasons for this. One of them is the fact that many persons on both sides, but predominantly on the Albanian side, are still missing and that many perpetrators of criminal acts committed during and after the armed conflict have still not been brought to justice. The problem that many of the traumas experienced in the past have not been dealt with either privately or in public is often forgotten by the international community in its attempts to rebuild a multi-ethnic Kosovo.

Other reasons are less emotional, but may be seen as typical side-effects of a post-conflict, post-communist situation – a general lack of strong executive and judicial powers, wide-spread corruption and organised crime appear to emerge in many transitional societies. The fledgling Kosovo police force is not in a position to counter such a pervasive and strong criminality and disregard for the existing laws. As a result, Kosovo suffers from a wide-spread lawlessness which affects many different areas.

But there are also general aspects to the Kosovo context that apply specifically to the situation here. The fact that Kosovo’s status is still not resolved has so far had many repercussions, both legal and economical, which lead to a practically non-existent economy and thus to a huge level of unemployment. While Kosovo has one of the youngest populations in Europe, most of these young people have no perspectives, not only because the economy is stagnating but also because nobody knows when the political limbo in which Kosovo finds itself will end. Poverty abounds – according to a report issued by the World Bank in 2004, 37% of the population are considered to live in poverty, while 15% of the population is considered to live in extreme poverty.


As the situation of human rights in a certain society are naturally linked to the situation of the society in general, the following aspects of the human rights situation in Kosovo should be read bearing in mind the social and political background in Kosovo today. At the same time, the following selection of human rights issues does not pretend to be complete, but rather focuses on those human rights aspects most present in the daily life of many people in Kosovo, as well as those that are the subject of complaints made to the Ombudsperson Institution. [...]

READ THE ENTIRE REPORT HERE