Prishtinë, 7 July 2022 – A round table was organized by Ombudsperson Institution on Thursday with the theme: “Challenges of enforcement of the Law on Protection from Discrimination”, in which representatives from public institutions participated.

The Ombudsperson, Mr. Naim Qelaj pointed out that public institutions should undertake concrete actions in order to implement the liabilities arising from the Law on Protection from Discrimination. He emphasized that there should be greater coordination between central and local institutions in order to prevent as well as fight discrimination, in order to protect rights of the citizens of this country.

Further he added that discrimination as an issue should have everyone’s attention in order to treat all citizens equally without any distinction and that there will be such activities in the future with the intention of having greater impact on citizens’ information on their rights as well as regarding obligations of public institutions.

Mr. Habit Hajredini, from the Office for Good Governance (OGG), within the scope of the Office of the Prime Minister, stressed that despite the achievements of enforcement of the Law on Protection from Discrimination in Kosovo, there are still many challenges for its practical implementation. He said that the OGG is focused on contributing to the implementation of Ombudsperson’s recommendations by public institutions within the powers that this office has been entrusted.

Deputy Chief Labor Inspector for Safety at Work, Mr. Agim Millaku confirmed that many complaints from citizens have been received, but lack of human capacities in this Inspectorate has caused delays in examining accordingly complaints admitted by workers. Further, he pointed out that the Labor Inspectorate is faced with a lack of office space. He added that the Law on Protection from Discrimination should be harmonized with the Draft Law on Labor on the matter related to the amount of fines imposed to employers.

Mr. Shaban Osmanaj, Deputy of the Chief Health Inspector, said that many complaints have been received from citizens regarding health services provision and they have addressed them to other responsible authorities for further consideration. According to him, some of the complaints are related to the waiting list for receiving health services from public institutions. Additionally, he pointed out the inability of disabled persons in getting medical services due to inexistence of entrance paths for disabled persons in some of the health facilities in Kosovo.

Mr. Defrim Gashi, Director of the MESTI Education Inspection, emphasized that there is a lack of education inspectors, which effects on delays in resolving citizens’ complaints submitted to this Mechanism.

Ms. Sevim Berverniku, Official for Protection from Discrimination at the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, said that they have received several complaints related to allegations of discrimination. She also emphasized that there are challenges in enforcement of Administrative Instruction 33/2007 on the technical conditions of construction premises for the access of persons with disabilities.

Other participants contribute to the debate in the course of which the failure of getting employed of persons with disability at the central and local institutions was emphasized, notwithstanding that this right that has been guaranteed by law. In the course of the discussion the issue of understanding the concept of discrimination as content was also mentioned as challenging. The participants also requested greater promotion of the liabilities arising from the Law on Protection from Discrimination.

Mr. Qelaj articulated that deeming the challenges that have attended enforcement of the Law on Protection from Discrimination, he will disclose his open viewpoint, where specific recommendations for public institutions will be presented.