Prishtina, September 25, 2023 – The Ombudsperson, together with the OSCE, organized the next roundtable in Prizren where the strengthening of inter-institutional cooperation in the promotion of human rights and good governance was discussed.

The four mayors of the Prizren region joined the Ombudsperson in discussing the reports with recommendations issued for these municipalities, as well as discussing the concerns of activists and representatives of civil society organizations.

The Ombudsperson, Naim Qelaj said that he receives complaints from citizens on a daily basis, while the judiciary remains the biggest challenge due to the greater number of complaints related to the delay of court procedures.

He added that the authorities, both central and local, have the duty to return timely answers to the requests and questions of the Ombudsperson when an investigation is being conducted. He said that reports with recommendations should be taken seriously by public institutions in order to restore human rights in claims of their violation.

The Ombudsperson said that local authorities should pay attention to citizens’ complaints and respond to them in time. Also, nepotism must be fought and meritocracy returned when talking about employment issues.

He emphasized that another challenge is the poor condition of shelters and the challenges faced by social work centers. Also, there is low coordination between the local and the central level, claiming that the central authorities should provide more help while the local authorities should do more for the citizens.

Shaqir Totaj, the mayor of Prizren, Bali Muharremaj, mayor of Suharekë, Bexhet Xheladini, mayor of Dragash and Abdylhadi Krasniç, mayor of Mamusha participated in the discussion and answered the questions of the participants.

The mayors unanimously emphasized the importance of this meeting, considering it as a good opportunity to discuss important issues, and added that the Ombudsperson’s work and reports with recommendations  make them improve their work.

One of the issues that were raised by the participants were complaints about the work of the medical commissions that assess and re-evaluate the ability of people with disabilities, as well as in relation to access to physical infrastructure and spaces for people with disabilities.