Pristina, February 7th, 2025 – On February 6^th, 2025, during the evening news edition of KTV, a news report was broadcast concerning the rejection of 344 requests for recognition of the status of victims of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo. In the broadcast statements, representatives of non-governmental organizations raised concerns regarding the uniform template and identical justifications used in the rejection decisions, as well as the lack of elaborated facts upon which the Governmental Commission bases its decisions.

In her broadcast statement, the Chairperson of the Governmental Commission, Ms. Leonora Selmani, stated, among other things: “In the decisions issued by the Commission in cases of status refusal, the Commission, based on consultations with the Ombudsperson, compiles the reasons for making this decision […].”

In this context, the Ombudsperson expresses concern that there may have been a misunderstanding in the interpretation of the Chairperson’s statement. It is important to clarify that the Ombudsperson, in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo and the Law on the Ombudsperson, is an independent institution that neither receives instructions from other institutions nor influences the decision-making of any public authority in the Republic of Kosovo.

The Ombudsperson’s mandate is to protect, supervise, and promote human rights and freedoms. In cases where it determines that institutions exercising public authority have violated these rights, the Ombudsperson issues recommendations requesting the cessation of violations and the restoration of individuals’ rights.

With regard to the recognition and verification process for survivors of sexual violence during the war, the Ombudsperson published an ex officio report with recommendations (Report No. 436/2023) on October 22^nd, 2024. In this report, concerning the reasoning of decisions, the following recommendation was addressed to the Governmental Commission: “When drafting decisions, within the framework of preserving the confidentiality of the parties, the legal requirements arising from Articles 47 and 48 of Law No. 05/L-031 on General Administrative Procedure must be respected, particularly regarding the structure and mandatory elements of the administrative act and its reasoning.”

In line with the principles of confidentiality and the protection of individuals’ identities, the Ombudsperson, through this recommendation, has requested that rejection decisions provide clearly elaborated reasons and facts that were deemed insufficient, leading to the Commission’s refusal. This ensures that applicants are fully informed of the reasons for their rejection and can make more effective use of the legal remedies available to them.

Link to the published report: https://bit.ly/40R3Qjy