Roundtable discussion on challenges in implementing the Law on Protection from Discrimination
17/07/2025
Pristina, 17th of July, 2025 – The Ombudsperson organized a meeting with officials of public institutions and discussed the challenges in the implementation of the Law on Protection from Discrimination by central and local institutions.
In his introductory address, the Ombudsperson, Mr. Naim Qelaj, emphasized the importance of the functioning of the mechanisms created by ministries and municipalities in monitoring the implementation of the Law on Protection from Discrimination.
The Ombudsperson brought to attention the 2023 report which aimed to assess the extent to which the Law on Protection from Discrimination is being implemented at the central and local levels.
The findings include: Low institutional awareness of the necessity of collecting data and recording cases of discrimination; Lack of some of the fundamental links of the general system of prevention and protection against discrimination; Lack of implementation of minor offense procedures for cases of discrimination; and poor implementation of the Law by the courts.
At this roundtable, it was noted that these findings continue to remain at the same level, and some of these mechanisms have even been abolished, such as the unit for protection from discrimination, while in some institutions, officers for protection from discrimination have not even been appointed.
The Law on Protection from Discrimination is in the process of being amended and supplemented and is expected to regulate these important areas such as the creation of units for protection from discrimination, the standardization of work tasks, and will have a monitoring and implementation framework.
The Ombudsperson emphasized that legal obligations must be fulfilled and that continuous investigation will be carried out to see whether state institutions are carefully complying with the Law in question.
He added that institutions, among other things, have an obligation to create a system for the systematic collection of data related to discrimination.