Prishtina, June 30, 2026 – The Ombudsperson, Mr. Naim Qelaj, together with representatives of civil society organizations, presented the Action Plan of the Dialogue Forum 2026/2027, and discussed the support of civil society organizations to implement and strengthen the professional services they provide.

The Dialogue Forum between the OIK and CSOs was established in 2022 with the aim of creating a comprehensive dialogue and serves as a platform for discussion on human rights in the country.

The Ombudsperson said that the action plan includes many areas of joint work with non-governmental organizations, while highlighting their challenges, in particular the lack of financial support, which is creating obstacles in the implementation of the professional services they provide for communities and other marginalized groups.

He added that ‘we need to focus on raising the awareness of public institutions that civil society organizations are there to support their work, not to negatively influence it’. He said that the human rights situation in many areas has changed for the better with the joint engagement of the OIK and CSOs.

The Ombudsperson emphasized that his function is not to provide funds to CSOs but to empower them and as a result, the realization of his mandate is more successful when non-governmental organizations are stable and strong.

The Action Plan for 2026/2027 of the Forum for Dialogue between the Ombudsperson Institution and Civil Society Organizations includes several topics such as “Strengthening CSOs through institutional support and international organizations” and aims to increase the funding of CSOs in Kosovo, from Ministries and Municipalities, in the framework of the implementation of professional and special services that CSOs provide.

Other topics include: Strengthening the cooperation of the Forum for Dialogue with relevant institutions and parliamentary committees; environmental protection; Mental health; Children and youth rights; Protection from family and gender-based violence; Rights of persons with disabilities; Rights of the LGBTIQ+ community and others.

Representatives of non-governmental organizations offered comments and suggestions regarding the action plan and called on international representatives to review the priorities in their programs.

Meanwhile, representatives of international organizations, such as the Office of the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Agency Team in Kosovo, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe, emphasized that their programs include some of the topics presented by the Action Plan and will continue to support the organizations in their work. The Ombudsperson finally emphasized that another meeting of the Forum will be organized in September where, together with CSOs, they will invite international donors and local institutions.