Prishtina, July 2, 2026 – The Ombudsperson organized a roundtable discussion that brought together representatives of the Peja region, respectively the municipalities of Peja, Deçan, Junik, Klina and Istog.

This meeting was organized with the aim of joint reflection on the main findings and the degree of implementation of the Ombudsperson’s recommendations addressed to local authorities for the period 2024–2026.

The Ombudsperson, Mr. Naim Qelaj said that for this period, 72 recommendations arising from reports and letters of recommendation addressed to the institutions of the Peja region have been presented. Of this number, 30 recommendations or 42% of them, the Ombudsperson has received responses, while 42 recommendations or 58% have not received responses from the relevant institutions.

Some of the Ombudsperson’s reports concern the impact of the weight of school bags on primary school children (cycles 1-5), and consequently the recommendation for the functionalization of school lockers. Other reports with recommendations relate to the comprehensive education and training of persons with disabilities for access to the labor market; another report concerns the responsibility of institutions in relation to violence in schools; also a letter of recommendation issued to these local authorities concerns the violation of the right to education, regarding the failure to provide transportation for children with disabilities.

The Ombudsperson emphasized the importance of deepening cooperation in order to increase the percentage of implementation of the Ombudsperson’s recommendations, which affect the well-being of citizens but also affect the improvement of local good governance.

He said that the situation with the implementation of the recommendations is not at the right level, while adding that he also understands the challenges of the municipal authorities, and one of the challenges is the vacuum of central institutions.

The Mayor of Peja, Mr. Gazmend Muhaxheri and representatives of the Municipalities of Deçan, Istog, Klina and Junik announced the implementation of the recommendations, and also emphasized their commitment to the implementation of the recommendations of the Ombudsperson, the actions taken towards the recommendations that are still in the implementation phase, as well as the challenges of implementation.

Regarding the recommendations of the Ombudsperson, the Kosovo Police, local education authorities, representatives of social work centers, and civil society organizations also contributed to the roundtable.

This roundtable was supported by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.