In a press conference held today, on 10 December, on the occasion of the International Day on Human Rights, Acting Ombudsperson Mr. Hilmi Jashari provided a general evaluation on the level of human rights protection in Kosovo and also pointed out certain main factors that effect citizens’ dissatisfaction regarding their human rights protection.
“Despite economic and social development, the prolongation of the issue of final status for Kosovo obstructs democratic development and the integration of communities into Kosovo society” said Mr. Jashari, for the first time referring to the prolonged process of Kosovo final status determination.
Between the period 2006- 2007, approximately 5 000 individuals approached the Ombudsperson Institution in order to submit complaints against different Kosovo institutions.
“Bearing in mind the large number of complaints addressed to Ombudsperson Institution, we can conclude that the protection of human rights in Kosovo is below a satisfactory level” said Acting Ombudsperson, Mr. Jashari, adding that “the majority of these complaints emerge as a consequence of institutional leaders’ being concentrated mainly on political processes concerning final status and the lack of time to properly treat problems faced with by Kosovo citizens”.
According to Mr. Jashari, in order to protect human rights in Kosovo, it is necessary to have a proper and functional legislative and judiciary. Therefore, he called upon the Kosovo upcoming government to provide greater support for the justice system and to prioritize the establishment of a constitutional court and an improvement of working conditions for judges.
Another important issue related to advancing human rights in Kosovo, according to Mr. Jashari, is to increase responsibility at a central and local level and to harmonize legal instruments applicable in Kosovo.