Pristina, June 9, 2022 – The Ombudsperson talked about the human rights situation with members of civil society, representatives of local institutions, journalists and human rights activists in the Ferizaj region.

The Ombudsperson, Mr. Naim Qelaj said that he is today in Ferizaj to hear the participants about the challenges they face in their work and the problems related to the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in this municipality, in order to address the raised  issues to local authorities.

Representatives of organizations for people with disabilities highlighted the problem of access to facilities of local institutions for which they have received numerous complaints from their members. Also, the non-employment of persons with disabilities, despite the fact that the law on training, vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities requires that every employer is obliged to employ one person with disabilities for every fifty workers.

It was also noted the great dissatisfaction of families leaving social schemes due to some criteria related to the age of the children, considering the law on the social assistance scheme as unequal. They stressed that such families are plunged into more difficult economic and social situations while social workers have no way to help.

The Ombudsperson replied  to many topics opened by the participants by linking them with the work of the regional office of the Ombudsperson’s Institution in Ferizaj, which has addressed and issued reports with recommendations to local authorities. On the other hand, some of the complaints that were identified for this municipality will be part of the report that will be published in the near future, with recommendations to local institutions for the improvement of human rights.

This roundtable, which is part of the “Equality for All” campaign, was funded by the European Union project “EU Support to the Ombudsman Institution (OI) in Kosovo.”