Pristina, September 14, 2023 – Ombudsperson, Mr. Naim Qelaj, in cooperation with the OSCE office in Kosovo, organized a discussion table in Peja on the topic “Strengthening of inter-institutional cooperation in the promotion of human rights and good governance”.

Representatives of local institutions, civil society and human rights activists from the region of Peja participated in this round table, with whom human rights and further deepening of cooperation with local authorities were discussed.

In this meeting, the participants heard about the mandate, role and powers of the Ombudsperson, as well as how investigations are carried out in this institution for citizen complaints.

The Ombudsperson said that cooperation with central and local authorities is increasing, reminding them again of the responsibilities they have towards the Ombudsperson’s Institution in relation to citizens’ complaints.

He added that the authorities have an obligation to respond timely when asked for information regarding the cases that the Ombudsperson handles, so that the rights of citizens are restored on time too. “There are cases when the authorities do not respond. Failure to respond within the time limits makes us use other mechanisms, initiation of criminal proceedings. We have never used these. The time has come though for us to use these legal instruments,” said Mr. Qelaj.

He reiterated the importance and called on all authorities again to be more responsible in the work they do.

One of the concerns raised by the participants was the lack of workers in the centers for social work, while especially in the municipality of Istog, the lack of psychologists was emphasized.

The participants highlighted the receipt of a questionnaire from the Ombudsperson’s Institution regarding access to public and private infrastructure for persons with disabilities. The municipality of Junik has already started improving access to the municipality building for this community, stated the municipal representative, through the a donation from the European Union.

The issue of non-application of the law for persons with disabilities regarding employment was raised by the representative of the organization Handikos. Likewise, the non-implementation of the administrative instruction for the technical conditions that must be met by the builders to meet the standards for access for all in public spaces was highlighted.

In the end, the Ombudsperson thanked the participants in the constructive discussion and emphasized that such roundtables will serve as an important platform for the promotion of the regional offices of the Ombudsperson’s Institution, the education of stakeholders on human rights, the importance of implementation of Ombudsperson’s recommendations and the promotion of inter-institutional cooperation for a better governance.