Prizren, February 27, 2024 – In the framework of the project “Progress of human rights through increasing public awareness”, implemented by the NGO “ACDC” and supported by UNMIK, a roundtable discussion on human rights was held with participation of civil society organizations, officials of local municipal institutions and representatives of non-governmental organizations from the Serbian, Turkish, Bosnian and Goran communities.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss with the Ombudsperson, the situation of human rights at the local level, the problems faced by the citizens and the needs to be addressed; respecting the rights of non-majority communities as well as strengthening the cooperation between the Ombudsperson’s Institution and civil society organizations in an effort to protect and promote freedoms and human rights.

The participants in this round table raised the problems of the non-majority communities in this region as a concern that needs to be addressed, regarding education, the lack of school books in their native languages, the lack of communication in local languages when receiving and providing health services, during the development of administrative procedures and beyond.

Likewise, the representatives of the Serbian community raised concerns about the lack of development of procedures for recognition of secondary education, describing this as discriminatory since currently only the procedure for verification and recognition of higher education diplomas is applicable. Meanwhile, the delay of judicial procedures, the lack of shelters for persons with disabilities who are victims of violence continue to be mentioned as challenging.

During this meeting, it was also discussed about the difficulties of access to sidewalks/pedestrian paths as well as the problems of access to facilities, especially institutional ones. Those present were presented with the findings of the Ombudsperson’s Report regarding access to sidewalks, public spaces and the free movement of citizens as well as respecting the right to a safe and healthy living environment.