Pristina, April 25, 2024 – The Ombudsperson is extremely concerned about the recent statements about sexual harassment at the Public University of Pristina. Such concerns were expressed earlier by the students in meetings and human rights promotion activities with the Ombudsperson’s Institution.

Sexual harassment should not be tolerated, an institutional response is required, an open public debate is also required to influence the raising of the awareness of citizens, especially girls and women, to report such cases to the responsible authorities. This issue requires efficient response measures to increase confidence in security and justice institutions, so that this phenomenon does not go unpunished in any case.

The Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo provides that each person has the right to respect his/her physical integrity, as one of the most important personal human rights, which includes positive obligations for the state to undertake all necessary and appropriate measures to protect his/her integrity.

Legislation in the Republic of Kosovo includes a large number of normative-legal acts, which regulate and address the issue of sexual harassment. The Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo, namely Article 183, has defined and sanctioned sexual harassment as a criminal offense. Furthermore, sexual harassment constitutes a violation of human rights and can have serious consequences for the person who is the victim.

It is our duty to intervene and protect victims of sexual harassment by providing them with support and by notifying the relevant competent authorities of these inappropriate behaviors, which are carried out by certain persons for the purpose of sexual gain, who create the feeling of being powerless in front of him/her.

The Ombudsperson asks the responsible authorities to take all appropriate measures to prevent, identify, report and treat these cases effectively and urgently.