Background

After elections in February, political parties could not reach consensus on constituting the parliament and creating a new government, causing an institutional deadlock that led to extraordinary elections in December.

Right to truth, justice and reparations

In April, Ramadan Nishori became the first male survivor of wartime sexual violence to speak publicly about his experience.

In June, the Basic Court of Pristina sentenced Živojin Nešić, a former member of Serbian police and military forces, to 15 years’ imprisonment for war crimes committed in 1999, including rape.

In May, the government agreed to accept compensation claims from victims of former Kosovo Liberation Army members found guilty by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague. In July, at a trial held in their absence, the Basic Court of Pristina sentenced Dragan Denić and Ivica Rajković to 15 years’ imprisonment for raping an ethnic Albanian woman during the 1998-1999 conflict. In August, prosecutors indicted another 21 people in their absence for forcibly displacing 800,000 ethnic Albanians during the 1998-1999 conflict.

Enforced disappearances

In March, the Government Commission for Missing Persons announced the identification of the remains of 11 missing persons, who had been victims of the 1999 Kralani massacre.

Over 1,600 victims of enforced disappearance between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2000 remained missing.

Discrimination

Women’s and girls’ rights

A European Commission report in November noted continued high levels of gender-based violence, particularly domestic violence. It acknowledged that efforts had been made to raise awareness of the issue and address shortcomings in institutional and legal protections for women. However, it found that these had been insufficient to effectively combat gender-based violence.

The Supreme Court upheld a 2014 Administrative Instruction prohibiting “religious uniforms in schools”, which restricted access to education for girls wearing hijabs. Feminist organization QIKA criticized the decision as discriminatory.

LGBTI people’s rights

In a groundbreaking case in July, the Basic Court of Pristina sentenced three people to a total of 9 and a half years’ imprisonment for the crimes of abduction and physical injury as motivated by hatred based on sexual orientation. The municipality of Pristina designated two small flats as temporary shelters for individuals experiencing violence because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. No progress was made in opening a specialized shelter, despite commitments from the authorities to do so.

Legislation enabling legal gender recognition and recognition of same-sex unions was stalled during the deadlock following parliamentary elections in February and had still not progressed by the end of the year.

Roma and Ashkali people

Lack of access to official documents due to cost and bureaucratic obstacles left Roma families living in informal settlements, in constant fear of forced evictions.

In April, 15-year-old football player Belgin Jashari, a member of the Ashkali community, was physically assaulted during a match. He later reported that he had frequently experienced racial slurs, bottle throwing and other violent abuse during matches. Jashari’s story prompted public condemnation by the Kosovo Olympic Committee and the president of Kosovo. The police arrested a suspect on charges of assault.

Freedom of expression

In a positive development, the Constitutional Court annulled a law that would have expanded the powers of the regulatory Independent Media Commission. Civil society organizations had condemned the law as unconstitutional, saying it threatened media freedom and independence.

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo reported 63 cases of threats and assaults against journalists in the year up to November.

Refugees’ and migrants’ rights

In December, Kosovo began receiving non-Kosovan migrants deported from the USA as part of an agreement with the USA to accept up to 50 deportees. The acting prime minister announced that negotiations were in progress with the UK government to build a detention centre for asylum seekers whose claims had been rejected by the UK.

Right to a healthy environment

Despite not being a party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change or the Paris Agreement, Kosovo adopted its first voluntary NDCs, committing the country to action on climate change.