Kosovo

February general elections failed to produce a clear majority leading to a months-long deadlock in the parliament. Attacks on media freedom continued, with journalists subjected to threats, attacks, and harassment. The Kosovo Specialist Chambers continued its work alongside the national court responsible for war crimes prosecutions. Tensions persisted in northern Kosovo, with police raids on Serb-majority institutions, sparking protests. The European Commission’s November Enlargement Report raised concerns about undue political influence over the judiciary and noted that the media landscape continues to face challenges regarding ownership transparency and financial sustainability.

Accountability for War Crimes

The Pristina Basic Court in July convicted Milos Pleskovic, a former Serbian paramilitary, of war crimes for the 1999 killing of three ethnic Albanians near the town of Gjakova, sentencing him to 15 years in prison. The court found that Pleskovic had detained and then executed the victims.

In July, the Pristina Basic Court convicted two Serbian nationals in absentia for the wartime rape of an ethnic Albanian woman, sentencing each to 20 years’ imprisonment. Earlier the same month, the court convicted a former member of Serbia’s security service in absentia to 15 years in prison for the 1998 disappearance of an ethnic Albanian doctor.

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague in February upheld the 15-year prison sentence of former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) Commander Salih Mustafa, affirming his conviction for war crimes committed during the 1999 Kosovo War. Mustafa was found guilty of arbitrary detention, torture, and the murder of a detainee at a KLA-run facility in Zllash.

In July, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers reduced the sentence of former KLA fighter Pjeter Shala from 18 to 13 years, upholding his convictions for arbitrary detention, torture, and murder of at least 16 detainees during the 1999 Kosovo War. The court found Shala lacked a commanding role in one murder and that his original sentence was disproportionate.

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers in February sentenced three former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) fighters, Haxhi Shala, Sabit Januzi, and Ismet Bahtijar, to two-year prison terms for obstruction of justice and witness intimidation. Also in February, the chambers granted two of the convicted conditional release based on time served. The negative impact of witness intimidation on accountability efforts in Kosovo was an important factor in the establishment of the Specialist Chambers.

Freedom of Media

Journalists continued to be subjected to threats and obstruction of their work. Between January and September, the Association of Journalists of Kosovo recorded 54 incidents against journalists, including one physical attack, one death threat, and 15 cases of harassment, hate speech, or smear campaigns, predominantly by political figures.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Kosovo 99th of 180 countries in its 2025 Press Freedom Index, down 24 places from the previous year, making it the lowest in the EU-Balkans area. RSF noted growing political interference, smear campaigns, restricted access to information, abusive regulation, and weak protections for journalists.

In February, Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s security detail physically obstructed T7 journalist Genc Godanci as he attempted to ask Kurti about the RSF Media Freedom Index.

Women’s Rights

In April, Kosovo extended until May 15, 2028 the mandate of the commission responsible for recognizing survivors of wartime sexual violence, and pushed back the application deadline to May 15, 2027. President Vjosa Osmani and survivors’ rights groups had instead called for an open-ended application period to better accommodate survivors. Recognized survivors are entitled to a monthly pension of €230, free health care, and employment benefits, but only around 2,000 individuals have received this status out of an estimated 20,000 survivors. The April 14 observance of the Day of Survivors of Sexual Violence during the War also featured the first public testimony by a male survivor.

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

The government failed to adopt announced plans in May 2024 to legalize same-sex civil unions.

During Kosovo’s February 2025 parliamentary elections, political parties frequently used discriminatory and denigrating rhetoric about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, and largely ignored issues of concern to them.

Asylum Seekers and Migrants

Between January and August, the Kosovo Ministry of Internal Affairs registered 184 returns of children to Kosovo. The Ministry did not provide numbers on returns of adults. During the same reporting period, the ministry registered 39 voluntary returns to Kosovo and 107 applications for asylum in Kosovo, the majority from Syria.

In June, the Kosovo government agreed to take up to 50 third-country nationals expelled from the United States each year. At time of writing, no information was available as to whether transfers had taken place.

Accountability of International Institutions

No progress was made in providing reparations or apologies to Kosovo Roma resettled by the UN to now-closed, lead-contaminated camps after the 1999 war. The flawed UN compensation mechanism had only received one $10,000 contribution at time of writing.