OSCE Mission workshop highlights efforts to prevent illegal occupation of properties in Kosovo

The last in a series of six OSCE workshops on preventing the illegal re-occupation of apartments, houses and land belonging to displaced persons, was held on 24 October 2014 in Gjakovë/Đakovica for representatives of the Kosovo Property Agency (KPA), Kosovo Police, judges and prosecutors.

“Properties of many people who were displaced following the conflict in Kosovo were illegally occupied and then vacated in line with Kosovo Property Agency’s eviction orders. However, in some 400 cases administered by KPA and many others filed by private persons, apartments, houses and land belonging to displaced persons were again illegally re-occupied. This both impedes the return process and violates their basic human rights,” said Ambassador Jean-Claude Schlumberger, Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.

“I welcome the efforts of the Kosovo Police and the Kosovo Property Agency in dealing with the illegal re-occupation cases as quickly and effectively as possible, and I call on all relevant parties to prevent illegal re-occupation from occurring and to ensure that property and the housing rights of all people living in, or wishing to return to Kosovo are protected.” 

The police and the property agency have recently signed a memorandum of understanding which outlines their specific roles in evictions and processing of illegal re-occupation cases to the judiciary. In light of this, workshop participants highlighted the need to better co-ordinate their efforts and to ensure a uniform approach to dealing with such cases.

They also noted that displaced persons whose property rights were acknowledged through the final and binding decisions of the Kosovo Property Claims Commission should not have to undergo lengthy court procedures to re-acquire possession over their properties, as was observed in some cases by the OSCE Mission’s court monitors.