OSCE forum participants call for stronger protection of property and housing rights in Kosovo

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 13 November 2014 – The OSCE Mission in Kosovo organized today a forum on housing and property rights for the representatives of various communities living in Kosovo, relevant ministries, Office of the Prime Minister, judiciary, police and Kosovo Property Agency.

The aim of the forum was to advance the dialogue between communities and institutions, initiated by the OSCE in April this year.

“Illegal occupation of land and houses belonging to displaced persons, requests for payment of utility bills and taxes by displaced persons for properties they cannot access, and the low level of property restitutions, are all obstacles to sustainable return which must be addressed,” said Ambassador Jean-Claude Schlumberger, Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.

He commended Kosovo institutions for introducing laws and secondary legislation that strengthen the protection of property and housing rights and their efforts to reach out to communities, as well as for the measures taken so far to implement this framework.

The forum participants called on institutions to address all outstanding issues which also include inadequate notifications on expropriation processes and slow progress in the regularization of informal settlements.

The OSCE Mission will continue engaging with institutions and communities to help protect property and housing rights of all people living in Kosovo. The follow up forum is planned for summer 2015.