OSCE-organized debates encourage participation in Kosovo's local decision-making

PRISTINA, 22 February 2007 - Good governance, transparency and accountability at the local level were the topics at a debate today in the village of Besni/Besinje held at a meeting organized by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.

The debate aimed to encourage residents to express their concerns to municipal leaders, said Henry McGowen, Director of the Mission's Human Rights, Decentralisation and Communities Department.

"Your representatives cannot govern well and make good decisions unless you speak up," he said.

The debate was part of Bridges of Friendship, a Kosovo-wide project that aims to foster democracy at the grass roots level by encouraging civic participation in the municipal decision-making process.

The project helps prepare Kosovo's municipalities for expanded responsibility foreseen in the proposal for the Kosovo status settlement.

A series of 290 similar debates will be held in all Kosovo's municipalities in the coming months.

"The project, one of the Mission's most important initiatives, is part of an overall effort to strengthen fair, transparent and participatory local governance," McGowen said.

In addition, 23,000 questionnaires about the functioning of the municipalities and the residents' rights and responsibilities within these structures have been distributed throughout Kosovo. The results of the questionnaires and the debates will provide information on the needs of residents and local authorities and form the basis for recommendations to be handed to municipal leaders.