Newsroom
Democratic Governance and Civil Society in Kosovo: progress report released
PRISTINA 22 May 2001
PRISTINA, 22 May 2001 (OSCE) - More transparency and public participation in the work of Kosovo's administrative and governing structures were among the recommendations contained in the first 2001 progress report released by the OSCE-supported Department for Democratic Governance and Civil Society today.
The department, part of Kosovo's Joint Interim Administrative Structure (JIAS), had achieved over 90 per cent of its goal for the first three months of the year, but the report also stated that more work needed to be done to include members of Kosovo's civil society in policy formation and the drafting of regulations. The document was presented by Vjosa Dobruna and Rob Pulver, the department co-heads.
Kosovo's human rights groups, non-governmental organizations and other interested parties, the report added, had much to contribute to governmental policy formation.
The department's role as one of the 20 central JIAS bodies is to encourage good governance, promote equal opportunity, and advocate respect for human rights within the interim administration. It is the only JIAS department that is politically neutral.
This week, the department is scheduled to make a presentation on its work to the Kosovo Transitional Council. It will be one of the last JIAS departments to do so.
In its progress report the department also stated that it continued during the first quarter of 2001 to encourage those participating in the administrative structures - both the internationals and those from Kosovo - to make sure that they are jointly run in practice. The department also stressed the need for greater awareness and acknowledgement of its own role within JIAS and the structures of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMiK). It stated that policy formation within the JIAS bodies often took place without the inclusion of the department and its advisors on governance and human rights issues.
Despite the obstacles, the department achieved all but one of its objectives for the first three months of the year and had a number of notable successes. Its Equal Opportunity Bureau initiated an important survey to examine employment practices within JIAS. Its Human Rights Policy Bureau made a major contribution to the UNMiK Regulation on the prevention of trafficking in human beings, which came into effect this January. The department assumed responsibility for the registration of political parties from United Nations Civil Administration and established a new non-governmental advisory group, whose aim is to input into the development of this crucial sector. The body also succeeded in raising almost half a million marks for a number of projects, including a shelter for women who are victims of violence, as well as other programmes aimed at Roma women, and youth.
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For further information, contact Laura O'Mahony, Acting Spokesperson, OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Pristina, tel: (+381-38) 500-162, ext. 260; e-mail: press@omik.org.
The department, part of Kosovo's Joint Interim Administrative Structure (JIAS), had achieved over 90 per cent of its goal for the first three months of the year, but the report also stated that more work needed to be done to include members of Kosovo's civil society in policy formation and the drafting of regulations. The document was presented by Vjosa Dobruna and Rob Pulver, the department co-heads.
Kosovo's human rights groups, non-governmental organizations and other interested parties, the report added, had much to contribute to governmental policy formation.
The department's role as one of the 20 central JIAS bodies is to encourage good governance, promote equal opportunity, and advocate respect for human rights within the interim administration. It is the only JIAS department that is politically neutral.
This week, the department is scheduled to make a presentation on its work to the Kosovo Transitional Council. It will be one of the last JIAS departments to do so.
In its progress report the department also stated that it continued during the first quarter of 2001 to encourage those participating in the administrative structures - both the internationals and those from Kosovo - to make sure that they are jointly run in practice. The department also stressed the need for greater awareness and acknowledgement of its own role within JIAS and the structures of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMiK). It stated that policy formation within the JIAS bodies often took place without the inclusion of the department and its advisors on governance and human rights issues.
Despite the obstacles, the department achieved all but one of its objectives for the first three months of the year and had a number of notable successes. Its Equal Opportunity Bureau initiated an important survey to examine employment practices within JIAS. Its Human Rights Policy Bureau made a major contribution to the UNMiK Regulation on the prevention of trafficking in human beings, which came into effect this January. The department assumed responsibility for the registration of political parties from United Nations Civil Administration and established a new non-governmental advisory group, whose aim is to input into the development of this crucial sector. The body also succeeded in raising almost half a million marks for a number of projects, including a shelter for women who are victims of violence, as well as other programmes aimed at Roma women, and youth.
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For further information, contact Laura O'Mahony, Acting Spokesperson, OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Pristina, tel: (+381-38) 500-162, ext. 260; e-mail: press@omik.org.