Author: Rina Kadiri
Article 24 of the Republic of Kosovo’s Constitution states that no person shall be discriminated by race, colour, language, national or social origin, or their relation to any community or ethnic background. In practice, this is definitively not the case. The members of non-majority communities living in Kosovo are discriminated against, and economically deprived in Kosovo – a nation that prides itself in its progressive views and social developments after the war. The suppression of people does not end there. Through an intersectional lens of social identities: women, the LGBTQ+, and the disabled communities within ethnic minorities are further marginalized due to the overwhelmingly rooted stigmas that persist in the national, collective society. Despite a strong legal framework that depicts an ‘equal and just’ society, they are not translating through social norms, as can be seen by how ethnic minorities continue to struggle to access basic human rights and treatment.
Is raising awareness enough to break stereotypes and lift ethnic minority groups to full equality or do we, as a democratic society, need to divert more of our attention towards government accountability and further condemn them for not being persistent in their laws and agendas? This begs to question if the minority issue can be alleviated via a top-down or bottom-up approach.
The Voice of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians (VoRAE), a local non-governmental organisation, has been fighting to tackle the major causes of the ethnic minority issue, which prevails in all the main sectors of society: employment, ‘anti-gypsyism’, education, policy dialogue, female empowerment and housing rights. If the normative Kosovo society views this as a complete violation of human rights for ethnic Albanians, why is this an accepted standard for the life of K-Romas, K-Ashkali and K-Egyptians? To the greatest extent, the people of Kosovo know full well what it is like to have their rights stripped away and victimised by their ethnicity, yet it has become a normalised standard to treat their local community members, the K-Romas, K-Ashkali and K-Egyptian, with inequity. Albeit the current ethnic minority is not enduring such gruesome treatment on a mass scale as Serbia did to ethnic Albanians, it does question to what extent are people willing to learn from the past so that future conflicts of ethnic cleansing do not occur.
According to the Civil Society Report on Human Rights in Kosovo in 2023 (CSO) and the NGO VoRAE, the education system for ethnic minorities is highly segregated, thereby only fuelling the existing social discrimination and sustaining the ‘othering’ of groups. School textbooks and teachings do not reflect an inclusive population, neglecting the “historical presence and cultural values of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in Kosovo.”[1] The ethnic-spatial segregation of students in the current education system is still a demanding issue that has yet to be taken seriously by the government.[2] The Advocacy Centre for Democratic Culture suggests there is also a lack of language inclusion in education that denies the existence of culture and identity for ethnic minorities.[3] The act of language suppression from institutional structures is notably a social justice issue and the continuation of linguistic injustices may be a factor in the increased dropout rates among ethnic minority students.[4] This blatantly supports a notion of “ethnic intolerance”[5], making it increasingly difficult to dismantle entrenched stereotypes as young, impressionable individuals continue to grow and learn in an environment that purposefully victimises ‘others’.
Despite Law No. 05/L-021 On the Protection from Discrimination, K-Romas, K-Ashkali and K-Egyptians face extensive discrimination in the workplace based on their ethnicity[6]. As mentioned, this further goes to show the discrepancies in the law and the reality of the social issue – legislation and policies will not be practised if deep-rooted social stigmas are not effectively tackled and full inclusion is made inherent within social structures. There is a lack of institutional mechanisms to enforce employment quotas in the public sector and investment towards developing the skills of Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians to enhance their competitiveness in the labour market.[7] This significantly perpetuates the poverty cycle that society has set for them, hinders their full potential and integration into standard society. Furthermore, there is an inadequate representation of ethnic minorities in government institutions to act as a voice for these concerns. Having said that, these are only a few of the challenges that ethnic minorities face in their daily lives and much needs to be done for the rest of privileged society to be educated on the matter.
The people of Kosovo have a general narrative that as a community, they hold liberal, progressive and unprejudiced ideals. This is true, but to an extent. The LGBTQ+ community are increasingly becoming celebrated and welcomed by the youth community as seen by the influx of attention surrounding Pride week. Persons with Disabilities are being recognised by the government with their National Strategy Plans and are actively taking action to minimise the inequalities that persist in society. Yet, there is still a complete lack of care and persistence in racism towards the ethnic minorities in the region. Due to systematic unfavorability and lack of education, the K-Romas, K-Ashkali and K-Egyptians are made to believe that they are as capable as what society perceives them to be and thus, are entirely limited in their capabilities of self-actualisation. If we cannot look to the government and their laws for full support, then we must build their community through a bottom-up approach – restoring their confidence and true potential as deserving citizens in civil society.
[1] Youth Initiative of Human Rights. The Civil Society Report on Human Rights in Kosovo in 2023. Youth Initiative of Human Rights Kosovo, 2023., p.43.
[2] Ibid. p.45.
[3] Berisa, Ajsa. “Position of Minority Communities in Kosovo and Their Access to Human Rights.” Acdc-Kosovo.org, Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture, 2023.
[4] Youth Initiative of Human Rights. The Civil Society Report on Human Rights in Kosovo in 2023. Youth Initiative of Human Rights Kosovo, 2023., p.45.
[5] Ibid. p.43
[6] Ibid. p.89.
[7] The Voice of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians . “VoRAE.” Accessed 2 July 2024.
This content was funded by a grant from the U.S. Embassy in Pristina. The opinions, findings, and conclusions stated herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the State Department.
Alternativna in partnership with New Social Initiative.
Rina Kadiri
Rina has been working as a Program Coordinator for Human Rights and Rule of Law at YIHR KS since September 2020 and now as Programme Director. She has completed a master’s degree in Social Policy at the University of Tirana and has completed a bachelor’s degree in Social Work at the University of Prishtina. During her studies, Rina was engaged as an intern at Terre des Hommes, the NGO Coalition for the Protection of Children, Labyrinth, etc. She was also the manager of a project about leadership with the NGO “Voice of RAE” with children from the Roma community. Rina is a youth worker and has been working in the field of non-formal education for more than two years. In addition to participating in many projects, she has also facilitated many activities at the local and regional level. Rina often displays her human rights activism through her writings.
