Civil Society calls on Quint, EU and OSCE to prevent the collapse of the educational and healthcare system of Serbs in Kosovo

Representatives of civil society and the academic community from Serbian areas across Kosovo have called on the ambassadors of the Quint, the EU and the OSCE in Kosovo to take concrete measures to prevent the further collapse of the educational and healthcare system available to the Serbian population in Kosovo.

In a joint statement, representatives of civil society and the academic community warn that these services are currently endangered through the indirect application of legal provisions which, within an unregulated legal framework, are producing harmful consequences.

They add that the announced strict enforcement of the Law on Foreigners prescribes the requirement of residence permits linked to accredited institutions.

“Given the unresolved accreditation status of the University in Mitrovica and of institutions at all levels of healthcare, this would prevent thousands of students, professors and healthcare workers of various ethnic backgrounds (Serbs, Bosniaks, Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians) from Serbia and Kosovo from continuing their work and studies. Many among them are displaced persons from Kosovo who are already facing administrative obstacles in obtaining Kosovo documents. Such measures would, in practice, bring to a complete standstill the educational and healthcare institutions essential for the Serbian community in Kosovo, preventing them from functioning normally, and even affecting citizens who have regular residence in Kosovo,” the statement emphasizes.

Such a development, the joint statement continues, would constitute a serious violation of the human rights of one ethnic community and would eliminate any real prospect for building a multiethnic Kosovo and preserving stability in the wider region.

They warn that very little time separates the situation from this scenario, and that the consequences would be irreversible.

“Therefore, taking into account the principles contained in the European Agreement on the Path to Normalization of Relations between Kosovo and Serbia, as the only internationally recognized framework for resolving this issue; the constitutional and legal rights of the Serbian community in Kosovo, which guarantee equality before the law, the right to education in their own language, the right to access healthcare and social services without discrimination; the troubling fact that essential changes are being implemented in the complete absence of a fully functional government in Kosovo, whereby the institutional vacuum is being used in a way that undermines prior efforts and commitments; and the political and moral responsibility of the international actors to whom we appeal, as key mediators in the process of Kosovo’s democratic development and European integration, we call upon the ambassadors of the Quint, the EU and the OSCE in Kosovo to act decisively,” the statement reads.

The demands of civil society and the academic community from Serbian areas are a temporary moratorium on the implementation of the Law on Foreigners, until a review of its compliance with standards prescribed by international human rights conventions is completed, given that its enforcement, under the present circumstances, would deprive the Serbian community of educational and healthcare services of existential importance; and the initiation of appropriate international mechanisms, including referral of the law to the Venice Commission, in order to reassess its consequences for the human rights of the Serbian community in Kosovo.

Signatories of the initiative are: Center for Affirmative Social Action – CASA, New Social Initiative – NSI, Institute for Territorial Economic Development – InTER, Informal Group of Professors of the University of Priština with temporary seat in North Mitrovica, NGO Aktiv, Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture – ACDC, Center for Peace and Tolerance – CPT, Association of Business Women Avenija – UPŽ, Gračanica Online, Human Center Mitrovica, Center for Social Initiatives, Forum for Development and Interethnic Cooperation – FDMC, NGO Factor, NGO Institute for Public Research, NGO Herc, Sports Society for Physical Education, Youth Council Gračanica, Kuzmin Youth Initiative, Gračanica Children’s Cultural Center, Center for Transition and Mediation, NGO Women’s Right, Communication for Social Development – CSD, NGO Ethno Sources, Union of Women’s Associations – SUŽ, Kosovo Employers’ Union – UPK, Women’s Inclusive Center, Parteš Youth Activity, Civic Activism Network, Women’s Business Association – WBA, Institute for the Development of Civil Society Innovate.