Civil society: Harassment of women in northern Kosovo increasing, institutions failing to respond

Civil society organizations have warned that there has been a recent rise in cases of harassment of women and girls in northern Kosovo, stating that institutions, particularly the Kosovo Police, are not responding adequately.

The Center for Affirmative Social Action (CASA), New Social Initiative (NSI), Institute for Territorial Economic Development (InTER), Center for Advocacy of Democratic Culture (ACDC), and NGO Aktiv are calling for urgent action by the international community, especially EULEX, to ensure the protection of citizens and uphold the rule of law.

In a statement, they note that the perpetrators are most often civilians coming from the direction of southern Mitrovica, including incidents where minors were the victims. They emphasize that citizens’ attempts to report these incidents have gone unanswered, and in some cases, police officers have pressured witnesses.

“The frequency and continuity of these incidents point to a systemic issue and a failure of security structures. Citizens have repeatedly appealed to the Kosovo Police to provide security for all, but such calls go unanswered. The Kosovo Police Inspectorate shows no visible results in oversight or disciplinary action in such cases, while mechanisms for civilian oversight of police work are extremely limited,” the organizations stress.

They are also calling for EULEX to increase its presence in northern municipalities and to ensure that its findings and recommendations lead to tangible institutional effects.

EULEX is being asked to clarify whether it is monitoring and documenting these incidents, what its findings are, and what actions it is taking to ensure institutional accountability and the protection of citizens, especially non-majority communities in northern Kosovo.

The signatory organizations state that public trust in institutions can only be restored through transparent, accountable, and effective work by both local and international actors.