Serb representatives in Kosovo adopt declaration, demand unhindered exercise of fundamental Human and Civil Rights

Political and institutional representatives of the Serb people in Kosovo adopted a Declaration at a meeting held in the amphitheater of the Faculty of Technical Sciences of the University of Pristina, temporarily seated in North Mitrovica, in which they demand administrative facilitation in obtaining personal documents, unhindered entry and residence for workers and students, and guarantees for the free use of movable and immovable property.

The Declaration was adopted unanimously, and its text was read by the President of the Municipal Assembly of North Mitrovica, Ivan Zaporozac.

As stated, the Declaration was adopted bearing in mind the obligations arising from international law, the political agreements between Belgrade and Pristina reached in Brussels, the European Convention on Human Rights and applicable legal acts, as well as the situation faced by the Serb community in Kosovo.

“We demand that all our citizens living in these areas be provided with appropriate legal, administrative and other facilitation measures in the process of obtaining personal documents, in order to ensure the unhindered exercise of their fundamental human and civil rights as equal citizens. At the same time, we demand that employees and students who come to work and study within the educational and healthcare systems in these areas be granted unhindered entry and residence for the duration of their employment and studies, as evidenced by appropriate documents issued by the competent educational and healthcare institutions,” the first point of the Declaration states.

The representatives of the Serb people further demand unhindered use of property, including vehicles.

“We demand that all citizens be guaranteed the right to peaceful and unhindered enjoyment of movable and immovable property, as well as the right to use vehicles, with the application of appropriate legal and other facilitation measures, without discrimination and legal uncertainty for all who live in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija,” point two of the Declaration states.

The Declaration also condemns actions that jeopardize the functioning of educational and healthcare institutions.

“We firmly reject and condemn any action or conduct that could endanger the work and continuous provision of services of the healthcare and educational institutions of the Serb people. We believe that all open issues, including the status of these institutions, must be resolved exclusively through dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina through the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities, and we strongly oppose violent, unilateral and any other actions that would endanger the functioning of these two sectors,” it emphasizes.

The representatives of the Serb people call for a reasonable deadline for the implementation of the first points of the Declaration and welcome the efforts of the Quint countries.

“We insist that a reasonable and sufficient deadline be provided for the implementation of the measures set out in points 1 and 2 of this Declaration, enabling citizens to adapt to new legal circumstances without jeopardizing their livelihood and basic life needs. We welcome the strong and continuous efforts of the Quint countries aimed at finding a sustainable and fair solution to the problems that have arisen. The Serb people and we, their political representatives in Kosovo, remain committed to a constructive approach. We are ready, through our legitimately elected political representatives, to continue contributing to dialogue and stability. The persistent refusal to establish the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities and the continued violation of the Brussels agreements and legal acts in force in these areas are proof that the international community must engage more actively in protecting the rights of the Serb people, as it is evident that the existing mechanisms within the Kosovo system do not provide adequate protection or the possibility of a dignified life, legal certainty and property security for our citizens,” the Serb representatives pointed out.

According to them, the Declaration expresses the unified position of the political and institutional representatives of the Serb people and represents a call for legal certainty, dialogue and full respect for the rights of the Serb people in Kosovo.

The Declaration also stresses that unilateral moves against educational and healthcare institutions would constitute administrative ethnic cleansing of the Serb people.

“We wish to point out to the international community as well as to Kosovo officials that unilateral actions against educational and healthcare institutions outside the Brussels negotiations, the application of the Law on Foreigners and laws relating to vehicles without appropriate adjustments to the reality on the ground, and without legal and other facilitation measures, would amount to administrative ethnic cleansing of the Serb people from these areas where our people have lived for centuries. Fundamental human rights would be endangered, above all the right to life, healthcare, education, residence and the peaceful enjoyment of property. Thousands of Serb families would be jeopardized, children separated from their mothers and fathers, patients from their doctors, and pupils and students left without adequate education. Our churches and monasteries would be without monks and priests, but also without believers. Villages and municipalities would be deserted, and the multiethnic character of society in these areas would remain only on paper, without any real foundation, representing a failure of the international community,” the adopted Declaration states.