KOSOVO

Government
Kosovo had been a largely autonomous province within the Republic of Serbia since 1974, until in 1989 and 1990 this status was removed through a series of constitutional changes. In 1989, Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic altered the status of the region, removing its autonomy and bringing it under the direct control of Belgrade. The Kosovar Albanians vigorously opposed this move and violence erupted in Kosovo. After the failure of the Rambouillet Peace talks in February 1999 and NATO intervention in the area, the UN Security Council resolution 1244 was passed on 10 June 1999 establishing civilian executive powers in the form of the United Nation Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and authorizing an international military presence, the KFOR (Kosovo Force).

After becoming a UN protectorate, Kosovo held country-wide elections for the first time in November 2001. On October 23, 2004, a second round of elections to the Kosovo Assembly were held. Over thirty political parties participated, with almost half of the electorate coming out to vote.

Economy
Informal and black market sector activities have long dominated Kosovo’s economy. It is therefore hard to guess its exact GDP before the war began, though official estimates are about $400 per capita. It is believed that as a result of deterioration in the political situation coupled with the international economic sanctions imposed on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), Kosovo’s GDP contracted by 50 percent between 1990 and 1995. Economic activity had been centered on industry, predominantly electric power, mining and metallurgy, construction materials and agroprocessing. Agriculture was also important, responsible for about a third of GDP in 1995.

Unemployment reached an all-time high of 70 percent in 1995, due to long-term impacts of regional crisis. Unemployment was disproportionately high among ethnic Albanians. Lastly, little has been done over the last decade to prepare for the transition to a market-oriented economy.

Media and Human Rights
Kosovo is an ethnically diverse region. While 82 to 90 percent are made up of ethnic Albanians, minorities include Serbs, Gorans or Bosniacs (Muslim Slavs), Roma, and Turks. Kosovo’s population is by far the youngest in Europe, with about half the people below the age of 20.

The war and genocide have severely impacted housing, agriculture, and telecommunications. But physical damage goes much beyond direct destruction. The "human damage", resulting from both the conflict and the decade under "enforced measures", is widespread, in particular among the younger generation, which has not had proper access to secondary and higher education. Most institutions have virtually collapsed. In the immediate aftermath of the conflict, most Serb Kosovars left their (often key) positions in utilities, industry or administration. Archives and technical documents often disappeared in the process. Albanian Kosovars subsequently reclaimed these positions (which they had often held before 1989) - but specialists and skilled workers are still in short supply.

The challenges of creating a post-war democratic, independent country include establishing a solid human rights platform. While most activists agree that significant improvements have been made, many problems still persist. Ethnic Serbs and other minorities suffer arbitrary arrest and unwarranted detention. Other citizens often harass Serbs attempting to regain their property, and the police rarely intervene. There are reported cases of Serb women being raped and sexually harassed in an attempt to move them out of the country.

Gender Issues
Women have been particularly impacted by the conflict, and violence against women is a widespread and serious problem. According to UNIFEM, "Kosovar women experienced the 1999 conflict in a multitude of ways. While in a few cases they took up arms, the majority of them lived through the crisis as civilians. Thousands of Kosovar women fell victim to "ethnic cleansing", thousands were killed, three-hundred villages were destroyed and more than 200,000 refugees fled the country. Between May and September 1999, 860,000 people were displaced. Although ethnically Albanian women were targeted in greater number, ethnically Serbian, Roma, Egyptian and Ashkaelia women also experienced forced displacement, violence and insecurity."

Women of all ethnic origins are still feeling the effects of the violence that occurred in Kosovo. However, there are vast disparities between the ethnicities. Only 56 percent of Albanian females attend school, while 93 percent of Serbian women do. Adult illiteracy for women is 10.2 percent. Unemployment for women between the ages of 20 and 24 is 72 percent, although for the overall population it is closer to 50 percent.

Human trafficking has become a serious problem in Kosovo. Kosovo is primarily a destination point, and more recently, a point of origin. The majority of trafficked victims are from Moldova. Trafficking is prohibited under the UN-instituted provisional code, punished by two to twelve years imprisonment.

Important legislation on women’s issues:

Since April 6, 2004, Kosovo’s Provisional Criminal Code punishes the violation of equal status of individuals (Article 158). Article 158(1) punishes anyone who "unlawfully denies or limits the freedoms or rights of a resident of Kosovo" based on protected grounds, including sex, by imprisonment of six months to five years.

On 9 May 2003, a protection against domestic violence came into force. Domestic violence was defined as “intentional acts or omissions between two people who are or have been in a domestic relationship.” (UNMIK) Such acts or omissions include: infliction of bodily injury; non-consensual sexual acts or sexual exploitation; causing fear for physical, emotional or economic well-being; kidnapping; causing damage to property; unlawfully restricting freedom of movement; forced entry onto the property of the other person; forced removal of the other person from a common habitation; prohibiting the other person from entering or leaving a common residence; engaging in a pattern of conduct to degrade the other person.

On 6 January 2003, an amendment relating to rape was put into force. It imposes a prison sentence of one to ten years for forcing another to have sexual intercourse by force or threat of violence.

There is no explicit prohibition of sexual harassment, but any person, who “by abusing his or her position, forces a subordinate or dependent person to engage in sexual intercourse” (stopvaw.org), can face three months to three years in prison.

FAIR Fund and Kosovo
More information coming soon on FAIR Fund's partners in Kosovo.