Prishtina, 1 November, 2023
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti together with the President of the country, Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, today officially opened the proceedings of the Western Balkans Summit against Racial Discrimination.
This two-day summit marks an important annual event that brings together key stakeholders from across the region to share best practices and strategies for addressing and combating racial discrimination against Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities.
This year, with the motto “Unity in diversity”, the Summit will not only focus on challenges, but also on success stories and good practices, whether those of institutions or communities. In addition to bringing together experts, leaders and activists to discuss and develop effective strategies to combat racial discrimination in all its forms, the Summit provides a platform for sharing the stories and experiences of people affected by racial discrimination.
In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Kurti emphasized that states benefit from ethnic diversity, and that today we are here with the commitment to not allow discrimination to jeopardize a better future for all our citizens without distinction. Highlighting each achievement that has contributed to the fight against inequality and discrimination, the prime minister said that we are here today and we will talk tomorrow and every day about our common path.
Meanwhile, President Osmani has stated that she feels honored to be at the opening of the Western Balkans Summit against Racial Discrimination, which she considered an appropriate platform to raise our voice against discrimination of any kind, but at the same time to reinforce the commitment our institutional against racial discrimination in particular.
Part of the opening ceremony was also an exhibition of paintings by authors from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, as well as children from the Day Center for Children in Street Situations.
The Western Balkans Summit against Racial Discrimination will continue tomorrow with five sessions, which, among other things, will examine; Responsible budgeting for Roma, Good practices and challenges at the two levels of government, Institutional mechanisms for the implementation of laws and policies against racial discrimination, Digital knowledge, Examining barriers to Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, Success stories and best practices in the fight against racial discrimination – Experience from the Western Balkans, as well as community-based services.
The summit is organized by the Office for Good Governance, Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Non-Discrimination within the Office of the Prime Minister, supported by the consortium consisting of VoRAE, HEKS, Terre des Hommes Kosovo, with funds from the Swiss Development Agency. (SDC).
Prime Minister Kurti’s complete speech:
The slogan “Unity in diversity” is shot anyway because it says that diversity is the condition, while unity is the goal. But this goal, that is unity, is not one that denies or ignores the situation, diversity, but rather that strengthens and exalts it.
Your Excellency, Ms. Vjosa Osmani, President of the Republic of Kosovo,
Dear Ms. Saranda Bogujevci, Deputy Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo,
The honorable Mr. Christoph Fuchs, Acting Ambassador of Switzerland to Kosovo,
The honorable Mr. Isak Skenderi, Executive Director, Voice of Roma, Ashkali and the Egyptians,
Dear Ms. Ljatifa Sikovska, Member of Parliament of North Macedonia,
The honorable Mr. Habit Hajredini, Director of the Office for Good Governance, Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Non-Discrimination,
Dear representatives from Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Germany and Slovenia,
It is a pleasure to welcome you here in Pristina, in the capital of Kosovo, in the building of the Government of the Republic, with the common goal of preventing and fighting racial discrimination.
Our countries benefit from ethnic diversity. Likewise, in our countries we have seen how societies and countries degrade where there is no fight against discrimination. That is why we are here today with the commitment to not allow discrimination to jeopardize a better future for all our citizens without distinction.
Inequality and discrimination appear in different forms. During the Youth Month in August at the fair organized by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports where beautiful and creative work products from a young Egyptian entrepreneur were presented. She told me that there was no support for me to finish primary school and no one reacted when she dropped out: this is inequality. It is unacceptable, it is unbearable.
When I was visiting the activists of the Ashkali community in Fushë Kosovë, they told me how they experienced the refusal of services from urban transport: this is also an intolerable discrimination in our society.
One of the talented Roma actresses I saw at a show in Prizren told me how she felt insecure when pejorative terms were used for her community: this is also discrimination, always unacceptable, intolerable.
Young people from the communities, who are part of the government’s “Kosova Generation Unlimited” initiative for paid internships, have told me how difficult it is to find work, to find a job.
To fight these and other forms of inequality and discrimination, we are here today and we will speak tomorrow and every day. To support education, we have invested 200 thousand euros as the Government in learning centers for the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, and we are offering 500 scholarships for students from these communities in high schools. So, we must talk today, tomorrow, for every day, but also act and testify with practical, concrete, material, financial support. We have also allocated funds for 100 scholarships for students from these communities at the faculty. We have invested funds in services provided by NGOs for the most vulnerable children, as well as a new approach to social work centers.
For registration and criminal prosecution, where appropriate, for hate speech or refusal of services, we have created the platform “Raportodiskiriminim.org”, from which cases are forwarded to the court and other relevant institutions.
In support of the Office of the Language Commissioner and its indispensable role, we have pledged to double the budget for next year in order to bring it to a point where we have more funding for NGOs working to protect Law on the Use of Language.
This year, the Ministry for Communities and Returns has allocated funds for new housing for 19 families of the communities and construction materials for another 102 families, among them an overrepresentation for the Roma, Egyptian and Ashkali communities. Also, the Ministry of Local Government Administration has allocated 2 million euros for the construction of houses of non-majority communities (including Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians) and 1 million euros for the renovation of community houses. This month, the government has allocated funds for houses for 210 families, among them from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. So, we want to improve the position, the condition of all these communities which are generally marginalized in our Kosovo dear to all, not only with jobs, not only with education and training, not only with freedom in the public sphere , but also with good living and housing conditions.
For the employment of the communities, we created the Inter-institutional Team for the Promotion of the Employment of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Communities. In 2022, we have tripled the number of members of these communities who have been trained in our Vocational Training Centers, and 35 start-ups from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities have received grants from the Ministry of Communities and Returns. And this year, 35 businesses and farmers from these communities have received grants. We have collaborated with the police to ensure the largest recruitment of these communities in the last round and are organizing Open Days in November, to encourage young people from non-majority communities to have jobs and careers in the Kosovo Security Force. as well as in security agencies. On this occasion, we extend a hand not only of cooperation, but also of good faith and trust. We, the communities, do not only want them in private affairs, but also in the most important state duties.
There is still a lot to do together, but this journey is easier with collaborators and fellow travelers like you, on our common path in which we are all, and for this reason we can be inspired by the song “Gjelem gjelem” with its meaning for a trip “on the long road” where we meet happy travelers.
May we be successful in this path, I wish you a successful summit.
Last modified: November 2, 2023