Background
The project “Enhance and Integrate Community Concerns within the Work of the Government” builds on the previous project of support to the Office of the Prime Minister previous initiatives supported by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland. The main accomplishments of these previous initiatives were the drafting of key legislation protecting and promoting the rights of minority communities and, in the second phase, the establishment of an institution exclusively dedicated to minority community issues, the Office for Community Affairs/Office of the Prime Minister (OCA/OPM), mandated to coordinate and mainstream community concerns within the work of the Government.

While the OCA/OPM has been able, with the support of the European Centre for Minority Issues Kosovo (ECMI Kosovo), to undertake some of its responsibilities, there is still significant progress to be made in the full realisation of its mandate. The OCA/OPM doesn’t yet possess the optimal capacities to ensure completion of its mission. Communities and their members have an essential role to play in ensuring full respect of their rights. However, due to limited knowledge of the legal and institutional system, they often fail to make their concerns heard and to ensure their integration into the work of the Government.

The overall objective of the current project is to enhance and integrate community concerns within the work of the Government, especially in relation to implementation of legislation and development of policies, through building the capacities of the OCA/OPM and facilitating the participation of community-based civil society organisations in the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of legislation and policies.

ECMI Kosovo Activities
The activities, which will be conducted by ECMI Kosovo in close collaboration with the OCA/OPM, include:

• the development and delivery of a training programme, based on an in-depth capacity-assessment, including training on OCA/OPM Terms of Reference, operational strategy and task management system;
• the production of a best-practices manual including long-lasting procedures for staff development and induction, as well as outcomes of the training programme;
• the development and transfer of policy-making tools, the EthnoPolitical Map and a legislation and policy database;
• the assistance and capacity-building of the OCA/OPM with regards to policy-making and coordination activities, in particular in the monitoring of the implementation of the Strategy for the Integration of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Communities and the involvement of communities within the process;
• the development of a policy study on the use of languages; and

• awareness-raising activities to enhance community capacities to advocate for the respect of their rights.

Expected Impact
The completion of the project will increase the level of protection of minority rights through the development of a functional institution with access to the highest levels of governance that can monitor and coordinate the implementation of legislation and policies relevant to communities, evaluate their effectiveness and recommend necessary adjustments, as well as enhance participation of minority communities in policy monitoring.

Funding
ECMI Kosovo would like to thank the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland for its support in the implementation of the project “Enhance and Integrate Community Concerns within the Work of the Government”.

Contact
Gaëlle Cornuz, Project Manager
cornuz@ecmikosovo.org
Tel. +381 (0)38 224 161
Mob. +377 (0)44 919 012

One of the main concerns of ECMI Kosovo is to establish a working consultative mechanism that would ensure that the rights and interests of community members are represented at the central level of government. This will ensure communities’ participation in the political process, enable inter-ethnic dialogue and provide opportunities for joint projects and cooperation to improve the situations of all communities within Kosovo. This function, as envisioned in the Ahtisaari Plan and the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, will be fulfilled by the Consultative Council for Communities within the Office of the President. ECMI Kosovo has been actively engaged in establishing the legislative and operational frameworks  for the permanent institutionalisation of the CCC, leading to its official establishment by late 2008. ECMI Kosovo is now supporting the full operationalisation of the CCC to ensure its effectiveness, sustainability and resonance with members of communities.

Background
The Consultative Council for Communities began in 2005 as an informal body of community representatives attached to the Kosovo Delegation. The CCC initially engaged in drafting the legally-based ‘Framework for the Protection of Rights of Communities in Kosovo’ through  a series of international workshops and regular consultation meetings in Prishtina. The final draft of the Framework Document, presented by the Kosovo Delegation in Vienna as part of the status negotiations, provided a multi-layered and interlocking system of constitutional and legal measures to ensure the full protection and enjoyment of individual and community rights for members of the minority communities in Kosovo. This later served as the foundation for the Law on the Promotion and Protection on the Rights of Communities and their Members (Law on Communities).
With the declaration of Kosovo’s independence, the legislative foundation for the CCC within the Kosovo state was firmly established within the constitution. Article 60 specifically requires the establishment of the council, including representatives of all communities, within the Office of the President. Moreover, immediately after signing the constitution, Prime Minister Thaçi signed the Law on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Communities and their Members, which includes in Article 12 the full mandate of the CCC. After the signing of the law, the President of Kosovo officially established the CCC by Presidential Decree on 15 September 2008. The CCC was launched on 23 December 2008, when President Sejdiu officially announced the nominations of CCC members resulting from a process of open consultations with communities. The CCC has now commenced with regular meetings, the first of which was held on 13 March 2009. With these steps, the CCC has been established as a constitutionally-mandated body and begun its operations. However, it remains a new and fragile institution and needs continued support to build the capacity of CCC members and the CCC Secretariat, as well as to develop a strong system of community representative organisations to inform the CCC and nominate its members, in order to ensure the CCC can achieve its anticipated and mandated functions.

ECMI Kosovo Activities
ECMI Kosovo’s activities within the CCC project have focussed on three main areas: establishing the legal framework for the Council, developing the institutional framework for the operations of the CCC and supporting minority representative organisations that will be nominate members and inform and communicate the work of the CCC. Towards the legal framework, ECMI contributed to the drafting of the ‘Rights of Communities and their Members’ section of the constitution, including Article 60 which outlines the establishment of the CCC, and to the drafting of the Law on Communities, which includes the mandate of the CCC. Once this legislation was in force, ECMI Kosovo supported the institutionalisation of the CCC within the Office of the President, including:  assisting with the establishment of its secretariat, drafting the Presidential Decree to officially establish the CCC, assisting with the CCC’s Terms of Reference and budgeting guidelines. Moreover, ECMI Kosovo supported the establishment of Rules of Accreditation for Community Representative Organisations and facilitated a process of open consultation with community civil society organisations to enable the nomination of candidates to the Office of the President. ECMI’s upcoming activities will continue to focus on the operationalisation of the CCC, including capacity-building for CCC staff and representatives, as well as formalising the networks of Community Representative Organisations integral to the CCC.

Impact
The project has generated cross-community and cross-party support for the establishment of the CCC and has created structures to improve the life of minority communities in Kosovo in the long term, including the regular participation of community representatives in the political process. Its success has been illustrated through increased awareness of the CCC within the Kosovo political landscape and an increased commitment of political institutions to continue the work of CCC and to establish it as a permanent body. There has been an improved understanding of the relationship between the CCC and other Kosovo institutions, although a clear need for more effective communication between the CCC and other institutions has been identified, suggesting the need for cross-institutional reporting mechanisms.

Funding
The CCC project was launched in March 2005 and was initially funded by the Danish Neighbourhood Programme of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In June 2005, the project received its first one-year funding from the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In August 2006, the Norwegian Ministry also funded the second one-year funding for the project. Significant funding support was also provided by Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, who specifically contribute to sponsoring workshops in the region.
From January to December 2008, the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) funded the project that transformed the CCC into a permanent institution within the Office of the President, leading to its inauguration at the end of the year. The UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has further funded a 4-month project to support the start-up operations of the CCC, including a 3-day induction training workshop.

Contact
Kelley Thompson, Project Manager
thompson@ecmikosovo.org
Tel. +381 (0)38 224 161
Mob. +377 (0)44 666 521

ECMI Kosovo supports the implementation of the decentralisation process with respect to the rights and interests of communities and their members, with a particular focus on the establishment of new municipalities. The decentralisation process has an impact on the overall issue of community rights and community protections. Decentralisation is a potential solution to problems experienced by communities and their members at the local level. There is a tendency to view decentralisation and the creation of municipalities in which ethnic minorities have a numerical majority, as a mechanism for communities to gain political power. Communities, particularly the Serb communities, view participation at the municipal level as a way to enter into the decision-making structures at the central level.

Background
In practical terms, decentralisation started under PISG as a way to integrate into one centralised system separate (and sometimes parallel) local structures that had developed over time. Moreover, the central government of Kosovo sees decentralisation as a way to provide solutions to problems that are territorial in nature. The process of decentralisation has strong political implications for the communities of Kosovo, especially Serbs, and their power relations with the Albanian majority population.

The Ministry of Local Government Administration (MLGA) was formed in 2004 with the mission, included on its website (http://www.ks-gov.net/mapl) to ‘promote local government through coordination, empowerment, supporting of municipalities for the purpose of ensuring efficient services as well as bringing services closer to citizens’. The MLGA is accordingly the primary body responsible for the implementation of decentralisation plan.
ECMI Kosovo Activities
ECMI Kosovo has done the following activities:

• Provided support to the working group dealing with the information campaign on decentralisation to make sure that the campaign is sensitive to community issues.
• Made a subject matter expert available to the MLGA to assist the Ministry in its outreach campaign.
• Organised a conference for the Community Consultative Council and the MLGA in order to establish a working relationship between these two bodies.

ECMI Kosovo has planned the following activities:

• Assist the MLGA in organising round tables and debates in the future municipalities with the goal of facilitating an exchange of information between community members and the MLGA.
• Continue to offer capacity building assistance to the MLGA and the Municipal Preparation Teams with regard to community issues.
• Continue to offer expert advise to the MLGA on community issues in the decentralisation process

Expected Impact
The project is expected, on the one hand, to result in an increased awareness of community members on the process of decentralisation and government reform and on the other hand in an increased awareness of the needs of communities at the central and local governmental level. Importantly, the project will ensure greater participation of communities in the decentralisation process and enhanced capacities of both communities and government to address community issues.

Funding
The ECMI Kosovo project for support to minority communities during and after the decentralisation process is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.

Contact
Lars Burema, Project Manager
burema@ecmikosovo.org
Tel. +381 (0)38 224 161
Mob. +377 (0)44 567 029

Education can be considered a primary tool in building a more tolerant and secure society. Within Kosovo, minority communities consistently face greater challenges in access to and quality of education, due to the insufficient infrastructures, lack of transport and language barriers, as well as economic limitations. This puts children of minority communities at a disadvantage to the majority, creating inequality and inter-ethnic division. There is therefore for a need to address the challenges that minority communities are facing to ensure full integration and participation of minorities within the education system.

Background
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) has developed two strategies guiding is work on education at the primary and secondary levels. The first, the Strategy for the Development of Pre-University Education in Kosovo 2007-2017, aims to improve the quality of the educational system and level of participation of all children, including those from minority communities. The second, the education component for the Office of the Prime Minister’s Strategy for the Inclusion of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians in Kosovo, aims to ensure the inclusion of Kosovo’s most marginalised communities, addressing such issues as higher rates of drop-out and lower levels of advancement to secondary and university education. While MEST shall take the lead in overseeing the implementation of these strategies, the Law on Education in the Municipalities gives significant competencies regarding the delivery of education services, making municipalities the key institutions responsible for the implementation of MEST’s strategies and the inclusion of minority communities into the educational structures.

ECMI Kosovo Activities
The project aims to improve the delivery of minority education in three pilot municipalities (Ferizaj/Uroševac, Peja/Peć and Prizren/Prizren) through support for municipal authorities and civil society organisations to ensure the social inclusion of vulnerable groups throughout the educational system. This will include the following:

• Information gathering on current gaps in minority education knowledge and awareness among municipal officials and civil society organisations.
• Development of reference materials on minority rights, minority social protection issues and minority education for municipalities and civil society.
• Workshops and trainings with international and local experts on minority needs and service delivery for civil society and municipalities.
• Creation of municipal task forces to develop action plans for service delivery on minority needs.

Expected Impact
Municipal officials and civil society representatives will possess enhanced knowledge on minority rights and approaches to ensuring the inclusion of minorities into the educational system. Moreover, the Task Forces established will work to implement improvements in the delivery of minority education, benefiting community members, especially children, by improving the quality of their education.

Funding
This project is funded by the  United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Contact
Kelley Thompson, Project Manager
thompson@ecmikosovo.org
Tel. +381 (0)38 224 161
Mob. +377 (0)44 666 521