On Thursday, June 27, at the Civic Energy Center in North Mitrovica, NVO Aktiv presented the report “State of Human Rights in Northern Kosovo,” which documents potential rights violations in four northern municipalities of Kosovo: North Mitrovica, Zvečan, Leposavić, and Zubin Potok, from October 2023 to May 2024.
The report highlights the level of threats to property rights, freedom of religion, safety, as well as the impact of inflammatory rhetoric, the abolishment of the dinar, and land expropriation on the community. The findings show that these issues have led to significant insecurity among the Serb population in northern Kosovo.
Following the presentation, a panel discussion was held featuring Goran Avramović, editor-in-chief of RTV KIM, and Ardita Zejnulahu, executive director of AMPEK, moderated by Ivana Vanovac, president of the UNS branch in Kosovo.
Panel participants focused on ways to improve cooperation between journalists reporting in Albanian and Serbian. They agreed that inflammatory rhetoric, often from political leaders, directly fuels the spread of hate speech. The panel also presented a retrospective of events described in the report, clearly showing the connection between inflammatory rhetoric, hate speech, and human rights violations. The discussion emphasized the need for more responsible public discourse and collaboration among journalists to reduce tensions and promote peaceful coexistence. The need for stronger cooperation among various societal actors, to achieve sustainable solutions to current problems, was highlighted.
The report “State of Human Rights in Northern Kosovo” is an important step towards understanding the current state and needs of local communities and serves as a basis for future initiatives and interventions aimed at improving human rights.
The report is available HERE.
