Systematic Disregard for the Law on the Use of Languages: Kosovo Police Inspectorate

02/04/2025
11:05
Reading time: 5 min

For years, concerns have been raised about the systematic violation of the Law on the Use of Languages in Kosovo, yet this issue persists despite the legal framework[1] that guarantees equal use of the Serbian and Albanian languages. As a result, non-majority communities, specifically those who communicate in Serbian, continue to be denied access to essential information.

This is why NGO Aktiv and Radio Kim continue their public advocacy campaign, aiming to encourage institutions to address this long-standing issue. After previous analyses of the Central Election Commission (CEC)[2] and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA)[3], where numerous linguistic irregularities were identified, this week we focused on the Kosovo Police Inspectorate (KPI), where we identified almost identical problems on its official website and social media platforms.

What did we discover on the PIK website?

Organizational Chart[4]: On the Serbian-language section of the website, the entire chart is displayed in Albanian.

Language Order in the Institution’s Name[5]: Despite Serbian being an official language alongside Albanian, English appears second in the institution’s name, with Serbian listed only third.

News: Some news articles in the Serbian section are published exclusively in Albanian. Unlike in Albanian[6], the Serbian[7] version, except the title, lacks any actual content.

An incomprehensible translation: In the “Departments” section, the Serbian translation[8] is awkward and nearly incomprehensible[9] (e.g., “Creates intelligent reports for investigations” or “Records cases or cases referred to treatment in the Department”). In some cases, the translation uses the language variant “ijekavica”[10].

Document Availability: The link[11] which leads to the Law of the Kosovo Police Inspectorate on the part of the site in Serbian, is not functional, as are all the Administrative Instructions attached in the “Administrative Instructions” category, while they are in Albanian[12] all documents properly available.

Reports: In the “Reports” section[13], all files and titles in the Serbian version are exclusively in Albanian. Some files cannot be downloaded at all. The same issue exists in the “Other Reports” category[14], unlike the part of the site in Albanian[15], only two documents can be downloaded in Serbian, one of which is in Albanian[16].

Annual Reports: These are only available in Serbian from 2022 to 2024[17]. No reports in Serbian exist for the period 2006–2021, while all reports in Albanian are fully accessible[18].

Financial Reports[19]: All financial documents in the Serbian section are available only in Albanian.

Regulations[20]: In the “Regulations” category, files cannot be downloaded; a “Server Error” message appears[21]. In practice, Serbian content is only accessible through the Albanian-language section.

Integrity Magazine[22]: Of the 14 issues published in Albanian, only two are available in Serbian.

Social Media:

Facebook[23]: The very name of the Police Inspectorate of Kosovo is exclusively in the Albanian language, as is the introductory text about this institution. In terms of activities and publication of information, the Serbian language is available, however, it is only in third place, behind Albanian and English, although unlike Serbian, English is not an official language in Kosovo. Moreover, in the basic information about PIK, in the category “languages” it says “Albanian and English”. As for the video material, of the 12 attached videos on the profile, only one has an accompanying translation in Serbian, while there are no indications in the rest of the material.[24] srpskog jezika. The situation is similar with “Reels”.[25] Also, public events[26] in the organization of this institution, they are presented exclusively in the Albanian language.

X (Ex Twitter)[27]– As for the name of KPI itself, the situation is identical to that of Facebook, i.e. the name is exclusively in Albanian. It is also noticeable that the profile has not been active for some time, considering that the last post was made in 2019. However, all announcements are exclusively in the Albanian language, as well as the attached photos and illustrations.

YouTube[28]: When it comes to the YouTube channel, here too it is noticeable that the account is quite inactive, considering that it has only five videos, despite being created in 2014. However, only one video is in Serbian, while the others are exclusively in Albanian and English.

Why is this important?

The continuation of our campaign confirms that the systematic neglect of the Serbian language by Kosovo institutions is a serious issue. This practice prevents equal access to information for non-majority communities and constitutes a direct violation of the Law on the Use of Languages[29].

The law clearly states that Serbian and Albanian are equal official languages in Kosovo. However, years of ignoring this issue and remaining silent about continuous violations deny Serbian-speaking citizens and other non-majority communities their constitutionally and legally guaranteed right to equal access to public information.

That is why it is important to replace the current practice of using unqualified translators or Google Translate with qualified professionals who can ensure high-quality and unambiguous translations of content into the Serbian language. By establishing a functional translation system, uninterrupted access to public information will be guaranteed, and more importantly, institutions will demonstrate in practice their genuine commitment to fully respecting not only linguistic rights but also fundamental human rights, the rights of non-majority communities[30] guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights[31].

While NGOs with limited resources consistently provide trilingual content, PIK operates with a 2024 budget of €1,723,247.25[32] for 2024, certainly enough to ensure proper translation services.

We therefore call on the Kosovo Police Inspectorate to urgently begin aligning all published information across its website and social media channels in both official languages.

We also call on the Office of the Prime Minister to move beyond political rhetoric and declarative support for minority rights. The government must instruct institutions to comply with legal language standards at all prescribed levels.

At the same time, we urge the Office of the Language Commissioner to begin enforcing legal provisions within its mandate. This includes[33] building an institutional environment that respects constitutional and legal obligations and protects, promotes, preserves, and implements the linguistic rights of all Kosovo citizens.

Finally, we encourage all citizens to actively engage in this process and report any linguistic violations to relevant institutions, such as the Office of the Language Commissioner[34] (zkgj.kpj@gmail.com ) and the Ombudsperson Institution[35] (info.oik@oik-rks.org). Citizens may also contact NGO Aktiv (office@ngoaktiv.org) to join us in our call for institutions to respect legally established language standards.

[1] https://kryeministri.rks-gov.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/ZAKON_BR._02_L-37_O_UPOTREBI_JEZIKA1346.pdf

[2] https://ngoaktiv.org/vesti/pokrecemo-kampanju-za-jezicka-prava/#_ftn1

[3] https://ngoaktiv.org/vesti/nastavljamo-kampanju-za-jezicka-prava-u-fokusu-mup/

[4] https://ipk.rks-gov.net/AboutUs/Organogram

[5] https://ipk.rks-gov.net/

[6] https://ipk.rks-gov.net/News/SingleNews/8806

[7] https://ipk.rks-gov.net/News/SingleNews/8805

[8] https://ipk.rks-gov.net/Departments/Department/corruptioncrime

[9] https://ipk.rks-gov.net/Departments/Department/intelligence

[10] https://ipk.rks-gov.net/Departments/Department/complaint

[11] https://ipk.rks-gov.net/Legislation/Law/law

[12] https://ipk.rks-gov.net/Legislation/Regulation/regulation

[13] https://ipk.rks-gov.net/Reports/InspectionReports

[14] https://ipk.rks-gov.net/Reports/OtherReports

[15] https://ipk.rks-gov.net/Reports/OtherReports?page=1

[16] https://ipk.rks-gov.net/Medias/P%C3%ABrmbledhje%20mujore%20e%20aktiviteteve%20nga%20IPK%20%E2%80%93%20shkurt%202025-50ff2bcb-7400-433a-a97a-5027e4073c51.pdf

[17] https://ipk.rks-gov.net/Reports/AnnualReports?page=1

[18] https://ipk.rks-gov.net/Reports/AnnualReports?page=1

[19] https://ipk.rks-gov.net/Services/FinancialStatements

[20] https://ipk.rks-gov.net/Legislation/Regulation/regulation

[21] https://ipk.rks-gov.net/DocumentsAndPublications/SinglePublication/8590

[22] https://ipk.rks-gov.net/Services/Integrity?page=1

[23] https://www.facebook.com/InspektoratiPolicoriKosoves

[24] https://www.facebook.com/InspektoratiPolicoriKosoves/videos/1367013727269445

[25] https://www.facebook.com/InspektoratiPolicoriKosoves/reels/

[26] https://www.facebook.com/events/420214245567110/

[27] https://x.com/inspektorati

[28] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsTQStNZedAhr5k4vGOblyA