Language rights

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo concluded a series of eight workshops that introduced bilingual tools (developed with the OSCE Mission’s help) that will help strengthen communication between Kosovo Police (KP) officers and the communities they serve. Held in close co-operation with the KP and the Office of Language Commissioner (OLC), the workshops hosted a total of 160 supervisors, traffic officers and first responders from all eight KP regional directorates.

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo has started a set of three-month Albanian and Serbian language classes for youth belonging to Kosovo Albanian, Kosovo Serb, Kosovo Bosniak, and Kosovo Roma communities residing in the municipality of Obiliq/Obilić. The courses will run from March to June 2019...

In the centre of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo mandate is the monitoring, promotion and protection of the human rights of diverse communities in Kosovo, of which language rights are an integral component. Equal use of official languages in Kosovo is a prerequisite for full and effective provision of services by the Kosovo Police to its own staff and to all individuals that interact with the KP. The OSCE Mission in Kosovo has continuously monitored and shared recommendations with the Kosovo Police on the use of the official languages in line with the legal framework in Kosovo and the relevant international human rights standards. The report, which analyses Kosovo Police language compliance in all eight police regions, acknowledges significant progress of the Kosovo Police achieved over the years and provides key conclusions and series of recommendations to the police, with the aim to ensure the protection of language rights for all communities. Available in English, Albanian and Serbian.