UN for Kosovo: Many corrupt officials continue to be in positions in the public sector

The government, said the report, took steps to identify, investigate, prosecute and punish officials who committed human rights abuses, but sometimes lacked continuity. Many people in government, opposition, civil society, and media reported cases of senior officials involved in corruption or acting unpunished. Many corrupt officials continue to be in positions in the public sector, the report says.

The Voice of America prepared a summary of the report's report on Kosovo.

Major civil society politicians and leaders, especially veterans' organisations, publicly denounced Kosovo Specialised Chambers (KSC) and the Office of Kosovo Specialised Prosecutor (SPO) based in The Hague, and tried to undermine public support for the work of SPO and KSC. These efforts included public protests, a petition request to abolish the court and a legislative initiative proposed by former President Hashim Thaci that could have undermined the KSC mandate.

Since September, the government Commission of Missing Persons ranked 1,640 people missing during the 1998-99 conflict and the subsequent political violence. Under the law, the government's database of missing persons does not include ethnic affiliation of missing persons unless they are voluntarily reported by their family. The commission hinted that about 70 per cent were Albanians, while 30 per cent were Serbs, Roma, Ashkali, Balkan and Egyptian, Bosniak, Gorana, Montenegrins and others.

Freedom of Speech

Faithful reports insisted that some public officials, politicians, businesses and religious groups tried to intimidate media representatives. Funding problems also threatened media independence. Journalists faced difficulties getting information from the government and public institutions.

Independent media were active and expressed a variety of views, generally without restrictions. However, there were reports that government officials, some political parties, businesses related to government, religious groups and disgruntled individuals pressured media owners, editors and reporters not to publish certain materials. Some journalists were attracted by critical investigative reporting because of fear of their physical safety or job safety.

Some journalists complained that owners and media managers prevented them from publishing or broadcasting critical material to the government, political parties, or individual officials.

Corruption, lack of transparency in government

Officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. The lack of effective judicial supervision and overall weakness in rule of law contributed to this problem.

NGOs and international organisations allude to numerous failures by the judicial system to prosecute corruption, noting that very few cases filed against top officials resulted in the indictment. The punishment of high-level officials convicted of corruption was often mild.

In at least four high profile corruption cases, the Supreme Court found that the lower courts had violated the penal code in favour of the defendants.

Rape and Violence in the Family

EULEX noted that courts often implemented sentences easier than minimum legal in rape cases, and that law enforcement bodies rarely took steps to protect victims and witnesses. Moreover, sentences were often lowered further by the appeals court. The Prosecutor's Office for Victims Assistance reported an increasing number of cases of domestic violence during the year, from 946 cases in 2019 to 1,145 cases since October. Sexual violence and rape that occur inside or outside the family were rarely reported by victims, often because of social stigma or lack of trust in authorities.