Research O SEU: 247 incidents in cultural heritage sites for six years in Kosovo

According to this study, 57 percent of the incidents are thefts that have no economic motives and have occurred mainly in churches and cemeteries belonging to the Serbian Orthodox Church. Meanwhile, 45 percent of them are economic thefts that were carried out mainly in Kosovo mosques.

Sabrina Salis of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe said during the presentation of the report “The protection of cultural heritage in Kosovo” that 24 Serbian religious objects are currently protected by Kosovo police.

“Raport recommends that support for the Kosovo police should be strengthened, especially towards the specialised unit for cultural real estates, in meeting their duties. For example, through training, equipment but also access to the best international practices”, she said.

The mission's chief in Kosovo, Michael Davenport, said monitoring of countries related to cultural heritage is essential to uncovering and preventing possible violations to them.

“Of course the inspectors are the first and they bear a huge responsibility on their shoulders to ensure the necessary security for cultural heritage in Kosovo. But satisfactory and effective monitoring is the joint effort between inspectors on one side and municipalities, relevant ministries and society in general on the other. All of us are responsible for preserving common cultural heritage”, he said.

Davenport said that although four years have been made by the functioning of the Cultural Heritage Inspectorate, the work of this institution continues to be challenged by without permission and the destruction of real estates, acts he said should be prosecuted.

According to the report, Kosovo police have brought to the prosecutor's attention all incidents related to cultural heritage, but only a limited number have been dealt with further. In 2019, the report points out, of 76 cases presented by police, only 14 were handled by the prosecution.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in Kosovo Hajrullah Ceku said protecting cultural heritage is one of the government's programming priorities, which since taking office, according to him, has made some reforms in this area.

Ceku said the security situation has improved at cultural heritage sites in Kosovo, stressing that according to recent data from police during the January period of June 2022, six percent less cases have been presented compared to the same period last year.

The report presented today highlights the cultural heritage situation by 2020. I want to stress that the Kosovo government, the Ministry of Culture, has taken the necessary steps, and part of the recommendations addressed in this report, have already been addressed. With serious work and commitment, we are developing programmes and projects which will contribute to the protection of cultural heritage as a tool for promoting common values and as opportunities for establishing economic prosperity for all Kosovo citizens”, Mr. Ceku said.

The report recommends that the law on cultural heritage be changed and met to refer it to the National Strategy for Cultural Heritage 2017-2027 and international standards. /voa