Chief of the department of minority and community rights of the International Civil Office in Kosovo, Rafael Naegeli, met this week with various minority community leaders.

 

Since Kosovo constitution has come into effect as guarantor of sovregnity and law in the republic, communities in the country have begin to take advantage of the bills that the Parliament of Kosovo has approved as mandated by the Ahtisaari plan points related to the minority communities.

Naegeli is very pleased with government's dedication to implement Ahtisaari plan which offers broad rights to communities, particularly the Serb minority.

"Ahtisaari Plan enables the integration of all communities and offers equal participation in every branch of Kosovo government and public institutions and respects maximally their human rights," said Naegeli.

Naegeli added: "Ahtisaari plan enforces legal obligations for the Kosovo government to guarantee the rights of minorities to retain and exercise their national and cultural identity, active and equal participation in every government and public institution, and the right to exercise their human rights with equal standards as every other community in the European Union and in the world."

Naegeli reminded the Serb hardline leaders who have been strongly influenced by nationalists in Serbia that “Kosovo offers one of the best protection for human rights in the world and certainly the constitution of the Republic of Kosovo which was created based on the Ahtisaari plan offers Serb minority a broad cultural, social, economic, public safety and human rights protection with the highest European standards."

The integration of the Serb minority and participation in the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo is one of the goals of the Ahtisaari Plan. Moderate Kosovo Serb leaders have joined the Kosovo institutions while more hardcore ones under the influence of Belgrade have said they will pursue Serb parallel structures instead.