July 4, 2025 | Friday
Interview with the Ombudsperson Naim Qelaj
Europe House Kosovo: Being the Ombudsperson, among other things, is a noble mission. What preceded, as a mission, as a conviction, your ambition to become the Ombudsperson?
Naim Qelaj: Sometimes the past determines the future. My past has been such that I have continuously faced human rights violations, initially as a child because of the times we lived in… I belong to the generation of the 1970s, I was born in 1971.
I am talking here about the challenges I faced in education, including the denial of my right to education and all the vicissitudes that every citizen of the Republic of Kosovo has suffered through.
My first job was working for a reconstruction project funded by the European Commission. This project was carried out by the Council for Protection of Freedoms and Human Rights and provided free legal aid through it.
During my time in this mission, I was able to understand how important it is for citizens to know and recognize the rights they are entitled to, because this is a prerequisite for them to be able to seek protection when their rights are violated. At the same time, I understood how important it is for people to have an independent authority that supports them and orients them towards the realization of the rights they enjoy, which, for a multitude of reasons, can be violated by the authorities that have a legal responsibility to protect them.
Then from 2006-2007 to 2017 I worked as an attorney. As an attorney, I have handled many sensitive cases, which really make one understand how important and what a noble mission it is to protect people in need.
When the vacancy for the Ombudsperson was announced, it was my friends and people who knew me who pushed me to apply. For me, this was a moment when I believed in the work that I have done, in the mission that I have undertaken to be an independent authority, free of any political influence, free of any undue interference in my work and mission, and in 2020, in October, I was entrusted with the position of Ombudsperson, a role that I exercise to this day.
Of course, it wasn’t easy. I thought that the situation would be clearer and that the work could be accomplished more easily than what I have encountered in practice. This period has been very challenging. My election and start of my mandate as Ombudsperson, was during the pandemic. During that period, human rights were violated the most because free movement and many other aspects related to human rights were restricted. Then the global economic crisis began as a result of the pandemic. The war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, the global political crisis began. Of course, these were not easy events, they were challenging. But I have believed in the experience of the institution, I was confident in the institutional memory, I have continued to trust the people in the institution by not bringing new people just to increase numbers and fill positions, while always pushing my employees to get the best out of them, and of course always acting in accordance with what is also the principle of the ombudsperson, with professionalism, upholding the primacy of human rights, with transparency with the public and maintaining confidentiality with the parties, because it is very important that every citizen who addresses the Ombudsperson is certain that their privacy is preserved.
Europe House Kosovo: The Ombudsperson Institution should be in constant communication with other judicial institutions as well. What kind of communication have you established and how does political stability or instability affect your channel of communication with the institutions?
Naim Qelaj: A good practice of institutional communication has been established, because the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo clearly stipulates that all authorities have a constitutional obligation to respond to the requests of the Ombudsperson. So, in any case when an authority does not respond to the requests we submit, this is a violation of the Constitution. Even if it is not confirmed by another authority, the violation nevertheless remains. I think that the most serious violation of a law is when the Constitution and the obligations arising from it are violated. So, in general, the authorities maintain compliance in terms of institutional communication with the institution of the Ombudsperson, but this is not enough because there is often a lack of coordination and communication beyond proving responses in relation to the recommendations and requests that we address to other authorities.
This communication can be performed in the forms applied by developed democratic countries, when decisions of the Ombudsperson are taken on issues that are of interest to human rights. When there is any action, that public authorities take to restrict human rights and freedoms, or when there are implications that may affect human rights, obviously, a preliminary position and opinion of the Ombudsperson is required. This is not done in all cases. There are also cases when it happens and this definitely adds to the value of the work that other authorities do and we guarantee and ensure that with the actions they are taking, they are not threatening human rights.
The political changes that occur in the governing structure are not a problem in themselves, because it is a natural process, a democratic process. But in Kosovo, for the Ombudsperson, the consequences that come from the result of unresolved political situations are challenging. These relate primarily to the resolution of relations with Serbia, the undefined status of statehood or the yet-to-be-achieved general recognition and accession to important international organizations such as the United Nations, the Council of Europe and other organizations, but also the crises themselves that produce these unresolved political processes.
We witnessed the crisis that emerged at the end of 2022 with roadblocks, with obstacles that restricted the free movement of citizens but also of institutions, becoming an obstacle to the performance of the work of the institutions. They were followed by riots and protests, up to a complete boycott of the institutions by the Serb community in the four northern municipalities. All this produced a difficult, complicated situation and a kind of crisis that affected the citizens living in that part of Kosovo. During this period, I had to engage in institutional outreach with citizens, with civil society organizations, because the citizens of the Serb community were left without political representation in the institutions, that is, without institutional representation, and all I have asked during this period is that the institutions also take legitimate actions, to be careful and take measures that guarantee that the rights of citizens are being respected and at no time should the rights that these citizens enjoy be violated and restricted in the name of extending legitimacy or in the name of legitimate actions. Even today, we face difficult situations in relation to the situation in these four municipalities. Without wanting to go into the analysis of the factors that have led to this situation, this makes the work of the Ombudsperson difficult, because we must always be careful to maintain balanced attitudes that guarantee respect for human rights, but also not to infringe on the lawful actions of the authorities.
Europe House Kosovo: How do such events affect your work? Do they weaken the trust of certain communities in the institution of the Ombudsperson?
Naim Qelaj: In these situations, it is very difficult to maintain trust because citizens lose trust in all institutions, and it is very important to maintain communication at this stage. I believe that I have found the best form of outreach through the visits I make to the localities where the communities live; meetings with citizen groups, with groups of civil society organizations, and very open conversations highlighting the problems they have, but also highlighting the problems that are not entirely in Kosovo’s hands.
Of course, through such outreach and contacts, I try to show that the Ombudsperson acts in the interest of human rights, regardless of nationality and regardless of which ethnic group these citizens belong to. But the problems are many, not only in the Serb community, but in general the complaints we receive during any given year make us aware of the many existing problems in Kosovo, despite the achievements that Kosovo has made over the years thanks to the support of international partners and the international community, but also the tireless and constant work of officials, people and human rights activists operating in Kosovo today.
Europe House Kosovo: What are the capacities of the institution for managing this flow of complaints? Also, what are the mechanisms through which you are making it clear to the citizens that the doors of the Ombudsperson Institution are open to them?
Naim Qelaj: We operate with the capacities that we have and we try to come to the aid of the citizens every time they turn to us, but of course we need to increase capacities because the competences and responsibilities of the Ombudsperson have also been increased with the newly adopted laws. So, every time a law is adopted in the Republic of Kosovo, it includes at least a part that assigns tasks and obligations to the Ombudsperson, and this leads to our need to increase staff since we play several roles; we are defenders of human rights, but we also play the role of the equality body, we also have a mechanism for the prevention of torture, we are also an advocate for the protection of children’s rights, and we play a special role in relation to the communities.
So, it is a very big job, the review of complaints, the educational outreach we perform with young people about human rights and the role of the Ombudsperson. So the capacities are insufficient but we are trying to fill that gap as much as possible, perhaps with additional work, with the engagement of experts from abroad but also with the support of civil society organizations with whom we have excellent cooperation, and who are among our main partners coming to our aid whenever we need support, either by providing professional capacities, or in other forms, and we complement each other.
We have established multiple means for citizens to reach out to the Ombudsperson. They can do so through social media, which is the most widespread form of mass communication in today’s world. They can reach us through the link on the institution’s website where there is a complaint form, and they can file complaints electronically, through regular mail, or through contact with the offices of the Ombudsperson. We have eight regional offices, including the office in Prishtinë/Pristina, we have offices in Mitrovica North and South, Graçanicë/Gračanica, Gjilan/Gnjilane, Gjakovë/Đakovica, Prizren, Ferizaj/ Uroševac. Thus, the entire territory of the Republic of Kosovo is covered with offices where the advisors of the Ombudsperson receive complaints, welcome citizens in meetings, receive their concerns and then address complaints for resolution. We also operate a free telephone line, which enables every citizen to file a complaint in any form of communication.
The complaint form is very simple, it is enough to present the complaint, following which an official will collect information from the complainant. Another thing that every citizen should be clear about, which is a very important principle, is that requests and complaints to the Ombudsperson do not harm the claimant. So, first of all, the claimant does not lose anything if they address the Ombudsperson, regardless of whether the complaint is accepted or rejected. In fact, if it is approved, they win because they are offered defense, but if the complaint is rejected, they lose nothing, they are not harmed, and they always receive advice if the request has been wrongly addressed to the Ombudsperson. So, citizens should know that in any case they can turn to the Ombudsperson without any risk.
Europe House Kosovo: You have been and continue to be very vocal on LGBTIQ+ issues in Kosovo. I would like to talk about this and the communication of the Ombudsperson institution with LGBTIQ+ organizations in Kosovo.
Naim Qelaj: The Ombudsperson Institution has worked to prepare the officials themselves with neutral communication skills, the use of a neutral language to ensure that interlocutors are never violated or harmed, and citizens’ concerns are always accepted on the premise of the principle of the primacy of human rights.
The Ombudsperson uses balanced, careful and simple language, so that it is easier for citizens to understand. In three situations, we have created special communication protocols, the first is communication with sensitive categories such as victims of sexual violence, victims of domestic violence, women victims, child victims, for which we have created a special communication space which is an appropriate and friendly space. At the same time, we have trained the staff on the proper way of communicating with these citizens of the Republic of Kosovo. The second is the guide on hate speech and hate crime cases, including ethnically motivated incidents and incidents with other motives that may affect vulnerable groups, so it is a practical guide on how officials should handle these cases, and the third is a guide on the approach to handling complaints coming from LGBTQI+ people.
All these guidelines have been drafted together with the staff of the Ombudsperson institution as well as with experts engaged from civil society. I can say that in this regard the institution has built sufficient capacities for a proper approach based on standards that are applied in developed countries.
Europe House Kosovo: What mechanisms do you have to communicate with similar institutions in European Union countries, for the exchange of practices, experiences and approximation of practices for the protection of human rights?
Naim Qelaj: First are the offices operating in Kosovo; the agencies that operate in Kosovo are very cooperative and have supported the institution of the Ombudsperson for 25 years. The Ombudsperson institution has been a direct beneficiary of many projects but also as an indirect beneficiary through other projects, and this has helped us a lot to increase capacities and be on the same level not only with regional institutions, but perhaps also at the European level. I can say this with full confidence, because from my participation in international meetings I have realized that in many standards we are quite ahead of some European countries, as confirmed by my counterparts, the Ombudspersons of other countries, because during the conversations we have with them, they understand that Kosovo has a very well-constructed legislation that guarantees the independence of the institution of the Ombudsperson, which is enshrined in the Constitution as a constitutional institution, and this is one of the principal requirements for the functioning of the institution of the Ombudsperson.
Secondly, we have functional, organizational and budgetary independence that many countries do not have. We have a guaranteed budget. The budget cannot be reduced without the approval of the Ombudsperson. Our internal organization is done through internal by-laws which of course must be in harmony with the legislation because we are also an organization that operates within the state, but nevertheless this creates opportunities for independent action.
We are also a member of almost all regional networks and many international networks such as GANHRI [Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions], ENNHRI [European Network of National Human Rights Institutions], Equinet [European Network of Equality Bodies].
This enables us to have a lot of information about developments around the world. This has often created opportunities for us to act and prevent situations that have previously emerged in other countries and has enabled us to gain very valuable experiences in terms of organization, our approach to public outreach, and to find solutions to numerous problems.
On the other hand, we recently had a visit to Austria, where we met with the head of FRA [The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights]. The meeting was very important. I consider it one of the most important meetings I have had since I have been in office, because we have found an opportunity to cooperate with this Agency and I believe that as early as this year we will start with a study visit of the staff of the Ombudsperson institution to this agency. This has been a request of the agency itself and of course we will be informed about all the activities that FRA will undertake in the training process, in the issuance of various resolutions and directives and on the course of all other processes.
While in relation to other European Union agencies, the EU office has been one of the main supporters of the Ombudsperson institution in recent years. We were beneficiaries of the IPA project of 2019 and the support was direct, it was a special program only for the Ombudsperson, divided into four pillars. The results of this project are tangible. We have managed to introduce a new case management system. This new database, in addition to increasing the capacities offered by this technological system, has made it possible for us to advance a lot in the generation of data, statistics and case management.
Through this support, we have digitized the complaints process, as well as many trainings with the engagement of eminent international and local experts in various fields of interest to the Ombudsperson institution. Through this project, we have managed to engage experts who have helped us in drafting special reports, such as the report on transitional justice that was drafted for the first time by the Ombudsperson, which I believe has been an extraordinarily well performed job.
The Council of Europe is one of the important partners for the Ombudsperson. Every five years, Kosovo is visited by the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, they come and visit the Ombudsperson and I can say that in general, the positions and conclusions that this Committee makes in their reports fully comply with the findings that the Ombudsperson makes during the monitoring of the situation in prisons and other spaces. So, we are well aligned, we follow the same standard, and I believe we have managed to build capacities up to par with those of the European Union.
Recently, the Council of Europe, together with the European Union Office, has been supporting us in strengthening our capacities as an equality body. Last year, we issued a report for the first time on the implementation of the Law on Protection from Discrimination. This is a legal obligation that the Ombudsperson, in the absence of capacities, has failed to accomplish in the past. But I believe that it is a good initiative and I believe that we will continue to fulfill this legal obligation because we have seen that it is in the interest of respecting equality before the law and non-discrimination of the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo.
Of course, I mentioned cooperation with other agencies earlier, but I want to put the emphasis on civil society. The EU, through the IPA project, has helped establish a special mechanism, a communication platform of the Ombudsperson with civil society. The platform provides the documents drafted, an action plan, and functions in a regular manner through regular periodic meetings and through the continuous communication of the Ombudsperson with civil society.
Europe House Kosovo: Thank you very much for your time!