KOSOVO’s ETHNIC DILEMMA: The Need for a Civic Contract (ICG Balkans Report N°143)
KOSOVO’s ETHNIC DILEMMA: The Need for a Civic Contract (ICG Balkans Report N°143)

Author(s): Author Not Specified
Subject(s): Civil Society, Governance, Government/Political systems, Inter-Ethnic Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: ICG International Crisis Group
Summary/Abstract: ICG proposes the creation of a real incentive structure to treat minorities as full and equal citizens, with clear penalties for bad behaviour and rewards for good behaviour. A committee on public services for minorities should also be established, outlining what needs to be done to improve service provision and formulating a gradual plan to dissolve parallel structures. The electoral system should be reworked so that politicians (of all ethnicities) at the central level are more accountable. A Charter of Rights outlining individual and group rights should be established, accompanied by a strong judicial instrument that ensures the enforcement of these rights. And while the decentralisation initiative should pay special attention to the needs of minority communities, UNMIK and the Council of Europe should exercise extreme caution before drawing any boundaries on an ethnic basis, even for sub-municipal units. The focus should be on improving local governance and ensuring that municipal bodies have the capacity and resources to do their job.

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