Minority Support

Goal Support of minority communities

Background

USAID and the Government of Kosovo (GoK) support the principles of the Ahtisaari plan that call for protecting the rights, identity and culture of Kosovo's non-majority communities, including establishing a framework for their active participation in public life.

USAID supports Kosovo Serb, Turk, Roma, Ashkali, Egyptian, Bosnian and Gorani communities by;

• Generating employment opportunities;
• Fostering greater cooperation and engagement between all ethnic communities;
• Improving access to Government of Kosovo services and funding;
• Providing humanitarian assistance.

Generating Employment Opportunities

Kosovo is beset with high levels of unemployment, especially in minority communities. USAID works to increase the competitiveness of minority-owned businesses and to facilitate joint ventures between minority and majority producers. Grant funds help implement key priority actions aimed at job creation, such as support to entrepreneurs and small business in targeted sectors. At the same time USAID supports grassroots initiatives through Community Progress Forums (CPFs) which also provide non-majority communities with the opportunity to be actively engaged in activities that will improve their economic security and quality of life.

Increasing Participation of Minorities

USAID provides assistance to minority media, civil society organizations, and political parties so that they can effectively participate in the civic dialogue, as well as working closely with local government in the creation of new Serb municipalities and to ensure the success of the decentralization process. Assistance has shifted from organizational development and campaign capacity building to increasing each organization’s overall capacity to be effective instruments of a healthy and vibrant civil society. For example, USAID has helped minority political parties develop policy forums and trained local media in investigative reporting techniques.

USAID also facilitates sustained and intensive dialogue between Kosovo Albanian and Kosovo Serb leaders capable of making an impact on interethnic relations. The discussions aim to encourage Kosovo Serbs to participate in the political process, provide opportunities for Kosovo Albanian-Serb cooperation on practical issues, and strengthen moderate leaders. USAID/Kosovo works to address the fears and misconceptions communities have about each other through a Forum for Dialogue and Reconciliation. This forum is comprised of Kosovo community representatives, interethnic relations experts, and civil society activists.

Improving Access to GoK Services and Funding

A vital part of USAID’s strategy is to help legitimize GoK institutions in minority communities. USAID works with minority groups and leaders to involve them in municipal and central decision-making processes. Activities include the facilitation of dialogue between minorities and government institutions at the municipal and central level, capacity building for minority civil society organizations, and public education efforts to increase awareness among targeted minority groups of opportunities and developments in Kosovo.

Humanitarian Assistance

An estimated 700 Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians (RAE) were displaced from their homes during the war in 1999 and transferred by UN to three IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps in Northern Kosovo. Two of these camps pose serious health and safety risks, particularly lead poisoning due to proximity of Yugoslav-era smelting complex and industrial waste sites. Only two of the fifty three children tested by the Mitrovica Institute for Health in 2008 had blood lead levels within the normal range, and twenty one of those tested at the highest level the test could register, indicating significant threat to life. USAID initiated a voluntary resettlement approach for fifty Roma families from these lead-polluted camps in northern Kosovo, working with the Municipality of Mitrovica (south) to allocate 4.5 hectares of land for resettlement.

USAID, through its RESTART program, has successfully moved these fifty families into their new units but also continues to work with the European Commission Liaison Office (ECLO) and the GoK to expand the resettlement efforts for the remaining ninety families in the polluted IDP camps. This resettlement project greatly improves the promise for longer-term sustainability of Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities.

Current Programs

Community Action Initiative Program
Interethnic Dialogue and Reconciliation in Kosovo
RESTART
Early Warning System Reports