Newsroom
Ombudsperson's Institution for Kosovo formed
PRISTINA 3 July 2000
PRISTINA, 3 July 2000 - The Ombudsperson's Institution, created by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, is soon to be established. The Special Representative of the Secretary General, Dr Bernard Kouchner, has now signed a regulation which will formally establish the office.
An Ombudsperson has a special role in a democracy. S/he investigates and mediates complaints from individuals, groups and organisations about the authorities, their abuse of power or human rights violations. This means if, for example, someone believes they have been discriminated against by a police officer or civil administrator there is a means of redress.
"The Ombudsperson's Institution will be multi-ethnic," said Sonsoles Montero of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo's Ombudsperson's Support Section. "It will work in an atmosphere of transparency but keep confidentiality when necessary to protect complainants, witnesses or others. It will be free of charge."
To perform its job successfully the Ombudsperson's Institution has to be independent. The OSCE has helped to establish it, with additional funding from the US government, but the Institution will not be part of the OSCE or the UN. And when the international community has left Kosovo, the Ombudsperson's office will remain as part of the local institutional infrastructure.
It will take some time for the Institution to be functioning, as the SRSG still has to nominate the individual who will take the job of Ombudsperson; he also has to nominate deputies. Other staff will also have to be appointed.
The OSCE is committed to supporting an independent Ombudsperson's Institution for Kosovo. It sees it as another step in the slowly evolving democratic structure of the region.
For further information, contact Press and Public Information of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, tel.: +381 38 500 162 ext. 118, 218, 260, 342. Satphone: 871 762 009 948. Fax: +381 38 500 188. Satfax: 871 382 425 022.
An Ombudsperson has a special role in a democracy. S/he investigates and mediates complaints from individuals, groups and organisations about the authorities, their abuse of power or human rights violations. This means if, for example, someone believes they have been discriminated against by a police officer or civil administrator there is a means of redress.
"The Ombudsperson's Institution will be multi-ethnic," said Sonsoles Montero of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo's Ombudsperson's Support Section. "It will work in an atmosphere of transparency but keep confidentiality when necessary to protect complainants, witnesses or others. It will be free of charge."
To perform its job successfully the Ombudsperson's Institution has to be independent. The OSCE has helped to establish it, with additional funding from the US government, but the Institution will not be part of the OSCE or the UN. And when the international community has left Kosovo, the Ombudsperson's office will remain as part of the local institutional infrastructure.
It will take some time for the Institution to be functioning, as the SRSG still has to nominate the individual who will take the job of Ombudsperson; he also has to nominate deputies. Other staff will also have to be appointed.
The OSCE is committed to supporting an independent Ombudsperson's Institution for Kosovo. It sees it as another step in the slowly evolving democratic structure of the region.
For further information, contact Press and Public Information of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, tel.: +381 38 500 162 ext. 118, 218, 260, 342. Satphone: 871 762 009 948. Fax: +381 38 500 188. Satfax: 871 382 425 022.