Tag: Kosovo

BIRN Holds Debate on Audit Reports in Gjilan/Gnjilane

BIRN Kosovo held its third debate on November 26 to present findings from its analysis of Auditor General’s reports, this time for the Gjilan/Gnjilane municipality.

The results of BIRN Kosovo’s monitoring of the implementation of audit recommendations for the Gjilan/Gnjilane municipality were presented in an open debate on November 26, with more than 30 representatives from the municipality, civil society and Auditor General in attendance.

BIRN Kosovo Editor Visar Prebreza gave a brief presentation of the project and its findings, which showed that of the 45 recommendations provided to the municipality, only ten have been implemented.

The Mayor of the Municipality of Gjilan/Gnjilane, Lutfi Haziri, addressed the main points of the analysis and declared that for the upcoming years, work will be done to strengthen the capacities of auditing, procurement, and finance management in his municipality.

A representative of the National Audit Office, Ilir Salihu, was also present to answer questions from the panel and the audience.

Salihu, said that such meetings contribute to inter-institutional communication, transparency, and clarifications that might be needed after the provision of recommendations.

The debate was organised within the framework of the project, ‘Support civil society to increase public oversight and accountability of Kosovo public institutions’, funded by the British Embassy in Pristina. It specifically addressed the project component that looks at the compliance of targeted institutions with recommendations of the National Audit Office.

Similar debates will be held in more municipalities in Kosovo with the aim to present the BIRN Kosovo analysis on the implementation of audit recommendations.

Every debate will be held in the municipal assemblies of the municipalities in question, and will be livestreamed by BIRN Kosovo.

BIRN Holds Debate on Audit Reports in Prizren

BIRN Kosovo held its second debate to present findings from its analysis of municipality audit reports, this time for the municipality of Prizren, on November 23.

The outcomes of the analysis and monitoring were presented in an open debate with more than 20 participants from the municipality, the auditors and civil society, as well as local media including RTK and TV Prizreni.

Kreshnik Gashi, editor and moderator of BIRN Kosovo’s TV programme ‘Justice in Kosovo’, gave a brief presentation on the project and the findings of the analysis on the audit of the municipality.

The mayor of Prizren, Mytaher Haskuka, then discussed the situation with the implementation of recommendations from the National Audit Office.

Haskuka emphasised that the crucial issue for the municipality remains the managing of contracts with economic operators – suppliers of goods, works or services. Haskuka said the reason for this is the large number of contracts compared to the small number of directorate officials who have to deal with the contracts.

A representative of the National Audit Office, Ilir Salihu, was also present to answer questions from the panel and the audience.

Regarding the municipality of Prizren, Salihu said that activities that were planned have not been implemented, and advised that municipalities should be more careful when drafting action plans.

“I would like to emphasise an important thing… I think that neither the municipalities nor the other entities audited should draft action plans just for the sake of fulfilling a legal obligation, because the purpose of our recommendations is not to overburden the municipal or central administration with activities that are not important or necessary. So my personal advice is that when drafting action plans, [municipalities] should look at activities that are reasonable and feasible, and second, target realistic deadlines,” Salihu said.

This debate was organised within the framework of the project ‘Support civil society to increase public oversight and accountability of Kosovo public institutions’, funded by the British Embassy in Pristina. This part of the project looks at compliance by institutions with recommendations in the Auditor General’s reports.

Similar debates will be held in other municipalities to present the findings of BIRN Kosovo’s analysis of the implementation of audit recommendations. Each debate will be held at municipal assemblies and will be livestreamed by BIRN Kosovo.

Accurate and Ethical Reporting in Online and Televised Journalism

BIRN Kosovo

Through this project, BIRN Kosovo aims to empower young journalists and lawyers in Kosovo, through capacity-building training courses on accuracy and ethical reporting, access to public documents, and the consequences of inaccurate reporting, among other subjects.

Summary

Through this project, BIRN Kosovo aims to empower young journalists and lawyers in Kosovo, through capacity-building training courses on accuracy and ethical reporting, access to public documents, and the consequences of inaccurate reporting, among other subjects.

Information Sheet

Donor:

Funded by Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, led by Kosovo Cicil Society Foundation (KCSF)

Main Objective:

Increasing the capacity and professionalism of students of law and journalism in journalistic reporting, access to data, and the legal consequences of incorrect reporting.

Specific Objectives: 

  • Increasing capacities of young students of law and journalism in fair journalistic reporting, compiling requests for access to public documents, and the legal consequences of inaccurate reporting;
  • Raising awareness and public debate about fair journalistic reporting and the safety of journalists.

Main Activities:

  • Organising seven training sessions with young journalism and law students on journalistic ethics and the legal consequences of incorrect reporting;
  • Offering legal assistance on access to public documents for journalism and law students;
  • Distributing 15 scholarships to students of journalism and law universities for conducting joint investigations;
  • Editing and publishing 15 investigations in cooperation with students who won the scholarships;
  • Producing two TV debates through the TV programmes “Life in Kosovo” and “Justice in Kosovo” on the topic of journalists’ security and accurate and impartial reporting;
  • Producing 5 long articles in Krypometër on the accuracy of information.

Target Groups:

  • Students of journalism and law;
  • Marginalised gender and ethnic groups;
  • Civil society.

Highlights:

  • 124 students were trained in Improving Research Reporting Standards Through Joint Experiences. The students were from different educational backgrounds, mainly from Journalism and Law. The training included students from the municipalities of Prishtina, Gjilan, Prizren and Mitrovica.
  • BIRN Kosovo distibuted 15 scholarships to students interested in investigating on and publishing a journalistic story while applying high journalistic standards;
  • BIRN Kosovo opened its legal office to assist students of Journalism and Law with access to public documents, with the aim of verifying facts.

 

BIRN Editors Address Nuremberg Trial Reporting Seminar

BIRN editors from Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina participated in a seminar in Nuremberg, Germany, on journalism and trial reporting on November 19-22.

BIRN Kosovo’s Kreshnik Gashi and BIRN Bosnia’s Denic Dzidic travelled to the German city of Nuremberg to address a seminar organised by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and the International Nuremberg Principles Academy on journalism and trial reporting.

Gashi, editor and moderator of BIRN Kosovo’s TV programme ‘Justice in Kosovo’, made a presentation about the work of BIRN Kosovo’s site KALLXO.com on reporting war crimes, covering the legal responsibilities of journalists writing such sensitive reports, accurate and objective reporting, and the verification of facts before reporting on cases.

Dzidic, editor in chief of BIRN Bosnia’s online publication Detektor, spoke about lessons learned from following international tribunals and war crimes trials in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He highlighted how BIRN had become a specialised news media for transitional justice and what importance that played for the victims and diaspora communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The seminar focused on the key role of journalists on informing the public about criminal trials, the seminar was structured into three modules – Basics of International Criminal Law; Journalism and International Criminal Tribunals, and Reporting on International Criminal Tribunals.

Opening remarks at the seminar were made by the director of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, Klaus Rackwitz, and Dr. Fidelman Donlon from the registrar’s office at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.

Empowering Women to Seek Their Inheritance Rights

BIRN Kosovo

The project aims to educate, raise awareness and empower women about their property rights. Through TV, online publishing and social media, BIRN will reach out to women and men of all ages and ethnic backgrounds throughout Kosovo.

Summary

In addition to raising awareness, the activities also address the unsatisfactory level of implementation of the law, and the prolonged judicial procedures that discourage women from seeking their rights.

Information Sheet

Donor:

Funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), managed by Advocacy Training and Resource Center (ATRC)

Main Objective:

Enhance awareness among women and men in Kosovo regarding property rights.

Specific Objectives: 

Increasing the public’s awareness of women’s property rights through impartial and objective reporting on women’s inheritance rights through televised and online reporting;
Monitoring the implementation of the legal obligation to register property in the names of both spouses by political representatives and policymakers;
Contributing to positively influencing policies related to women’s inheritance rights by initiating public discussion and providing concrete policy recommendations.

Main Activities:

A series of 10 articles on the current state of affairs in the implementation of the legal framework pertaining to women’s inheritance rights;

Producing two televised analyses to be broadcast on the television programme Justice in Kosovo;

Publishing 4 extensive research papers in Gazeta Jeta ne Kosove;

Organising 2 roundtables to discuss the legislation pertaining to women’s inheritance;

Publishing five extensive legal analyses in Gazeta Jeta ne Kosove;

Drafting proposals for amendments to laws.

Target Groups:

The main target group for the programme ‘Engagement for Equity’ is women from ages 18-65. BIRN will target the stakeholders involved in judicial cases, while an extended target group will be the general public.

 

BIRN Holds Debate on Audit Reports in Peja/Pec

BIRN Kosovo held a debate on November 19, presenting findings from its analysis of the Auditor General’s reports for the municipality of Peja/Pec.

The debate at the municipal assembly was attended by more than 30 participants including representatives of the municipality, the Auditor General and civil society.

Visar Prebreza, editor at BIRN Kosovo, gave a brief presentation about the project and introduced the findings of the analysis.

The mayor of the municipality, Gazmend Muhaxheri, discussed the audit situation and crucial issues in Peja/Pec. Muhaxheri called on BIRN Kosovo to monitor all auditing processes in the future.

The third speaker was a representative of the Auditor General, Ilir Salihu, who discussed in detail the achievements and obstacles to auditing in the municipality of Peja/Pec.

Salihu said that municipalities should sit down with the auditors and discuss the recommendations they are given.

“It is crucial that complex recommendations are followed by a dialogue between the auditor and municipal officials in order to prevent uncertainties that can be reflected in the implementation and measurement of recommendations,” Salihu said.

Following a discussion of BIRN Kosovo’s analysis, audience members asked questions and expressed criticism of the work of the municipality in implementing the audit recommendations.

BIRN Kosovo journalists recorded the promises made by the General Audit and the municipality to be followed up and fact-checked by Krypometer, BIRN Kosovo’s fact-checking site.

This debate was organised within the framework of the project ‘Support civil society to increase public oversight and accountability of Kosovo public institutions’, funded by the British Embassy in Pristina. This part of the project looks at compliance by institutions with recommendations in the Auditor General’s reports.

Similar debates will be held in other municipalities to present the findings of BIRN Kosovo’s analysis of the implementation of audit recommendations. Each debate will be held at municipal assemblies and will be livestreamed by BIRN Kosovo.

Rockefeller Brothers Fund

DONOR
Founded in 1940, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund advances social change that contributes to a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world.

In the Western Balkans, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) has worked since 2001 to achieve restorative justice after the devastating conflicts of the 1990s, to build civil society institutions, and to increase government accountability, especially on matters of environmental concern. It makes numerous grants to organisations working to prepare the Balkan nations to meet the requirements for membership of the European Union.

The Fund focuses on Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina to help them complete the process of integration into the EU. The interdependence among the countries, common challenges they face, and the potential they possess together as a subregion of the European Union present a unique opportunity for successful integration. The Fund supports civil society initiatives that advance collaboration and enhance the capacity for sustainable development and enduring peace in the region.

BIRN Hub

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund has been an institutional donor to BIRN Hub since 2009.

BIRN Kosovo

The RBF currently provides general support to BIRN Kosovo, in backing efforts to improve practices, performance, transparency, and accountability in governance. It has supported the organisation though projects and general support for a decade.

Web: https://www.rbf.org/

BIRN to Help Boost Public Oversight of Kosovo Institutions

BIRN Kosovo has signed a cooperation agreement with a local think tank and the tax authority to increase public oversight and accountability of Kosovo’s public institutions.

BIRN Kosovo signed a memorandum of understanding with Pristina-based think tank Democracy Plus and the Tax Administration of Kosovo, TAK, on Wednesday as part of a project funded by the British embassy in Kosovo to boost public oversight and accountability of public institutions.

Through the cooperation agreement, BIRN, Democracy Plus and TAK aim to increase the overview that the civil society has of tax administration processes, in order to increase the compliance of public institutions.

In its 2018 Country Report on Kosovo, the EU highlighted the ongoing issues of the informal economy and tax evasion in Kosovo, urging for these to be dealt with.

In light of this, the UK-funded project is intended to help tackle these issues and bolster the fight against corruption in Kosovo.

Over the next three years, BIRN and its project partners will seek to establish policies and practices crucial to good governance and address them to compatible authorities.

BIRN Kosovo Holds Prevention of Violent Extremism Training

BIRN Kosovo held a training course for law students in Ferizaj, Kosovo, on October 5 entitled ‘Forms of Violent Extremism and Reporting on Terrorism Cases’.

Key speakers were Drita Hajdari, prosecutor at the Kosovo Special Prosecution, and Kreshnik Gashi, editor of the TV programme, Justice in Kosovo. It was held at AAB College in Ferizaj.

The course aimed to give students the opportunity to discuss cases in which young people from Kosovo were involved in terrorism and terrorist groups, as well as to find out how to prevent radicalisation.

Hajdari and Gashi engaged in an in-depth conversation with the participants and addressed questions on terrorism in Kosovo and methods of reporting cases of terrorism.

Hajdari said that the prosecution, within the framework of the national strategy on the prevention of violent extremism and radicalisation that leads to terrorism, is doing a lot of work on countering terrorism.

She called for a greater cooperation from young people in reporting suspected cases of radicalisaton.

Gashi said that the media in Kosovo is doing its best in reporting cases through investigations. He also noted that the impact of media in combating terrorism is crucial, so outlets must take care not to publish unreliable or false news that misinforms the population.

This course was organised as part of the project ‘With Participatory Democracy for a Kosovo without Radicalization’, funded by the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund, GCERF.

BIRN Kosovo is planning to organise similar events in Pristina, Mitrovica, Gjilan and Kacanik.

 

BIRN Kosovo’s Human Rights Awards Announced

On October 4, the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Kosovo, in cooperation with The Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture (ACDC), presented awards for three best journalistic pieces on TV, print or online media as part of its Human Rights Reporting Award Competition.

The initiative is intended to boost the coverage of human rights issues and help to set new standards for media reporting in the sphere.

Venera Cocaj and Matko Bulent won the first prize for a story that dealt with one of the least discussed topics in the country and concerned one of the most marginalised groups, the LGBT community, in a documentary “The Sky is Turning” produced by Kosovo 2.0.

Adriana Thaci-Mehmeti from KTV won second prize for a story about the rights of elderly people within the family and in retirement homes.

Besa Kalaja from PreportR and Kaltrina Rexhepi from RTK shared the third prize. Kalaja’s story dealt with the lack of institutional care for the elderly, while Rexhepi created a documentary that looks into the issue of early marriages.