Kosovo

Kosovo is a multi-party democratic republic bordered by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro and Serbia. Kosovo became a UN protectorate following the Kosovo War of 1999 with prolonged tensions and violence between its Albanian and Serb populations. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, Serbia continues to claim the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, and Kosovo’s independence remains unrecognised by Russia and China, along with five EU member states, however 108 UN states recognise Kosovo as a sovereign state.

Constitution and government Education and children’s rights Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
There is state funding of at least some religious schools
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in at least some public schools (without secular or humanist alternatives)
Some concerns about political or media freedoms, not specific to the non-religious
The state is secular, with separation of religious and political authorities, not discriminating against any religion or belief
No religious tribunals of concern, secular groups operate freely, individuals are not persecuted by the state
Constitution and government
The state is secular, with separation of religious and political authorities, not discriminating against any religion or belief
Education and children’s rights
There is state funding of at least some religious schools
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in at least some public schools (without secular or humanist alternatives)
Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals
No religious tribunals of concern, secular groups operate freely, individuals are not persecuted by the state
Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
Some concerns about political or media freedoms, not specific to the non-religious
Use of Conscientious Objection clauses resulting in the denial of lawful services to women and LGBTI+ people
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in all or most state-funded schools with no secular or humanist alternative
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: Kazakhstan

The state is secular, with separation of religious and political authorities, not discriminating against any religion or belief
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
No fundamental restrictions on freedom of expression or advocacy of humanist values
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

No condition holds in this strand
No condition holds in this strand

Countries: Andorra

No condition holds in this strand
Religious courts or tribunals rule directly on some family or ‘moral’ matters; it is legally an opt-in system, but the possibility of social coercion is very clear
No condition holds in this strand

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

Localised or infrequent but recurring and widespread social marginalisation or prejudice against the non-religious

This condition is unusual in that it is applied in cases where there is some social discrimination, but it is not pervasive or nationwide. This condition is applied when there is sufficient background evidence to warrant the assertion that discrimination is not anomalous but widespread, and this condition may be applied for example even where if there is no legislative discrimination or where the non-religious may have legal recourse against such discrimination. However, societal discrimination (i.e. discrimination by peers, as opposed to state or legal discrimination) is not easily measured, and for this reason the Report does not currently have similar more severe boundary conditions to capture higher levels of social discrimination per se. In principle these may be introduced in future. However, we consider that countries with actual higher levels of social discrimination against the non-religious will generally already meet other higher level (more severe) boundary conditions under this thematic strand.

Countries: Botswana, Greece, Serbia, United States of America

The dominant influence of religion in public life undermines the right to equality and/or non-discrimination

Applied when the influence of religion on public life undermines others’ rights, such as SRHR, women’s rights, LGBTI+ rights.

May be applied when the influence is overt (i.e. when religious laws are applied to undermine others’ rights) or covert (i.e. where religious pressure groups exert influence to affect policy)

Countries: Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brunei Darussalam, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Croatia, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eswatini, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Liberia, Lithuania, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Oman, Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Zambia

The non-religious are persecuted socially or there are prohibitive social taboos against atheism, humanism or secularism
Complete tyranny precludes all freedoms of expression and thought, religion or belief

Applied when overriding acts of oppression by the State are extreme, to the extent that the question of freedom of thought and expression is almost redundant, because all human rights and freedoms are quashed by authorities.

Countries: North Korea

Expression of core Humanist principles on democracy, freedom and human rights is brutally repressed
Expression of non-religious views is severely persecuted, or is rendered almost impossible by severe social stigma, or is highly likely to be met with hatred or violence
There is significant social marginalisation of the non-religious or stigma associated with expressing atheism, humanism or secularism
Religious or ideological indoctrination is utterly pervasive in schools
There is a nominal state church with few privileges or progress is being made toward disestablishment

Countries: Bulgaria, Norway, Peru, Rwanda

The non-religious are barred from some government offices (including posts reserved for particular religions or sects)
‘Apostasy’ is outlawed and punishable with a prison sentence

Countries: Bahrain, Comoros, Jordan, Kuwait

‘Apostasy’ or conversion from a specific religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Some religious courts rule in civil or family matters on a coercive or discriminatory basis
Religious authorities have supreme authority over the state

Countries: Iran

State legislation is partly derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general

This condition is applied where there are miscellaneous indicators that organs of the state offer various forms of support for a religion, or to religion in general over non-religious worldviews, suggesting a preference for those beliefs, or that the organs of that religion are privileged.

Countries: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burundi, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zimbabwe

There is a pattern of impunity or collusion in violence by non-state actors against the nonreligious
State-funded schools provide religious education which may be nominally comprehensive but is substantively biased or borderline confessional
Religious or ideological instruction in a significant number of schools is of a coercive fundamentalist or extremist variety

This condition highlights countries where schools subject children to fundamentalist religious instruction with no real opportunity to question fundamentalist tenets, or where lessons routinely encourage hatred (for example religious or ethnic hatred). The wording “significant number of schools” is not given a rigid quantification (sometimes the worst-offending schools are unregistered, illegal, or otherwise uncounted); however the condition is not applied in cases where only a small number of schools meet the description and may be anomalous, as opposed to being indicative of a widespread problem.

Countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia

State legislation is largely or entirely derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Anomalous discrimination by local or provincial authorities, or overseas territories
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in at least some public schools (without secular or humanist alternatives)
‘Blasphemy’ or criticism of religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Government figures or state agencies openly marginalize, harass, or incite hatred or violence against the non-religious
Government authorities push a socially conservative, religiously or ideologically inspired agenda, without regard to the rights of those with progressive views
It is illegal to advocate secularism or church-state separation, or such advocacy is suppressed
Prohibitive interreligious social control (including interreligious marriage bans)
Quasi-divine veneration of a ruling elite is enforced, or a single-party regime holds uncontested power, subject to severe punishment
Legal or constitutional provisions exclude non-religious views from freedom of belief
It is illegal to register an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization, or such groups are persecuted by authorities
There is a religious tax or tithing which is compulsory, or which is state-administered and discriminates by precluding non-religious groups
The non-religious are barred from holding government office
Some concerns about children's right to specifically religious freedom

This condition may apply if specifically religious education, religious materials, or specific religious denominations are so tightly controlled that children are in fact over-protected from exposure to religion and are likely unable to explore or construct their own worldview in accordance with their evolving capacities. This condition helps us to classify states (perhaps with secular constitutions) which have criminalized specifically religious beliefs or practices. This condition is not applied if the restricted beliefs or practices are found to be outlawed due to their being of an extremist variety. While this condition does not directly reflect discrimination against non-religious persons or non-religious ideas, it does represent an overall threat to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief; such restrictions could spill over to affect non-religious beliefs later; and they pose a risk of backlash against over-zealous secular authorities or even against non-religious individuals by association.

Countries: China, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guyana, Italy, Kazakhstan, Laos, Madagascar, Mexico, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe

It is illegal or unrecognised to identify as an atheist or as non-religious
It is made difficult to register or operate an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization
Legend
 
Systemic Discrimination
Mostly Satisfactory
Free and Equal
More information about rating table

Constitution and government

The constitution affirms the right of freedom of expression, conscience, and religion for all residents regardless of their religious convictions. It provides for the separation of religious groups from public institutions and for equal rights for all religious groups, stipulates the country does not have an official religion, is a secular state and prohibits discrimination based on religion and ethnicity.

Education and children’s rights

In Kosovo, public education institutions shall refrain from teaching religion or other activities that propagate a specific religion.

However, in practice this rule is not upheld consistently. the government provides funding to the madrassahs of the Kosovo Islamic Community (BIK). It does not fund religious education for any other religious group. In addition, ethnic Serbs, Gorani, Croatians, and some Roma attend Serbian-language public schools, which follow a curriculum designed by the Serbian government. The restriction on religious instruction does not apply to those schools. It has been reported that most ethnic Serbs enroll in Serbian Orthodox religious classes instead of civic education. The salaries of all teachers working for Serbian Language schools are funded by the Serbian government, including religious instruction.
<state.gov/documents/organization/281166.pdf>

Confusion on headscarves

In January 2009, 16-year-old girl Arjeta Halimi was banned from school when she was ordered by the principal and a security guard at her school to remove the headscarf or leave the institution’s grounds. She was not allowed to return to school, although school authorities permitted her to take her final examinations while in hijab.
<bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11065911>

However, there is no clear national legislation banning headscarves in public schools across Kosovo. The Ministry of Education issued a set of guidelines to municipal education authorities with respect to school dress codes and uniforms but there is no mention of a complete ban on headscarves. Municipalities may however decide on how they want to approach the matter and may adopt administrative bans.
<patheos.com/blogs/mmw/2013/02/the-media-and-the-headscarf-kosovo-public-schools-edition-not-the-final-episode/>

Family, Community, Society

Census data from 2011 estimated that 95.6 percent of the population is Muslim, 2.2 percent is Roman Catholic, and 1.4 percent is Serbian Orthodox.
<state.gov/documents/organization/281166.pdf>

There is very limited evidence of overt atheism in Kosovo.

The mainstream of Muslim culture in Kosovo is usually considered very “moderate” by global standards. One observer comments that “Kosovo’s brand of Islam may be the most liberal in the world”, with conservative religious dress in a minority, alcohol openly and lawfully available, and a “European” attitude to social norms cited approvingly by many.
<city-journal.org/html/really-moderate-muslims-kosovo-13128.html>

LGBTI+ rights

Article 24 of the Constitution of Kosovo bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. However, law enforcement remains weak.

Despite the generally relatively liberal culture, there are reports of widespread homophobia, and members of the LGBTI+ community are often forced to remain hidden.

Public incidents of homophobia include disruptive and threatening behaviour at the September 2013 launch of the “SEX” issue of a magazine Kosovo 2.0 magazine, during which the police are accused of failing to adequately protect the participants; and in July 2016 an attack on a gay couple by the owner of the apartment they were renting out, when he discovered their sexual orientation. The renters were forced to jump from the second floor balcony, but even though the perpetrator threatened the victims in the presence of the police, he was not arrested.
<lgbti-era.org/content/kosovo>

There are currently three national active LGBT organisations in Kosovo. The organizations are often targets of hate speech and online harassment.

In Kosovo, transgender people are not allowed to legally change their gender, even when they undergo sex reassignment surgery.

Although abortion is legal up to the 10th week of pregnancy, only 5 out of the 122 gynaecological clinics are permitted by the Ministry of Health to provide abortions, and only one of these clinics is public. Even at this one clinic, posters containing quotes such as: “Abortion is a crime committed by the mother” are displayed.
<safeabortionwomensright.org/lavortement-au-kosovo-une-mission-quasi-impossible/>

Freedom of expression, advocacy of humanist values

While the constitution protects freedoms of expression and the press, it makes exceptions for speech that provokes ethnic hostility. Freedom of assembly is guaranteed by the constitution, but with safeguards for national security and public order.

Defamation is a criminal offense punishable by fines. On April 26 2017, the Justice Ministry proposed the enforcement of articles criminalizing insults and defamation of the president and other senior officials, subject to up to five years imprisonment. Following criticism, the Ministry retracted the proposal.

Direct and indirect political interference remains widespread in the media. The Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) is financed by taxpayers and governed by a board appointed by the parliament.

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AGK) has claimed that government officials, businesses, radical religious groups, and media owners have repeatedly issued verbal threats against journalists and their employers, which frequently result in self-censorship. Due to this, editors have reportedly barred their reporters from publishing or broadcasting stories that are critical of the government.
<freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2015/kosovo>

Journalists occasionally received offers of financial benefits in exchange for positive reporting or for abandoning an investigation.

The AGK estimated more than 20 attacks and threats against media workers in the first months of 2017. However, successful criminal prosecutions of attacks against journalists are rare.

In September 2017, Insajderi, an internet news portal, reported that Assembly member Beke Berisha threatened to kill its editor in chief, Vehbi Kajtazi. The alleged threats related to an article stating that an advisor to the prime minister, Gazmend Syla, had criminal affiliations and that Berisha had been convicted of murdering his neighbor. <state.gov/documents/organization/277425.pdf>