July 5, 2021
LETTER OF REACTION TO THE PROJECT CIVIL CODE
The Civil Code of Kosovo Project, funded by the European Union Office to draft the Civil Code, posted on their Facebook page on 1 July 2021 regarding the meetings held with working groups where the issue of marriages between persons of the same sex was completely ignored.
NOTICE: The original post from the official page of the Civil Code in Kosovo has been edited and does not entirely match the link that is attached below. To see the original post please click on “Edit History”).
For more information, please see: https://www.facebook.com/478477695826460/posts/1574454176228801/?d=n
In this post (press release), the issue of same-sex marriage has been completely ignored. Furthermore, no mention is made of any of the non-governmental organizations that have raised this issue and submitted concrete recommendations regarding the definition of marriage, with the exception of the Kosovo Women’s Network, which was just one of the many advocacy group organizations made of many of them, which have consistently lobbied for same-sex marriage.
Ignoring our recommendations regarding the regulation of marriage in the Civil Code has been, to some extent, expected. However, the lack of public presentation of the working group discussions and the failure to document the contribution of the CEL and CSGD organizations in these discussions is worrying and confirms our doubts about this process that we had from the beginning:
- These consultative meetings are nothing more than a farce of the Ministry to pretend that they are holding consultations with civil society and the Civil Code Project is supporting this farce
- After the meetings, no minutes of the discussions and conclusions of the meetings with the participants were shared, which proves that there is no interest in documenting the constructive arguments of the civil society.
- There is a tendency to manipulate the results of meetings in the eyes of relevant institutions, stakeholders and the general public.
- The approach of ignoring LGBTI community continues, not including or mentioning the same or the minimum contributing aspect in the public consultation process
This action of the Civil Code Project, in addition to showing that there is no will to address the issues raised by civil society, represents a deliberate and well-thought-out tendency of the Civil Code to misinform the public, institutions and other relevant actors. Such a statement should be of concern to the European Union Office in Kosovo, the Ministry of Justice, Civil Society and all other stakeholders. When there is hesitation and ignoring the discussion of the rights of the LGBTI community in public discourse, and even more so in the official one – it is implied that legal protection will not be provided to this community neither through the draft civil code.
We therefore call out the sponsor of this project, the EU Office in Kosovo, to closely monitor the project they are funding and to ensure that the concerns of civil society, which are of public interest, are carefully analyzed and addressed, in accordance with international standards, the spirit of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo and the legislation in force.
As it is very likely that the Civil Code Project may not have conveyed to you the right or no information regarding the results of the meetings of the working group with civil society, we would like to inform you through this letter with the positions that we have expressly presented in these meetings orally and in writing.
We, the following organizations, think that to date the Civil Code Project has failed to regulate the issue of marriage in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, has failed to apply the practices of the European Court of Human Rights and has failed to draft legislation that is comprehensive and non-discriminatory on the basis of sexual orientation. It is clear that the Draft Civil Code excludes persons from the right to partnership and the right to start a family on the basis of sexual orientation. As such, it is discriminatory and violates Article 24 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law, and Article 37 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to marriage and family.
Therefore, we remind you once again of our positions and recommendations:
- In the Kosovo constitutional right, the right to marriage and family is a fundamental right.
- Being a fundamental right, the right to marriage and family, all should be allowed to enjoy it without discrimination in accordance with Article 24 of the Constitution.
- Prohibition of discrimination in guaranteeing the enjoyment of rights protected by law is also a requirement of international standards accepted and directly applicable in Kosovo
- Article 22 of the Constitution makes directly applicable the European Convention on Human Rights and Freedoms and its Protocols. In accordance with Article 1 of Protocol 12, States are obliged to provide equal protection for all without discrimination on the basis of all the rights mentioned, not only those protected by the Convention but also those protected by domestic law.
- The tendency to regulate other forms of marriage / cohabitation by special laws is unacceptable and discriminatory.
- The use of neutral terminology related to sex or gender, makes Civil Code equal and accessible to all citizens of Kosovo.
Organizations:
Center for Social Groups Development – CSGD
Center for Freedom and Equality of the LGBT Community in Kosovo – CEL Kosovo
Kosovo Center for Gender Studies – KCGS
Youth Initiative for Human Rights Kosovo
Kosovo Women’s Network – KWN
Civil Rights Defenders
Supporters:
ATRC
Balkans Policy Research Group – BPRG
CDF
ÇOHU
ECMI Kosova
INTEGRA NGO
KIPRED
ORCA
Kosovo Center for Rehabilitation of Tortured Victims – KRCT
RROGRAEK
Terre des hommes Kosove
TOKA
SBUNKER
