March 25, 2021
Emilia Rexhepi has been appointed as the third Deputy Prime Minister for Minority and Human Rights Issues.
In the same context, in an interview with Kallxo.com in 2019, when asked whether she is for or against same-sex marriages, she said she is AGAINST.
The fact that a person who represents and is called upon to advocate for human rights and supposedly aims for “respect for the law regarding the employment of minority communities” and “the advancement of women in all social spheres” publicly discriminates against other communities – LGBTI – is ironic and suggests that all advocacy and lobbying for human rights is insincere.
The inadequate representation at the institutional level so far has meant that human rights, particularly the rights of LGBTI+ persons, have never been a priority of our government and are continuously violated and not respected.
In Kosovo, with a majority homophobic and transphobic society, awareness is needed from top to bottom. As long as LGBTI+ persons do not have dignified representation from the country’s leaders, they will continue to be discriminated against on a daily basis.
CEL Kosovo calls on Emilia Rexhepi to publicly issue a statement and retract her previous stance since her responsibilities for representing the people of Kosovo have automatically increased since she was appointed as the third Deputy Prime Minister for Minority and Human Rights Issues.
LGBTI+ persons are citizens and taxpayers of Kosovo and should be treated equally with other citizens and their rights respected.
