Yugoslavia: Treatment of Roman Catholic ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, including the availability of protection to them against instances of ill-treatment (2000-2003)

Information on the treatment of Roman Catholic ethnic Albanians in Kosovo is scarce.

International Religious Freedom Report 2002 stated that the majority of the population in Kosovo is ethnic Albanian, of which approximately three per cent are Roman Catholic (7 Oct. 2002, Sec. I), and that religious and ethnic discrimination is prohibited by Kosovo's Constitutional Framework (7 Oct. 2002 Sec. II). During the period covered by the report (1 July 2001 to 30 June 2002), the UNMIK (United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo) and the provisional Kosovo Government "generally respected this right in practice," and there were no reports of persons having been imprisoned or detained for religious reasons (ibid., Sec. II). Although according to the report "religion is not a significant factor" in Kosovo (ibid., Sec. I), some members of religious missionaries, including Catholic missionaries, have experienced discrimination from the society (ibid., Sec. II).

In its October 2003 country assessment of Serbia and Montenegro, the United Kingdom's Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) stated that there is cooperation between Muslim Albanians and Catholic Albanians "along ethnic lines" (Sec. K6.11). This, according to openDemocracy.net, an independent, international magazine of politics and culture (openDemocracy.net n.d.), was also the case in 2001:

... most Albanians [in Kosovo] know that their future security depends on tolerance and co-existence with other peoples. Their leaders recognize that any constitution must safeguard the rights of minorities. Their attitude to religion is a hopeful sign. Although the majority are Muslims, intermarriage with Catholics is so common that individual cases go unremarked (ibid. 7 June 2001).

IND also stated that

[although] there is no evidence of Catholic Albanians being persecuted specifically on religious grounds, [t]here are certain areas within Kosovo where they may have come under suspicion of collaboration with the Serb regime. ... Such suspicion was fuelled by the fact that Catholic Albanian villages suffered relatively little damage during the conflict [which ended in 1999] (UK Oct. 2003, Sec. K6.11).

In its 2001 report entitled Under Orders: War Crimes in Kosovo, Human Rights Watch (HRW) indicated that, in the municipality of Mitrovica (Mitrovicë), human rights abuses after 12 June 1999 have included "considerable Albanian-on-Albanian violence." The report also stated that Albanian Catholics and the families of Albanians who are former employees of the Serbian state, particularly in Prizren, Djakovica and Klina, have been accused of collaborating with Serbian authorities during the conflict, and as a result "have been beaten and forced from their homes" (HRW 2001). Albanian political followers have also been targeted (ibid.).

For additional information on the treatment of Roman Catholic ethnic Albanians, please refer to International Religious Freedom Report 2002 and to the attached June 2000 article from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty entitled "Serbia: Coexistence Tense in Ethnically Mixed Village in Kosovo."

Information on the availability of protection from ill-treatment to Roman Catholic ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

It is relevant to note, however, that

Religion and ethnicity are entwined closely throughout the [Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (including Kosovo)]. In many cases, it is difficult to identify discriminatory acts as primarily religious or primarily ethnic in origin (International Religious Freedom Report 2002 7 Oct. 2002, Sec. III).

In addition, several sources report that most of the violence in Kosovo is ethnically and politically motivated against Serbs and Roma (HRW 2001; ibid. 2003, 398; IHF 26 July 2000; ibid. 26 June 2001, 385; ibid. 28 May 2002, 386; Country Reports 2001 4 Mar. 2002, Sec. 5; Country Reports 2002 31 Mar. 2003, Sec. 5). According to the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF), in the post-war period,

An overwhelming climate of primarily revenge and hate-driven ethnically motivated persecution against Serbs emerged, presumably primarily to revenge for crimes committed by both the Serbian Government and local Serbs during the war (26 June 2001, 387).

HRW adds that, in addition to the "revenge and retaliation" explanation, much of the violence is politically motivated by the desire to turn Kosovo into an independent Albanian state by ridding it of non-ethnic Albanians (2001). Political reasons for the violence in Kosovo were also cited by the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia (May 2001, 2).

The result has been an unsafe environment in which the ability of non-Albanians to move around freely following the introduction of mobile patrols by the Kosovo Peacekeeping Force (KFOR) has led to "persistent intimidation and harassment, such as stone throwing, vandalism, and verbal abuse" (HRW 2003, 398). The security risk associated with the freedom of non-Albanians to move around was also reported by the IHF (26 July 2000; 28 May 2002, 386; 26 June 2001, 387), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2001 (4 Mar. 2002, Sec. 5), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2002 (31 Mar. 2003) and HRW (2001). However, as Human Rights Watch noted in 2001, homes and places of worship were also burned and looted (2001).

IND indicated that the situation of ethnic minorities is different from one area to another in Kosovo, and that "[i]n some areas the communities are deeply divided, with Mitrovica being the most severe example" (Oct. 2003, Sec. K6. 36). The municipality of Mitrovica is split into a northern part, which is predominantly inhabited by Serbs, and a southern part that is inhabited mostly by Albanians (OSCE/UNHCR Mar. 2003, 31). Since the courts are located in the northern part, Albanians experience problems accessing them due to security concerns, and they must use transportation that is provided by UNMIK, which is infrequent and irregular (ibid.). Further, both ethnic groups – Serbs and Albanians – who do not live in the part of the municipality in which their ethnic group is in the majority – feel unsafe about accessing medical treatment from doctors of a different ethnic community (ibid., 42).

On the other hand, IND states that in areas such as Prizren, "there is a long tradition of mutual acceptance among different communities" (Oct. 2003, Sec. K6.36). Please refer to the attached article from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty for information on cooperation between Albanians and Serbs in the village of Binac, Kosovo. IND explains further that the status of the relationship between ethnic groups in Kosovo "depend[s] upon the situation in a particular area [of Kosovo] before the conflict, and events that took place during it" (Oct. 2003, Sec. K6. 36).

The violence perpetuated against the Serbs and Roma has also resulted in retaliatory violence against Albanians (IHF 26 June 2001; ibid. 28 May 2002, 388; ibid. 26 July 2000, 389; see also Country Reports 2001 4 Mar. 2002, Sec. 5; Country Reports 2002 31 Mar. 2003, Sec. 5).

Those instigating the violence in Kosovo tend to be individuals (IHF 26 June 2001, 385-86) or Serb and Albanian extremist groups (ibid.; HRW 2001; ibid. 2003, 399).

In the period following the war (beginning July 1999), incidents of violence in Kosovo have been declining (IHF 28 May 2002, 386; ibid. 26 June 2001, 385; International Religious Freedom Report 2002 7 Oct. 2002; Country Reports 2002 31 Mar. 2003; Country Reports 4 Mar. 2002; UNHCR Dec. 2001, 200)

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2002. 31 March 2003. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. [Accessed 3 Nov. 2003]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2001. 4 March 2002. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. [Accessed 3 Nov. 2003]

Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia. May 2001. "Albanians in Kosovo." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2003]

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 2003. Human Rights Watch World Report 2003. [Accessed 31 Oct. 2003]
_____. 2001. "Abuses After June 12, 1999." Under Orders: War Crimes in Kosovo. [Accessed 31 Oct. 2003]

International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF). 28 May 2002. "Kosovo." Human Rights in the OSCE Region: The Balkans, the Caucasus, Europe, Central Asia and North America Report 2002 (Events of 2001). [Accessed 31 Oct. 2003]
_____. 26 June 2001. "Kosovo." Human Rights in the OSCE Region: The Balkans, the Caucasus, Europe, Central Asia and North America Report 2001 (Events of 2000). [Accessed 31 Oct. 2003]
_____. 26 July 2000. "Continuing Ethnic Crimes in Kosovo." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2003]

International Religious Freedom Report 2002. 7 October 2002. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. [Accessed 31 Oct. 2003]

openDemocracy.net [London]. n.d. "Overview." [Accessed 4 Nov. 2003]
_____. 7 June 2001. Scarlett McGwire. "In Kosovo, Statehood Is the Solvent for War." [Accessed 3 Nov. 2003]

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)/United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). March 2003. "Tenth Assessment of the Situation of Ethnic Minorities in Kosovo. Period Covering May 2002 to December 2002." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2003]

United Kingdom (UK). October 2003. Immigration and Nationality Directorate, Home Office. Country Report: Serbia and Montenegro. [Accessed 31 Oct. 2003]

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). December 2001. "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia." Global Appeal 2002. [Accessed 31 Oct. 2003]

Attachment

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). 16 June 2000. Weekday Magazine - Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia-Montenegro. Jolyon Naelele. "Serbia: Coexistence Tense in Ethnically Mixed Village in Kosovo." [Accessed 3 Nov. 2003]

Additional Sources Consulted

Dialog/WNC

IRB Databases

Internet sources, including:

BBC

Catholic World News

European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI)

Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and Montenegro

Minority Rights Group International

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR)

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