Kosovo: Wrestling to Find Its Place in Society
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Kosovo’s civil society was fairly well developed during the 1990s, as society struggled to resist against a decade of severe repression. The post-conflict period had brought about a different kind of struggle for civil society: wrestling to find its place in a newly created reality.
Complementing the setting up of new institutions, civil society development has been a priority for international donors in Kosovo since 1999. They considered a strong civil society as a stabilizing factor and an instrument to bring about social cohesion in a post-communist and post-war region which had completely lacked governmental structures and a functional political system. A strong and active civil society was seen as a necessary complement to the new provisional government institutions set up by the UN Mission in Kosovo. This issue had become a priority for Kosovar civic activists, the United Nations, and a number of other institutions and individuals after establishment of UNMIK, in 1999. On 15 November 1999, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General signed UNMIK Regulation 1999/22 governing the regulation and operation of non-governmental organizations in Kosovo. According to this Regulation an NGO could be either an ‘association’ or a ‘foundation’ established to pursue an issue of public benefit or mutual interest. It described an association as simply a membership organization, while a foundation as a trust fund of money dedicated to support certain activities – which had no members. The Regulation governed the founding, registration, activities, and dissolution of legal persons organized as Non-Governmental Organizations in Kosovo. According to the report of EAR/KOS, civil society organizations, in Kosovo, were also seen as actors who would most readily build bridges between different communities and help promote multiethnicity “from below”. After the post-war reconstruction phase, where civil society organization mostly got short-term funds for the provision of healthcare or education services, international donors got increasingly concerned about the transition towards a “development phase” and about their exit strategy. Keywords of the development phase are the “sustainability” of civil society projects, “capacity-building” and “empowerment” of local civil society organizations, which are trained to bring about “social change” through “advocacy and lobbying”. The international civil-society building programs lead to an inflation of NGO registrations: While in summer 1999 UNMIK had counted 45 international and local NGOs, only a year later the UNMIK NGO Liaison and Registration Unit numbered 267 international and 500 local registered NGOs. Only in the year 2001 as much as 626 new local NGOs were registered. Since the creation of the Provisional Institutions for Self-Government in March 2002, international donors have focused on developing the relationships between local civil society and government, especially since more and more powers have been transferred to the Provisional Institutions. Civil society has also been a key-actor in the process which has led to the beginning of the status negotiations. In January 2006, Julia Nietsch published the report: Civil Society in Kosovo: The Interaction between local NGOs and the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government. This paper, based on interviews conducted Kosovo-wide with local NGO and government representatives, analyzing how local NGOs interact with the Provisional Institutions for Self-Government and where communication between NGOs and government institutions fails. Indeed, emphasize this report, in UN-administered Kosovo, the Provisional Institutions for Self-Government have only limited competencies and local NGOs do not recognize them as power-brokers. On the other side, the Provisional Institutions do not acknowledge the growing influence of local NGOs which they perceive as dependent on international donors. Then, the heritage of the communist times and of the parallel system of the 1990s – the traditional distrust of repressive government structures and of politicized quasi-governmental civil society organizations –, still affects the interaction between the Provisional Institutions and local NGOs, which find it difficult to define their role in a rapidly evolving and instable political and social system. However, the main focus of the international donor community has to date been firmly on the massive reconstruction effort, mainly of housing and infrastructure. Indeed, donor funding from the European Union, which amounts to approximately 70% of all funding provided to Kosovo since the end of the conflict, has also been spent mainly on physical reconstruction. Provisional Institutions and NGO experts Since the establishment of the Provisional Institutions for Self-Government, NGO experts have been progressively involved in decision-making. NGOs have been consulted on draft laws, on policy-design and strategic planning. Most NGOs interviewed have been consulted on draft laws by the central level Provisional Institutions. The NGO Handikos, reaching out to persons with disabilities, successfully proposed the inclusion of provisions on the special needs for children with disabilities into the Law on Primary and Secondary Education. NGOs have also been successful in proposing ideas for draft laws to the Provisional Institutions: While more and more NGOs are involved in designing policies and strategies on central and municipal level. The National Action Plan for Gender Equality was developed by a multiethnic group of women’s NGOs and women politicians who worked together for 10 months in 2003. Following an advocacy campaign by women NGOs, the Prime Minister approved the National Action Plan. A lot of these consultation meetings are initiated by UNMIK or OSCE advisors, but then quickly develop dynamics of their own. NGOs are regularly present in committees of the Assembly of Kosovo and of Municipal Assemblies, such as the Committee of public services. Gender Equality Committees are a good example of interaction between NGOs and the Provisional Institutions. They are non- mandatory committees, which have been set up in 15 of Kosovo’s municipalities so far. Financial Viability of NGOs Financial Viability is the most important dimension for the future of NGOs in Kosovo. Local support continues to be insignificant, with the majority of local philanthropy supporting charity and services. Organizations that work in other areas have greater difficulty raising funds at the local level, or developing a connection with the general population, calling into question their capacity for reaching out to the public or building a constituency. A number of organizations, most often those with a variety of funding sources, are able to write good funding proposals. Organizations that receive donor funding generally have sufficient financial systems, but often lack transparency in their financial transactions. Few organizations realize that their survival depends on the ability to raise funds, and only a small number of NGOs have a staff with appropriate fundraising skills. Organizations are beginning to explore various fundraising techniques, but they often limit their searches to their membership or immediate constituencies, failing to consider demands for other products and services they could provide. More and more, the government has started signing more contracts with NGOs than in the past. The central and local governments contract out a variety of services including home reconstruction and assessments. Most often, government officials contract with NGOs to provide policy papers to support lawmaking efforts. NGO Difficulties… Apart from the many donors leaving the country and funding decreasing respectively, NGOs suffer also from the Value Added Tax Regulation implemented. All NGOs operating in Kosovo are impacted by the regulation on Value Added Tax (VAT) and customs fees. Representatives of non-government organizations in several occasions have discussed the rationale for, and impact of, removing value added tax (VAT) and customs and excise duty exemptions for public benefit NGOs. Representatives of NGOs with public benefit status have called for removal of value added tax and customs and excise duty exemptions. In a conference was organized on October 5th, 2006, Chairman of Mother Teresa Association, Zef Shala had emphasized that, “The current situation has stopped the work of public benefit NGOs, and decreased humanitarian aid for poor communities in Kosovo”. According to him, public benefit status no longer helps NGOs meet the needs of communities in Kosovo. While, during the same conference representatives from UNMIK Pillar IV, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Tax Administration argued that the emergency phase has ended and taxation would contribute to the Kosovo Consolidated Budget. NGO representatives claim that the current VAT and Customs regulations preclude humanitarian aid for many poor people, having in mind that according to World Bank statistics 15% of Kosovars live in destitution. Local NGOs had been entitled to a "public benefit" status before the new regulation took affect on January 1, 2006. Under this status, NGOs were exempt from VAT and customs fees. Until Jan. 1, 2006, NGOs with public benefit status were exempt from value added, customs and excise duty taxes. The current VAT and customs regulations have re-instated taxes for public benefit NGOs. People of Kosovo suffer more from the current laws than non-government organizations and the dialogue to resolve this critical issue should continue. Advocacy Government institutions and NGOs have working groups drafting government policies partnered on numerous projects. Almost all have invited members of the NGO sector and academia to participate. In addition, numerous ad-hoc coalitions were created to react to constituent concerns. The business community is the most active in advocating for the interests of their constituents. At the local level, organizations cooperate with local governments on a variety of matters, including issues of return. Local organizations also promote local products. The NGO community has started considering lobbying as an effective tool. A good example of the king is the Kosovar Women’s Lobby that was created to bring together women from the business, NGO and Government sectors. |
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