International conference focuses on community safety in Kosovo

Leading security experts came together at an international conference in Kosovo in April to explore the role of civil society in security building. The conference, organised by Saferworld, was held in Pristina and focused on key security issues within Kosovo and the role civil society plays in contributing to peaceful societies.

“This was a remarkable opportunity to bring together international actors working on community security,” Saferworld’s Ferdinand Nikolla commented. “Civil society has a strong role to play in building accountable, transparent and responsive security provision. What we have seen in Kosovo is a strong improvement in security throughout the country but also a need to ensure more links between security services and community initiatives.”

The conference aimed to share experiences, challenges, and lessons learned to help civil society maximise its contribution to security building. It brought together 50 participants representing civil society organisations (CSOs), institutions and experts from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and the UK, as well as representatives from Saferworld programmes and partners in Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Yemen and Bangladesh.

Thomas Gnocchi, Head of the Political Section at the European Union Office in Kosovo and EU Special Representative, said CSOs have a critical role to play holding institutions to account, something that is important to ensure sound policies are developed that result in responsive security provision. “CSOs have a crucial role to play in fostering dialogue between government and populations. In this regard, civil society can often give voice to marginalised actors to express their needs and concerns, and communicate as a bridge between local communities and policy making. Communities can actively engage through CSOs, ensuring that their priorities are taking into consideration.” Gnocchi went on to underline the importance of this type of conference to raise awareness and exchange lessons and best practice – and said the European Union would continue to support civil society in security building.

A key conclusion of the conference was that civil society has a critical role to play in influencing the quality of policy and decision-making discussions, and ensuring that policies are not just good on paper, but also translate effectively into practice on the ground and affect positive change. Other conclusions included:

• It is essential to build relationships, and most importantly trust, between security providers, CSOs and local communities. Lack of trust has a profound impact on people’s perceptions and attitudes towards authorities.
• External actors (primarily UN and EU missions) should ensure that they are accountable to local people in the countries in which they operate. Civil society oversight should not be restricted to focus on domestic institutions alone, but should also include internationally mandated missions such as the UN and EU.  
• There is a need for more collective efforts among CSOs to set priorities and take action at local, national and international levels.
• Awareness raising and improving information provision on the challenges that authorities, security providers and communities of all backgrounds face is an important role for civil society.
• Representation is a very contentious issue that needs to be addressed. For example, how can we ensure that expert organisations represent the views of CSOs and local people?

The conference was widely covered within Kosovo’s media, including national television channel RTK and TV21. A press release from the Ministry of Internal Affairs said "the concept of community security enables security institutions in Kosovo to enter into partnership with citizens, which is very important to improve the security situation in the country".

Outside the conference, Saferworld colleagues and partners from Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Yemen, Bangladesh and the UK were also able to meet with key national and international community security actors. This included meetings with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Kosovo Police, UNDP and OSCE, as well as with our partners FIQ in Pristina and AKTIV in Mitrovica north – where there were also meetings with police and civil society.

Saferworld partners, colleagues and CSOs from the region were also involved in a TV debate on the role of civil society in addressing peace, conflict and security issues. Kosovo public broadcaster RTK will air the show in June on the channel’s most viewed show called ‘Life in Kosovo’.

For further information about this event, or Saferworld’s work in Europe and Central Asia, please contact Ferdinand Nikolla at fnikolla@saferworld.org.uk

“What we have seen in Kosovo is a strong improvement in security throughout the country but also a need to ensure more links between security services and community initiatives.”

Ferdinand Nikolla