The results of the Horizontal Facility Action “Enhancing human rights policing in Kosovo” were presented at a closing event that took place in Pristina on 14 May 2019. The event highlighted the Actions’ contribution to strengthening the safeguards against ill-treatment and securing better protection of the human rights of persons under police custody.

More specifically, the Action contributed to the development of updated and interactive human rights training materials for police officers and the staff of the Police Inspectorate, the improvement of the relevant by-laws and operational procedures and overall enhancement of the professionalism and the ethical standards in the everyday police work.

The Criminal Law Cooperation Unit (CLCU) project team presented the accomplished results and the means to ensure sustainability of the outputs beyond the project’s duration. The importance of the achievements, as well as challenges and lessons learned were also highlighted by the beneficiaries, namely the Chief Executive of the Police Inspectorate of Kosovo and the head of human resources of the Kosovo Police.

The CLCU Project Manager opened the event, followed by welcome addresses by the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Pristina, the Acting Head of the Rule of Law and Advisory on Legal Matters of the European Union Office in Kosovo and the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs. Some 50 participants from local institutions, including the National Preventive Mechanism, as well as international organisations and media took part at the conference.

The Action was co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe, as part of the “Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey”.

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.