20 December 2011

The Deputy Head of EULEX Andy Sparkes today handed over the first certified copy of civil registry books to the Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Edita Tahiri. The documents, related to Janjevë/Janjevo and Lipjan/Lipljan municipalities, consist of birth certificates.

EULEX certified the documents on 6 December as part of the EU facilitated Dialogue agreement reached on 2 July 2011. Once the agreement is fully implemented it will contribute to establishing a sustainable and reliable Civil Registry in Kosovo as envisioned in the European Commission Progress Report, and act as a future benchmark on the road map for the opening of a visa dialogue.

After the documents were handed over the Deputy Head of EULEX Andy Sparkes said:

“This is a good example of EULEX involvement in the implementation of all agreements reached through the Dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade facilitated by Brussels. A lot remains to be done but the process is now moving forward and EULEX encourages both sides to continue, convinced about the positive outcome. “

A reliable Civil Status is of crucial importance for ordinary people as it provides them with legal certainty. The Civil Status contains all relevant information on the different stages of life of a person such as the birth, marriage, or death. This is just the start of the process. There are more than fourteen thousand original registry books that will be scanned, copied and certified.