EULEX together with the Civil Registration Agency senior staff and the Director of the Civil Status Department hosted a workshop on ‘Registering the citizenship of Kosovo as per article 32 of the Law on citizenship’.

Article 32 refers to the registration of citizenship in which all persons who on 1 January 1998 were citizens of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and were residing in Kosovo shall be recognized in the register of citizens of Kosovo.

The aim of the day was to provide participants with a greater understanding of the criteria in relation to evidence on Former Yugoslavia Citizenship and identify areas of improvement for implementation.

Participants also included Representatives of the Department of the Citizen Asylum and Migration, MIA legal office representatives, Heads of Municipal Civil Status Offices and the civil society representatives.

“EULEX is dealing with technical aspects  of Pristina- Belgrade dialogue, in particular the Freedom of Movement agreement. We have provided technical assistance  to the Civil Registry Agency and the Ministry of Internal Affairs on local and central level. This particular Administrative instruction has a direct implication on the Freedom of Movement agreement. More specifically it affects residents living in the northern part of Kosovo since there are still citizens who have not yet obtained their Kosovo documents.” said Mr. Henri Clement, Head of the Advisory Unit On Internal Matters in EULEX.

Participants were able to take part in an interactive discussion, present case scenarios and challenges faced in daily work.  The discussion built on the participant’s knowledge and ability to draft policy and strategic guidelines for the civil status system and the feedback received will be used to enhance the capacity of the Civil Registration agency.

“The importance of this workshop was in identifying challenges in day to day practice implemented by the Civil status officers. We also discussed  implementation and unique cases in order to achieve a joint approach”, said Mr. Blerim Camaj , Director of Civil Status Department within Civil Registry Agency.

The roundtable was part of an overall project that works towards the establishment of a fully reliable civil status system in Kosovo by providing support to the Civil Registration Agency.