On 10 September 2020, the Head of Office Frank Power and the local Project Manager for the “Reinforcing the fight against violence against women and domestic violence in Kosovo* - Phase II” Merita Limani had a meeting with the Deputy Minister of Justice and National Coordinator on Domestic Violence Florian Dushi, and Florentina Beqiraj, the Gender Officer at the Ministry of Justice, to discuss matters of mutual interest.
The meeting featured discussions on the work of the Councill of Europe, on the Istanbul Convention, on the challenges posed by the issues with domestic violence and violence against women locally and internationally, and on the ongoing support that the Council of Europe provides to the Ministry of Justice and other authorities through our project on the fight against violence against women and domestic violence. The National Coordinator discussed the Ministry of Justice initiatives to draft the New Strategy on Domestic Violence in Kosovo*, the ongoing work to amend the law on domestic violence, the initiative for launching a new awareness raising campaign against domestic violence. He also acknowledged the support of the Council of Europe project in all these components with particular emphasis on the research on perpetrators of domestic violence as one of the unique works elements of the project and the capacity building activities for legal professionals.
Both parties reiterated their, and the mutual commitment to fight the violence against women and domestic violence in Kosovo* and agreed to continue cooperate closely in the future.
* All references to Kosovo, whether the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.