UNMIK/FR/016/01
FEATURE RELEASE
- 16 February, 2001
JIAS
department
Democratic Governance and Civil Society
by Robert Pulver*
The JIAS Department of Democratic Governance and Civil Society (DDGCS)
is perhaps unique in the world.
Its main aim is to put the values it
represents-human rights, equal opportunity and democratic governance-into
Kosovo's interim government.
Most of the other 20 departments set up under the 15 December 1999
agreement to establish a joint administration of Kosovo, mirror
traditional European ministries (such as the Department of Health and
Social Welfare, the Department of Labour, the Department of Trade and
Industry, etc.). While there are European ministries that contain similar
functions (Ministries of Women's Affairs, Ministries for National
Minorities, etc.), there is none that that exactly duplicates Kosovo's
Department for Democratic Governance.
The DDGCS stresses the
need to "Kosovarize" the international community's efforts here, and to
involve civil society in law and policy formulation. Members of the
Department are often heard to say that they are attempting to "put the J
(for Joint) in JIAS".
Another difference is that the
Department, while part of the JIAS and UNMIK structures, is the only JIAS
department supported by the OSCE (UNMIK Pillar III). It thus
operates under the supervision of OSCE Head of Mission Ambassador Daan
Everts. Everts says that he "developed this Department as a way to
incorporate key democratic values into Kosovo's emerging governmental
structures. All too often, human rights and other values are left
solely to outside bodies."
Although formally established in
July 2000 by Regulation 2000/40, the DDGCS received its own office space
only in late October 2000. It is charged to follow and observe the work of
the whole JIAS structure and to advise the other departments on questions
of human rights and governance practices. To cover all aspects of
this broad task, the DDGCS is organized as three Bureaus and two Offices.
Two Kosovo professionals and two OSCE internationals will
eventually staff each of the Bureaus: the Human Rights Policy
Bureau, the Equal Opportunity Bureau and the Democratic Governance
Bureau. One OSCE mission member and two Kosovo staff will work in
the NGO Office. The Independent Media Office has no staff at this
point, but will be run by one Kosovo advisor. A team made up of
administrative officers, assistants, translators/interpreters, and an
executive assistant supports the work and ensures that the engines of the
Department run smoothly.
The DDGCS is still in its
build-up stage. At less than 45 per cent of its full staffing level,
it is looking for qualified international and Kosovo staff members.
The Department actively seeks women and those of all ethnic backgrounds to
fill its ranks. Equal opportunity here must go the further step,
they stress. Additional outreach is needed in all of Kosovo's local
and central governing structures (as well as in private business) for
traditionally underrepresented groups, and those in isolated communities
outside of Pristina.
The Co-Heads also highlight the
difficulty of hiring Kosovo staff members on the relatively low salary
structure under Kosovo's budget. Fluent English speaking Kosovo
staff would be financially better off as a basic UNMIK translator, than as
the Co-Head of one of the departments. Thus, many of the staff do
the work out of dedication to the principles embodied in the Department,
rather than for the remuneration.
So far, six highly
qualified Kosovo staff members and seven OSCE internationals run the
Department. Their communication is facilitated by three OSCE
translators/interpreters. When fully established, the DDGCS will
have eleven international members, seventeen Kosovo professional staff and
up to seven translators.
The individual units within the
DDGCS have distinct, but sometimes overlapping, mandates. According
to Dr. Vjosa Dobruna, the Department's Kosovo Co-Head, this leads to
"helpful collaboration of the experts in the Department", rather than
duplication. These parts of the Department have already been
impressively active. For a Department that is supported by
approximately 1per cent of the total budget of the OSCE Mission in
Kosovo, and less than 1/20 of one percent of the Kosovo Consolidated
Budget, the DDGCS has been relatively cost-effective, even during is
start-up phase.
The different units of the Department work as
follows:
The Human Rights Policy Bureau (HRPB) advises other
JIAS departments on draft regulations - including on trafficking, on
domestic violence and on the labour law - in an effort to help UNMIK
develop legislation and practices that are in accordance with
internationally recognised human rights standards. The HRPB, in
conjunction with its UNMIK human rights partners, has launched a Human
Rights Consultation initiative to help ensure effective human rights
protection and promotion throughout the work of the JIAS. In these
consultations, UNMIK/JIAS/UN human rights experts meet with the leadership
of each JIAS department in order to identify and address human rights
issues in their work. The HRPB was also a significant contributor to
the drafting of UNMIK Regulation 2001/4 on the trafficking of human
beings. The HRPB is providing training on the new regulation to Kosovo and
international actors, including police, judges, and prosecutors. The
HRPB similarly participates in efforts to address the issue of domestic
violence. As a think-tank devoted to human rights awareness within
JIAS, the HRPB works with numerous partners inside and outside of the
UNMIK pillars.
The Equal Opportunity Bureau strives to ensure
that all groups of society, including women, minorities and disabled
persons, enjoy equal opportunities in all aspects of public life,
including equal access to employment, job advancement, education, housing
and public services. The Bureau is currently conducting a study of the
employment and personnel management policies and practices of the 20
departments of the central Pristina-based JIAS structure. The Bureau leads
an UNMIK working group on gender issues, and hopes to "Kosovarize" this
effort by developing a committee of Kosovo people to develop gender
policy. The Bureau is developing other projects that will have a
particular impact on women, minorities and the disabled.
The
Democratic Governance Bureau is mandated to encourage transparency,
accountability, public participation, and other principles of good
governance in the JIAS structure. In addition to working with the
Equal Opportunity Bureau on the employment survey, the Democratic
Governance Bureau assisted the JIAS Department for Local Administration in
the implementation of election results-helping to get the new local
government structures up and running. The Democratic Governance
Bureau is also developing a strategy to support the new local governments
to open their structures to public input. Under the relevant UNMIK
regulation, public forums are required to be held at least every six
months in every municipality. Last summer and fall, the Democratic
Governance Bureau advised the UN on all applications of political parties
for registration as legal entities. The effort resulted in the
registration of 25 parties in Kosovo in time for the October 2000
Municipal Elections. The DDGCS is now taking over full
responsibility for political party registration in
Kosovo.
The main aim of the Department's NGO Office is to
facilitate links between NGOs and Kosovo's governing structures. The
Office also strives to work with other UNMIK partners to develop a policy
and regulatory framework that supports NGO development and
accountability. In this regard, the NGO Office advises the JIAS
Department of Public Services on the set-up of its NGO registration
office, facilitates and co-ordinates communication among the multiple
agencies in Kosovo interested in NGO issues, and will advise the IAC and
taxation authorities on the necessity of tax benefits for certain public
interest NGOs. Providing vision to this small Office within the
DDGCS, Dr. Dobruna stresses that a healthy NGO sector is a requisite for
the development of democracy.
Although not yet staffed, the
Department's Media Office will strive to ensure a continued positive
environment for media development. However the DDGCS's role here is
limited: as a governmental structure, it has no role in monitoring media
content, for example. But, once operational, the Media Office can
help formulate governmental media policy with an eye towards protecting
the independence of media and related structures, and will hope to
insulate these structures from any potential inappropriate political
influence.
Given some already impressive results, the DDGCS
stands poised to become a more and more active player in establishing
democratic governance policies and practices in Kosovo's emerging
governing structures. Rather than being an anomaly, the DDGCS may well
provide a model for other countries on how to incorporate the values it
represents into a government structure.
The Departyment's
role will be particularly crucial following any Kosovo-wide
elections. In the months ahead, the DDGCS Co-Heads will continue to
stress the need to involve Kosovo's residents in the decisions that impact
their lives. They will continue to be at the lead of those striving
to put the J (for Joint) in JIAS.
* Mr. Robert Pulver serves as international Co-Head of the
DDGCS. He has worked in both Kosovo and Albania on rule of law and
democratisation issues. He left the relative comfort of a large
Washington, D.C. law practice several years ago to try to promote rule of
law, democracy and human rights in the emerging democracies of Eastern
Europe.
His Kosovar counterpart, Dr. Vjosa Dobruna, is a paediatrician
and human rights activist, who has received numerous international awards
over the last ten years for her health care and human rights work in
Kosovo. Ms. Dobruna is the only local Department Co-Head who has no party
affiliation. She gained her outstanding reputation through her work
as the founder and leader of the women's health and human rights
organisation "Centre for the Protection of Women and Children". She
signed on to the Department, despite less favourable conditions, as a way
to promote human rights and good governance in Kosovo's emerging
government.
Note for editors
For a selection of
photographs, please contact Mr. Ky
Chung at 038 504-604 ext. 5467
Contact: S. Vinogradov
(038) 504 604 Ext. 5528
E-mail: vinogradov@un.org
JIAS department