As part of the gender analysis of the Draft Law on the Budget of Kosovo for 2025, 149 civil society organizations and partners, including the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) with its 142 member organizations, have developed recommendations for the integration of gender equality in the budget, urging the Kosovo Parliament to address these critical issues. These recommendations call for improved funding and effective implementation of the budget from a gender perspective, in line with Kosovo’s legal obligations and international standards.
Recommendations for the Kosovo Parliament:
Gender Issues:
• Ensure that each municipality has a budget for salaries and daily allowances for gender equality officers, enabling them to fulfill their legal duties. Institutions that have not appointed a gender equality officer for the past four years should do so as soon as possible, as required by relevant regulations.
Addressing Gender-Based Violence:
o The Ministry of Justice should allocate adequate resources for a Rape Crisis Center, provide support for survivors of sexual violence, and establish an SOS hotline, in accordance with the Istanbul.
Convention:
o Increase the budget for Social Work Centers in the category of Salaries and Daily Allowances to employ two additional social workers in each municipality and four in Pristina, specifically tasked with handling cases of gender-based violence. The additional cost amounts to approximately €514,800.
o The Ministry of Internal Affairs should enhance the protection of survivors of gender-based violence and prevent the recurrence of such cases by allocating funds for the purchase and maintenance of electronic monitoring systems.
• Personal Assistance Scheme: Increase the budget line for financing the Personal Assistance Scheme based on the current time required by personal assistants to support persons with disabilities and address labor rights violations faced by personal assistants, which would cost approximately €18.5 million for 2025 based on the minimum wage. Budgeting based on the average gross wage would cost around €30.4 million.
• Adequate Funding for Care Services: The Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) and municipalities should fund the establishment of childcare centers to increase women’s employment and education, ensuring sustainable budget support that is independent of donations.
• Publication of a Gender Budget Statement: The government should publish a Gender Budget Statement in accordance with PEFA commitments and SDG indicator 5.c.1, showing how the budget will contribute to advancing gender equality in Kosovo according to the government’s commitments.
• Budget Transparency: The government should publish all gender budget annexes online for transparency, as required by budget circulars to be submitted by budget organizations.
We urge the Kosovo Parliament to include these recommendations in the 2025 Draft Budget without delay to ensure progress toward gender equality and fulfill the country’s legal obligations.
Supporters
GAP Institute
Kosovar Stability Initiative
Riinvest Institute
Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR) – Kosovo
Kosovo Center for Gender Studies
Kosovo Women’s Network (142 women’s rights organizations)
SIT – Center for Counseling, Social Services, and Research
UN Women
Women for Women Kosovo
