The Office for Good Governance within the Office of the Prime Minister has published the Government’s Strategy for Cooperation with Civil Society 2026–2031 and the Action Plan 2026–2028 for public consultation. The Strategy and Action Plan aim to strengthen partnerships, increase transparency, support EU integration, enhance civil society participation in decision-making, and promote sustainable development.

The Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) has analysed the draft Strategy and Action Plan and, with the aim of best representing the interests of its diverse member organisations and civil society in Kosovo, has provided comments on both documents. Among other things, it calls on the Government to:

• Ensure the draft Strategy adopts an inclusive and gender-sensitive approach, particularly regarding the presentation of data disaggregated by gender, age, ethnicity, rural/urban residence and disability. The presentation of gender-disaggregated data is a requirement under the Law on Gender Equality.
• Take greater account of the geopolitical situation and the risks associated with shrinking foreign development funds, such as the decline in service quality (including protection for victims of gender-based violence) and reduced monitoring and/or engagement of diverse people in EU reform processes. Particular attention should be paid to the impact this situation has on the work of women’s organisations. This has not been adequately addressed in the draft Strategy, nor has there been a commitment to allocate public funds to support the work of diverse organisations. The draft Strategy contains only initial and general steps for co-financing EU projects and service providers. Therefore, the Government should advance concrete commitments to allocate funds to support civil society organisations in: 1) service provision, 2) co-financing (expanding the list beyond EU projects) and 3) research, monitoring, advocacy and other areas. Clear commitments to financial support should be implemented through funding mechanisms established in consultation with various civil society organisations.
• The Action Plan does not clearly outline the Government’s commitments; instead, it relies heavily on foreign donor funding, even though the Government should take responsibility for its implementation.
• Both the draft Strategy and the Action Plan should be based on a Gender Impact Assessment and gender-responsive budgeting, in line with the Law on Gender Equality, and should ensure the collection, analysis and reporting of gender-disaggregated data.

KWN remains committed to advancing the legal framework in support of gender equality and marginalised groups. The Network will continue to monitor these developments in the interests of its members and maintain close cooperation with other civil society organisations and the Government of the Republic of Kosovo in addressing the comments outlined above.