Required by the Law on Gender Equality, the Kosovo Programme for Gender Equality (KPGE) seeks to further gender equality in Kosovo in public and private life across several sectors. Currently, the Agency for Gender Equality in the Office of the Prime Minister is leading the process of drafting the new KPGE for 2025-2035. It has three pillars: 1. Economic Empowerment and Livelihood; 2. Human Development, Media and Gender Relations; and 3. Women, Peace and Security (WPS).

Based on an official decision of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) and its member organisations have been engaged in the official working group that is drafting the new KPGE, including the Kosovar Gender Studies Centre and the Women’s Inclusive Centre.

On 28 January, KWN Deputy Director and Lead Researcher Nicole Farnsworth participated in the working group meeting on Pillar III: “Women, Peace and Security”, during which objectives and actions under this pillar were discussed. This Pillar of the Kosovo Programme for Gender Equality will serve as Kosovo’s official National Action Plan for the implementation of the WPS Agenda.

In recommending actions, Farnsworth drew from KWN’s extensive research and experience, including Peace and Security in Kosovo: A Gender Analysis, which KWN prepared for the European Union (EU) Office in Kosovo last year, towards informing the EU’s strategy for implementing the WPS Agenda in Kosovo. One of the main recommended activities for the KPGE was for the government to ensure quality, lasting financial support for women’s rights organisations as per WPS Agenda commitments, considering the crucial role that women’s rights organisations have played and continue to play in furthering peace, providing crucial services to diverse women survivors of violence, rehabilitation interventions and advising the government and international stakeholders on furthering the implementation of the WPS Agenda. Financial support from the government is particularly crucial in the current global context, as women’s organisations have witnessed drastic cuts in financial support that threatens to undermine their important work.

KWN welcomes input from its members for the KPGE and its actions related to all three pillars. Please send any inputs to info@womensnetwork.org by 15 February so KWN can advocate for your priorities!

The working group began work in November 2025 when a comprehensive situation analysis was presented, prepared by a team of experts. UN Women is providing technical and financial support to this process with financing from the Gender Equality Facility, funded by the EU.