On Mar. 14, the NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR) Commander, Major-General Salvatore FARINA, welcomed women’s rights activists to speak to high officials regarding the position of women in Kosovo. KWN Executive Director Igballe Rogova informed KFOR officials, providing a chronology of women’s involvement in peace processes since 1994. This included Kosovo activists’ involvement in the former Yugoslavia’s Women in Black meetings, which fostered positive relations among all ethnic groups, facilitating post-conflict peace-building processes. “This experience taught us to detest the Serbian regime, but not Serbian people,” she said. Rogova also emphasized that money cannot buy reconciliation and that collaboration among ethnic groups must come “in our time and our way.” To evidence this, she shared stories from   KWN’s efforts to (re)build relations among Serbs and Albanians since 2000. Rogova also underlined the importance of men’s involvement in furthering gender equality in post-conflict situations.

     Aferdita Sylaj from Community Building Mitrovica (CBM) also spoke about the role that her organisation has played in building relations among diverse ethnic groups living in North Mitrovica.

     This high level discussion followed a meeting between Rogova, KFOR Gender Advisor Lotta Ekvall and KFOR Commander Major-General Salvatore Farina at Film City, Prishtina on Mar. 14. During the meeting, they discussed political issues, local elections and the situation of women in Kosovo.
     KWN welcomes and thanks KFOR for these recent efforts to implement UNSCR 1325 by consulting with women’s rights activists about the specific needs of women and girls in Kosovo’s post-conflict context.