Population of women: (estimated) 998,000/2,000,000
Life expectancy of women (at birth): n/a
School life expectancy for women: n/a

Net Attendance Rate for women ages 15-18: Albanian females - 56%; Serbian females - 93%
Adult illiteracy for women: 10.2%
Unemployment of women: Ages 20-24 - 72%; Ages 25-59 - 53%
Adult economic activity rate: n/a

Source: Profile: Kosovo, United Nations Population Fund, September 2002. (Some statistics provided may be from previous years and other sources as cited in Profile: Kosovo.)

Last Updated 5 January 2004

The Advocates for Human Rights is in the process of updating this page. Revisions and additions are forthcoming. Please check back frequently for updates.

Kosovo is an international protectorate administered by the United Nations. It is technically a part of Serbia and Montenegro, but the legal authority of the region is the UN Interim Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which was passed in 1999, grants UNMIK considerable autonomy in Kosovo, and the rule of law in Kosovo is set forth in regulations promulgated by UNMIK. 

In large part due to the war in Kosovo, which lasted from 1998 until June 1999, the region remains unstable and a final status for Kosovo has not been determined. The U.S. State department has reported that 17,500 troops still occupy Kosovo in its Background Note on Serbia and Montenegro. However, Kosovo has steadily been making progress toward self-government. The 2001 Constitutional Framework for Provisional Self-Government in Kosovo establishes a Kosovo Assembly and Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG). By 2002, the PISG ministries were formed, and the Kosovo Assembly began passing laws. Throughout 2003, UNMIK transferred much of its authority to the PISG ministries, but still retains powers related to state sovereignty, such as foreign policy and security, until a final political status is determined.

The general unrest in the country has detracted from the government's ability to protect the human rights of the citizens of Kosovo. Women, in particular, have been impacted by the conflict, and violence against women is a widespread and serious problem. UNIFEM  reports the following in regard to women's situation in Kosovo:

"Kosovar women experienced the 1999 conflict in a multitude of ways. While in a few cases they took up arms, the majority of them lived through the crisis as civilians. Thousands of Kosovar women fell victim to "ethnic cleansing", thousands were killed, three-hundred villages were destroyed and more than 200,000 refugees fled the country. Between May and September 1999, 860,000 people were displaced. Although ethnically Albanian women were targeted in greater number, ethnically Serbian, Roma, Egyptian and Ashkaelia women also experienced forced displacement, violence and insecurity."

The report also claims that women from ethnic minorities are still being targeted. In fact, women from all statuses and ethnic origins are still feeling the repercussions of the violence that occurred in Kosovo. UNMIK has taken steps to improve the status of women and stop violence. In October 1999, an Office of Gender Affairs was established within the framework of UNMIK, according to UNIFEM. There is also a UNMIK Police Trafficking and Prostitution Investigations Unit to combat prostitution and trafficking. Trafficking victims are not prosecuted, but are given assistance, medical treatment and counseling.

UNMIK Regulation 2001/9 on a Constitutional Framework for Provisional Self-Government in Kosovo guarantees everyone the equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms without discrimination (Article 3.1). In addition, Article 3.2 states that the Provisional Institutions of Self Government are to adhere to international human rights standards set forth by several instruments, including CEDAW. As of 6 July 2003, UNMIK Regulation No. 2003/25 provides for a new Provisional Criminal Code, which is to enter into force on 6 April 2004. The Provisional Criminal Code punishes the violation of equal status of individuals (Article 158). Article 158(1) punishes anyone who "unlawfully denies or limits the freedoms or rights of a resident of Kosovo" based on protected grounds, including sex, by imprisonment of six months to five years. If a public official commits the offense through his or her official capacity, the prison sentence ranges from six months to seven years, depending on the type of violation. An Ombudsperson has been created to hear complaints of human rights violations by the interim administration or other institution and is required to give special attention to allegations of discrimination (Section 3.1). 

On 9 May 2003, UNMIK Regulation 2003/12 on protection against domestic violence entered into force. Section 1.2 defines domestic violence as intentional acts or omissions between two people who are or have been in a domestic relationship. Such acts or omissions include: infliction of bodily injury; non-consensual sexual acts or sexual exploitation; causing fear for physical, emotional or economic well-being; kidnapping; causing damage to property; unlawfully restricting freedom of movement; forced entry onto the property of the other person; forced removal of the other person from a common habitation; prohibiting the other person from entering or leaving a common residence; engaging in a pattern of conduct to degrade the other person. "Domestic relationship" is defined as a relationship between two individuals: who are engaged, married or cohabitating without marriage; who share a household and are related by blood, marriage, adoption, guardianship, or; who are the parents of a common child (Section 1.1). Chapter 2 provides for protection orders, emergency protection orders and interim emergency protection orders. Chapter IV, entitled "Criminal Offences and Proceedings," states violation of these protection orders may be punished by a fine or imprisonment up to six months (Section 15). Violations of protection orders and the crimes of light bodily injury and damaging other's property in a domestic relationship are to be automatically prosecuted (Section 16).

Article 153 of the Provisional Criminal Code, entering into force on 6 April 2004, also punishes light bodily harm by a fine or a maximum prison sentence of one year. Article 153(4) states that when the offense is committed against a "person with whom the perpetrator has a domestic relationship," the perpetrator may be punished by imprisonment of three months to three years. Article 154, which criminalizes "grievous bodily harm," punishes the offense by six months to ten years, depending on the degree of physical injury. When a domestic relationship exists between the perpetrator and the victim, the minimum sentence increases to one year or two years, depending on the degree of physical injury.

On 6 January 2003, amendments to the Criminal Code of the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo relating to rape entered into force. UNMIK Regulation No. 2003/1 punishes rape under Articles 74, 75 and 76. Article 74 imposes a prison sentence of one to ten years for forcing another to have sexual intercourse by force or threat of violence. If the offense results in serious physical harm or death of the victim, was committed in a particularly cruel, humiliating or grave manner, or was committed by several individuals, the minimum prison sentence is three years. Article 75 imposes a prison sentence of six months to five years for forcing another to have sexual intercourse by threats to reputation or threats of serious cruelty to another person. Article 76 imposes a prison sentence of three months to five years for having sexual intercourse with a helpless person. The Provisional Criminal Code, not yet in force, punishes various sexual offenses. Article 193 defines rape as forcing another person to engage in a sexual act without consent, or by force, threat of harm, or exploiting a person's circumstances. "Sexual act" is defined as the "penetration of any part of the body of a person with a sexual organ, or the penetration of the anal or genital opening of a person with any object or any other part of the body" (Article 192(3)). Consent is defined as "the voluntary agreement of a person who has reached the age of sixteen years to engage in the sexual act in question" (Article 192(1)). Articles 192 (1) to (4) further states what is not considered consent, including: an expression of non-agreement through words or conduct; an agreement that is expressed by someone other than the victim; an agreement that is obtained through deception, fear or intimidation and where force, threat or exploitation has not been used, and; an inability to consent due to chemical impairment.  The Provisional Criminal also punishes forcing another to commit sexual acts through threats to honor or reputation (Article 194); sexual assault (Article 195); degradation of sexual integrity (Article 196); sexual abuse of someone with mental or emotional disorders (Article 197); sexual abuse of children under sixteen years of age (Article 198), and promotion of sexual acts or sexual touching of children under sixteen years of age (Article 199)

While there is no explicit prohibition of sexual harassment, Article 78(1) imposes imprisonment of three months to three years on any person who, by abusing his or her position, forces a subordinate or dependent person to engage in sexual intercourse. The Provisional Criminal Code punishes forcing another person to engage in a sexual act by abusing control over the victim's circumstances by six months to five years' imprisonment (Article 200(1)(1)).

Trafficking has become a serious problem in Kosovo. According to OSCE's Combatting Trafficking in Kosovo report, Kosovo is primarily a destination point, and more recently, a point of origin. The majority of trafficked victims were from Moldova. Trafficking is prohibited under UNMIK Regulation No. 2001/4 "On the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons in Kosovo." Section 1 defines trafficking as, "the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation." Section 2 prescribes the punishment for trafficking as two to twelve years' imprisonment (Section 2.1). The sentence increases to a maximum of fifteen years if the victim is a juvenile (Section 2.2) and to a maximum of twenty years if more than one victim is trafficked. Facilitating trafficking through negligence is also punishable by six months to five years' imprisonment (Section 2.4). The Regulation also criminalizes other aspects of trafficking, including withholding of identification papers (Section 3) and using or procuring the sexual services of a trafficked victim (Section 4). Chapter 3 addresses victim protection and assistance. Section 10 provides for victim assistance, including free interpretation, free legal aid, temporary residence, social welfare, and psychological and medical services. A Victim Assistance Coordinator is authorized to carry out the Regulation and aid victims of trafficking (Section 9). Since February of 2000, the International Organization for Migration has provided assistance to several trafficking victims in Kosovo and is one of the leading organizations that aids trafficking victims.

Note: The use of the Serbian spelling "Kosovo," rather than the Albanian spelling "Kosova," does not in any way represent a political belief or position of the authors of Stopvaw.

Complied from:

Combatting Trafficking in Kosovo, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, 5 June 2001. (PDF, 7 pages).

Kosovo, UNIFEM, 22 December 2003.

Background Note: Serbia and Montenegro, Released by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, 2003.