United States Department of State

Kosovo United States Department of State

One of the most serious human rights problems during the year was the obstruction, at times violent, of the parliament by opposition deputies during October- December, which blocked free debate and the passage of legislation. Endemic government and private-sector corruption and the lack of punishment for corrupt acts remained an important human rights problem. Societal violence and discrimination against members of ethnic minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) community constituted a third significant area of concern. Other human rights problems included: Reported police mistreatment of detainees; substandard physical conditions in prisons; drug abuse, corruption, and favoritism in prisons; lengthy pretrial detention and judicial inefficiency resulting in mistrials; and unresolved restitution claims resulting from the 1998-99 war. There was also intimidation of the media by public officials and criminal elements, restriction of freedom of movement across the Austerlitz Bridge, and violence against displaced persons seeking to return to their homes. Restrictions on religious freedom included the lack of a registration system and repeated vandalism of religious property, restrictions on freedom of worship for Serbian Orthodox pilgrims, and limited progress in returning displaced persons to their homes. Additional human rights problems included domestic violence and discrimination against women; gender biased sex selection; child abuse; trafficking in persons; discrimination against minorities, especially Roma; inadequate support for persons with disabilities; poor conditions in mental health facilities; sporadic ethnic tensions; and child labor in the informal sector. The government took steps to prosecute and punish officials who committed abuses in the security services or elsewhere in the government, although many assumed that senior officials engaged in corruption with impunity.