Call for International Pressure on Kosovo’s Restrictive Religious Law Draft

A recent report by the religious freedom watchdog, Forum 18, has revealed that a new draft religion law is now being discussed by Kosovo’s government. The draft was submitted to the government on 17th November and has since stirred up controversy amidst fears that ambiguities in the law could lead to its being used against religious minorities, especially Christians.

The draft law would require religious communities to gain registration with the Ministry of Public Services to perform any religious ceremonies or religious public speaking. In addition, new religious groups, in order to be recognised as officially sanctioned religious communities must be at least five years old and have a membership of at least 500 people.

The fact is that in Kosovo, there are numerous small independent Protestant communities with their own traditions and it is unfair to force them into one union. Moreover, despite the apparent motive of defining "unique legal provisions, which will provide equal rights and obligations to religious communities, without any discrimination", a number of provisions in the draft law have actually violated international human rights norms. Many worry that the draft law will hinder religious freedom in the country, particularly the development of Christian missions.

The Evangelical Movement of Kosovo, a coalition of several Albanian-speaking Protestant churches, is the first to make a written comment criticising the draft law. The statement said, "We believe the rights of religious freedom within the Protestant community of Kosovo will be seriously hindered should the existing draft of this Law on Religious Freedom be adopted in its present form."

The Kosovo office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), with the same worry, will continue to examine the draft law to ensure that it conformed to international standards.

Actually, representatives of Muslim, Catholic and Protestant have been meeting regularly at the government offices in the city over the past year to consider successive drafts. Yashar Yashari, the secretary of the Islamic community, represented Muslims, while Fr Shan Zefi of the Apostolic administration of Prizren represented Catholics and Pastor Artur Krasniqi of the Fellowship of the Lord’s People in Pristina represented the Protestants.

However, Pastor Artur Krasniqi, of the Fellowship of the Lord’s People, a member of the drafting group, declared that the group had not approved the final text of the draft presented to the government.

"It was amazing that it was passed to the government the very day that the government changed," he told Forum 18. "Big changes were made that the working committee had not agreed."

"This is totalitarianism. We need international pressure," he insisted. "Kosovo must not be allowed to go back to communism or ethno-religion. It is not what Kosovo needs."

Baptist Mission Society (BMS) Regional Secretary for Europe, Philip Halliday echoed, "Were the draft in question to become law, it would mark an end to religious freedom in Kosovo. An interdenominational and interfaith committee has been mandated to work on the question of religious law, and has been doing so for the past year, but the draft presently being discussed by Kosovo’s government did not come from that committee. Pressure must be applied to the Kosovan government and to the United Nations Mission In Kosovo in order that the recommendations of the committee be heard and acted upon."