April 20 - Civil society representatives formed a work group to draft a Code of Conduct at a workshop organized by ATRC and led by Amy Horton from the International Center for Not-for-Profit law (ICNL) and Gjyljeta Mushkolaj from the Kosovo Institute for NGO Law (IKDO). They defined what a Code of Conduct is, presented reasons for creating one and explained why NGOs should have one when applying for grants.
"A Code of Conduct is an agreement among a group of NGOs that they will hold themselves to a certain standard of behavior. These standards are not the law, but are often more stringent than the law," Horton said. A Code of Conduct can also be a public statement that “these NGOs hold themselves to high standards,” she said.
The March riots left dozens of our fellow citizens killed; homes, cultural and religious monuments in ruins; and pictures reminiscent of the '98-'99 war in our minds. The pretentious international governing institutions, unaccountable to Kosovars, and the inexperienced local institutions, supported by more than 18,000 NATO troops, were caught totally off guard.
Despite disagreements regarding the real causes and ways to prevent it from happening again, everyone seems to agree that these events represent a setback in Kosovo's path towards becoming a true democracy. How costly a setback? Perhaps too costly for Kosovo's fragile society to pay.
All of us are responsible for failing to foresee, prevent or stop these damaging events. We allowed extremist groups an open door to use people's frustration with Kosovo's current political and economic situation to seriously damage Kosovo's democratization processes.
Igballe Rogova (KWN) and Sevdie Ahmeti (CPWC) deliver funds their organizations raised for a Serbian family whose house was burnt. CPWC also raised funds for two serb NGOs.
We at ATRC have worked with local and international partners for two years to bring the decision-making process closer to the people. Yet, the latest developments put to question the "progress" we so proudly claimed had happened in Kosovo since the war.
Now, we consider even more significant our mission of creating a government of the people, by the people and for the people.
Citizens dissatisfaction could be seen in the weeks preceding the March violence, as demonstrated by this poster at an art exhibition at the Boro Ramiz shopping mall in Prishtina. "Tung" means "goodbye"...(more)
"Have we slept enough?"
An art student asks Kosovo society and its institutions a hypothetical question regarding their apathy to react... (more)
