Kosovo, with a population of 1.8 million (2011), is a lower middle-income economy that has experienced some economic growth over the past five years. Kosovo has made great strides since the end of the conflict in the 1990s, and the negotiations for EU accession and the signing in 2015 of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU provide a prospect of a better future for what is Europe’s youngest population.
Nevertheless, Kosovo faces numerous challenges. With an average GDI per capita of USD $3,940 Kosovo remains among poorest economies in Europe with an estimated 29.7% of the population living below the poverty line (2013). Kosovo still lags behind European countries in outcomes for health, education, social services, and infrastructure.
The children of Kosovo – it’s future generations – are still subject to significant obstacles in realising their basic rights. Children in rural areas are less likely to access good quality education and health care, and this is doubly so for members of ethnic minorities. Children with disabilities also face numerous challenges, and remain for a large part invisible in Kosovo. The political situation in northern Kosovo (Mitrovica region) remains complex, with many fundamental services in the fields of child protection, education, health and justice for children lacking.
While Kosovo’s economy faces many fundamental challenges, the energy and potential of Kosovo’s young work-ready population are significant economic assets. However, economic stimulation will not be met by a skilled workforce without investing in the education system, which is currently lagging behind other European nations in both quality and accessibility.
Although Kosovo cannot currently ratify the Convection on the Rights of the Child, Kosovo institutions have incorporated the Convection’s provisions in its Constitution which reflects the highest legal foundation for children’s rights. With this strategic step forward, the Kosovo institutions have expressed their readiness and good will to adopt this international act and to make its legislative system compliant with international standards and to translate it into improved services for all children.
UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF in Kosovo aims to ensure that all children, irrespective of their socio-economic or ethnic background, have access to quality and friendly services and opportunities to help them survive, develop, enrich their potential and become active and responsible citizens of their communities.
Focusing on leaving no child behind, UNICEF is committed to reaching the hardest to reach, the most vulnerable and least visible children suffering from multiple forms of exclusion. In Kosovo, the challenge of increasing access of children with disabilities, children from poor families and children from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities to education, health and protection requires significant efforts and above all an approach that brings communities, policy makers, Institutions of Kosovo and civil society organisations together in partnership. To this end, UNICEF has been instrumental in supporting programmes that contribute to tangible impact for children who need support the most.
UNICEF work takes a multi-sector approach which integrates education, health, child protection, inclusion and violence reduction strategies and combines these in strategic collaborations with the Institutions of Kosovo and other partners to assure that investments in human capital development is prioritised. UNICEF supports Kosovo institutions to improve the legal and regulatory framework in the area of children’s right, aligning it to European and international standards. Through strategic investments, capacity building and collaboration with civil society and the media, empowerment of children, adolescents and youth, they are forging a new future for Kosovo where the conflict of the past gives way to prosperity, ensuring that children being born in Kosovo today have a chance to achieve their dreams and reach their full potential. Through the activity of the Innovations Lab, they advance the use of technology and explore how to effect change through communication to a new generation of rights holders.
