The failure to pass the Civil Code yesterday in the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo is bad news for our society. Despite the fact that this Code includes very important regulations of social relations and should have contained advancements of rights for the discriminated and oppressed parts of society, the Assembly members focused on a single issue in the Code and completely rejected it. The issue that took the entire attention of yesterday’s discussion was the right of citizens of the Republic of the same sex to live in registered civil unions. This version of the Civil Code discussed yesterday in the Assembly is problematic in this regard because it is discriminatory against the rights and equality of the LGBTQI+ community. While it establishes the right to registered unions for persons of the same sex (Article 1138, paragraph 2), it denies them the right to marriage (Article 1138, paragraph 1). However, even this half-right was unacceptable to the Assembly members. Through their speeches and their votes, they practically demanded and voted to completely restrict these rights for this community. Their scandalous, discriminatory, and outdated speeches can easily be classified as hate speech. “Degeneration,” “depravity,” “disease,” “attack on the family” — some of the words used yesterday to attack the Code and the community — represent a violent form of public lynching. Yesterday’s discussion revealed two major political and social flaws prevailing in Kosovo.
From the discussions and the deputies’ votes, it is easy to understand how discriminated and endangered the LGBTQI+ community is in our society. But not only them. The same conservative mindset, blatantly revealed yesterday, is the one that perpetrates violence against women, bullying of children, racism against the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities, exclusion of other communities, contempt for the poor, ridicule of persons with disabilities, and more. All of these stem from nationalist, patriarchal, and conservative prejudice. On the other hand, yesterday’s discussion and vote also revealed how deputies see their role. Referring to their voters, and not necessarily social equality, they showed that they are more focused on upcoming elections and personal votes than on the welfare, equality, and justice of citizens. No, the majority does not have the right to decide how and whom the citizens of the Republic love. Numbers do not matter here. Even if there is only ONE same-sex couple in Kosovo, they must enjoy their rights just like everyone else. And they must be treated as EQUAL citizens with everyone else. And NO, deputies do not have the right to decide by majority vote which citizens are more equal than others. Because we are all equal. Yesterday we witnessed a failure of leadership and governance in Kosovo.
This proposed Civil Code provided for an advancement (albeit partial) of the rights of the citizens of the Republic. It is a very sensitive issue, one that requires an extraordinary investment of political energy. But this was not seen. The Prime Minister took a pro position on the draft Code, but did not show convincing energy within his parliamentary group. Meanwhile, no word has yet come from the President regarding citizens’ rights. At the same time, the opposition’s stance was just as problematic as the first two. It is true that the main responsibility lies with the majority, but this does not excuse the opposition. After all, what is their position on this issue? What is their stance? It is true that political popularity brings votes, votes bring power, and power provides the opportunity to advance society and improve citizens’ lives. But when this popularity is not used to increase citizens’ rights and to create equal treatment for all, then what is it for? The Musine Kokalari Institute for Social Policies strongly condemns yesterday’s discussion in the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo and calls on the Government and Members of Parliament not to incite hatred against the LGBTI+ community and to act in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo.
March 17, 2022