The Musine Kokalari Institute for Social Policies has published the new quarterly research report “Social Supervisor – Institutional Engagement for Social Policies.”
Our researchers have monitored the engagement of members of parliament in plenary sessions and in meetings of five parliamentary committees during the first quarter of this year. The activity of the MPs was analyzed in terms of how much and in what way they address social issues—issues that are linked to the ten principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights: Education and training for the labor market; Equal opportunities; Social dialogue and workers’ involvement; Support for the unemployed; Inclusion of persons with disabilities; Gender equality; Workplace safety; Care and support for children; Income and old-age pensions; and Access to essential services.
According to the findings, during the months of January, February, and March 2022, members of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo raised social issues a total of 91 times in parliamentary sessions. This includes statements made outside the agenda, parliamentary questions, and issues related to specific draft laws.
“Access to essential services,” “Social dialogue and workers’ involvement,” and “Gender equality” were the principles most frequently discussed; meanwhile, the principle of “Education and training for the labor market” was not discussed at all during this period. Discussions in parliamentary sessions were objectively shaped by the circumstances created due to the economic crisis, which consequently led to an increase in the prices of food products as well as electricity.
The reason why the principle of gender equality appears as one of the most mentioned topics is related to the session held for International Women’s Day. Outside of this session, issues concerning gender equality were discussed only twice. Additionally, there was a parliamentary discussion regarding the draft Civil Code and the regulation of family relations, specifically the civil union between persons of the same sex. The discussion escalated to the open use of hate speech and stigmatization against LGBTQI+ individuals. Mostly, MPs from LVV participated in the discussion, with the Parliamentary Group being divided on this issue. While the parliamentary groups of AAK and the Multiethnic Group were openly and explicitly against Kosovo citizens enjoying this right, the parliamentary groups of PDK and LDK took an abstention position, justifying their stance by the fact that the largest parliamentary group (the ruling party) did not have enough votes to pass the law.
According to the parliamentary groups, LVV has raised the most issues related to the principles of “Gender Equality” and “Equal Opportunities.” The parliamentary groups of PDK, LDK, and the Multiethnic Group have mostly raised issues related to the principle of “Access to Essential Services,” while the AAK parliamentary group has primarily raised issues concerning the principle of “Social Dialogue and Workers’ Involvement.” The LS parliamentary group has not raised any issues related to the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR).
Although there is a large difference in the number of MPs—LVV (59) and PDK (18)—the difference between them is only 2% in terms of parliamentary activity on social issues. LDK (15 MPs) ranks third with 17% of the activity, followed by AAK (8 MPs) with 12%. The Multiethnic Group (8 MPs) accounts for 3% of the activity, while the Serbian List (11 MPs) has 0% activity.
On their part, the Parliamentary Committees have never discussed Social Dialogue and Workers’ Involvement, nor Support for the Unemployed.
In 34 meetings of the parliamentary committees, the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) were discussed 27 times, mostly focusing on care and support for children, equal opportunities, education and training for the labor market, and access to essential services.
Since the beginning of this year, the Human Rights Committee has consistently held meetings with various institutions to monitor the Law on Protection against Discrimination, as well as discussions addressing the issue of violence in schools. Regarding the latter, the Education Committee organized a roundtable where the integration of policies and services for addressing violence against children in schools was discussed. The Committee on Health and Social Welfare has dealt only with health-related issues and has not addressed other social issues during this period.
This project is made possible and supported by the Olof Palme Center.
April 27, 2022
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