Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs: Kosovo

Kosovo

Kosovo is at a critical inflection point in the U.S. long-term effort to establish and sustain a secure, democratic, multiethnic, and sovereign state that fosters regional stability.  To ensure Kosovo’s role as a resilient partner, the United States remains focused on normalizing relations between Kosovo and Serbia and boosting efforts to counter the malign influence of other strategic competitors in Kosovo and the wider Western Balkans region.

INL programs support these efforts by improving good governance and the rule of law for all Kosovan citizens, strengthening law enforcement and judicial institutions to combat corruption, improving civic participation, and addressing security vulnerabilities that contribute to transnational crime.

INL Programming

• Citizen Security and Law Enforcement – INL supports programs to modernize Kosovo’s law enforcement institutions to eliminate corruption, improve citizen services, and strengthen capacity to deter and disrupt transnational criminal organizations and other malign actors who seek to destabilize Kosovo.
• Rule of Law – INL programs build institutional capacity to improve access to justice and develop mechanisms for all citizens to hold their justice system accountable, as well as to promote Kosovo’s compliance with international standards and corruption-related treaties.

Goals

INL promotes transparency of and improved accountability for Kosovo’s law enforcement institutions by strengthening the capacity of the Police Inspectorate of Kosovo.  INL also builds capacity for law enforcement and prosecutors to detect, deter, investigate, and prosecute complex crimes, such as corruption, cybercrime, and human trafficking.

INL supports strengthening the operational effectiveness of Kosovo’s law enforcement institutions through direct advisory support, training, and technology and equipment donations.  INL programs address structural issues in Kosovo’s criminal justice system and promote legislative reforms required to align Kosovo with international rule of law standards and best practices.

Key components of INL’s rule of law reform effort are improving access to justice for all citizens and strengthening the fight against corruption.  INL, in partnership with civil society organizations, works to improve government accountability and promote transparency, including efforts to monitor the judiciary, track high-level corruption cases, educate the public on rule of law accountability, and improve legal professional development.

INL supports activities to improve Kosovo’s criminal justice systems including capacity building programs for corrections and probation services.  Addressing these critical components contributes to a safer, more secure, humane, and transparent corrections system and supports improved rehabilitation to reduce recidivism.

Accomplishments/Impact

• INL donated a Police Resources Information Management System database system to digitize police records, facilitating quick access to critical data and sharing of information among relevant agencies.
• INL-funded mobile legal clinics provided free legal aid to more than 150,000 citizens from vulnerable populations.  The program raised awareness of victims’ rights on issues such as gender-based violence and domestic and sexual abuse.
• In 2022, INL trained a new cohort of professional mediators to reduce the national backlog of court cases resolvable by mediation.
• In 2022, law enforcement, applying INL-furnished training, made 302 arrests, rescued 734 human trafficking victims, and seized narcotics such as cocaine and heroin.  INL also supported internal police investigations that resulted in the suspension or arrest of several police officers.
• In August 2023, INL donated hundreds of body-worn cameras (BWC) to Kosovo Police Traffic and Border Patrol units to promote transparency and improve the public’s trust in law enforcement.