On 17th of November, the Tuesday Salon on the topic “Human Security: How Has the Pandemic Affected Human Security Needs in Kosovo?” was held. Part of the panel on this Salon were: Besa Kabashi Ramaj, National Security Expert Founder | CEO | B.K.R. & Associates; Nuredin Ibishi, Expert on Security Issues and Mentor Cakolli, Head of Security Program – UNDP Kosovo.
The year 2020 has been one of the most difficult years in Kosovo since the war due to facing the pandemic which, in addition to economic, social and political damage, has also affected the field of human security. Precisely for this reason, the D4D Institute has decided to present this concern through the debate among experts within Tuesday’s Salon, this weekly activity which contributes in various fields. With great pleasure for us, the introductory speech of this salon was delivered by the director of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Kosovo, Mr. Rene Schlee, who pointed out that the safety of citizens, obviously this year was very difficult, especially when it comes to health and economic security, so we are very pleased to have such an excellent contribution here from our experts.
The first speaker of this panel, Mrs. Besa Kabashi Ramaj, talked about the issue of human security in Kosovo and its difficulty to be addressed, as a result of the lack of progress in the forms in which the world treats general security, national and human. She said that in Kosovo the concept of security is addressed to the Kosovo Security Forces or the Kosovo Police, which are traditional forms of security and the first time human security was mentioned as a term in Kosovo was during the Strategic Review of the Security Sector, the implementation of which has never been done due to misunderstanding of the recommendations on human security by the competent body / institution. In this situation we are in, with the pandemic that is affecting every aspect of life in Kosovo and elsewhere, in the absence of preparation for responding to human and social security all institutions in a way have failed to perform this task, not considering themselves connected with human security directly.
Mr. Nuredin Ibishi, as part of this panel spoke more specifically about general approaches, theoretical concepts of human security, human rights violations in Kosovo, the safety of women and children as a specific group of society, the health of third parties or those who have been directly affected by the Covid-19 virus as well as the study prepared by the World Bank’s team about conducting policies based throughout the Western Balkans.
Mr. Mentor Cakolli, emphasized between the panelists and participants in this salon that the imposed aspect of social distancing, restrictions on movement and new rules that prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the definition by the relevant institutions of who can work, how much and how, in a way have turned back the lives of citizens. These developments have added new commitments to law enforcement institutions and the police force due to the maintenance of social order and the provision of social security in times of pandemics as we witness a change in forms of crime, focusing on crimes against the population or population groups most severely affected by the Covid-19 virus. At the same time, Mr. Cakolli spoke about the use of online platforms to continue the learning and work process, noting the fact that one of the biggest threats to human security is found in these platforms which allow cyber attacks by various people.
The Salon was moderated by Skender Perteshi, Researcher, Kosovo Center for Security Studies, from whom the OP-ED will be written.