Address to the Report by the Acting Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia

Meeting 1528 of the Permanent Council, 17 July 2025, Vienna

Mister Chair,

Distinguished Colleagues,

We thank the Acting Head of Mission, Ms. Carolina Hidea for the report presented, and for the continued efforts of the OSCE Mission in Serbia in supporting democratic institutions, the rule of law, and human rights.

We acknowledge the Mission’s engagement in key areas, such as judicial reform, public administration, and cooperation with national institutions and civil society.

We also appreciate the Mission’s stated commitment to supporting minority rights and interethnic dialogue as well as continued engagement on gender equality and youth participation.

However, we must express our concern that the issue of passivization of addresses—a matter of systemic discrimination against the Albanian minority in southern Serbia—has not been addressed in the Mission’s reporting or operational focus.

Albania remains deeply concerned about the ongoing passivization of residential addresses in municipalities with the Albanian communities in Medvegjë, Bujanoc, and Preshevë.

This measure removes individuals from the civil registry based on alleged non- residence. Once removed, they lose legal residence status and access to public services and civil rights, effectively excluding them from civic life.

This process has serious and far-reaching consequences.

Between 2011 and 2020, over 4,000 Albanians were removed from the civil registry in the municipality of Medvegjë alone. Similar patterns have been observed in Bujanoc and Preshevë.

These concerns have been consistently raised by the Albanian National Minority Council and local human rights organizations.

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), in the Findings in its 2024 report on Serbia, noted that “municipalities with large Albanian populations are disproportionately affected by address passivization,” highlighting the systemic and ethnic dimension of this administrative measure.

Furthermore, the Advisory Committee of the Council of Europe on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM), in its 2025 Opinion on Serbia, includes in Recommendation for Immediate Action a direct call to address the discriminatory effects of address passivization, emphasizing its lack of transparency, the absence of effective legal remedies, and its disproportionate impact on members of the Albanian national minority.

Albania raises this issue in the spirit of constructive dialogue and shared responsibility. We consider that the OSCE Mission in Serbia, given its field presence and mandate, is well positioned to contribute meaningfully to addressing this issue.

Mr. Chair,

Regional stability and cooperation are not optional—they are fundamental to lasting peace, progress, and EU integration.

Albania remains firmly supportive of the EU-facilitated Dialogue between Kosova and Serbia. It is essential that both parties move forward on their respective European paths, in line with the region’s shared European perspective. All agreements must be implemented—not selectively, as such an approach, undermines credibility. A meaningful dialogue requires mutual trust and a clear commitment to the obligations undertaken.

We believe that it remains imperative to clarify all circumstances related to the explosion at the Ibër-Lepenc canal on 29 November 2024.

We call on Serbia to ensure that the perpetrators of the armed attack in Banjskë on 24 September 2023 are brought to justice and held fully accountable. To date, those responsible for the attack have not been held accountable. They must be brought to justice without delay. There can be no ambiguity in condemning acts of violence or in upholding the rule of law.

Once again, we thank the Acting Head of Mission for the work done and the report presented, and encourage the Mission to continue its contribution in supporting the rule of law, democracy and human rights in Serbia. The OSCE’s role in promoting human rights and the rule of law on the ground remains indispensable.

Albania remains committed to constructive engagement and to upholding the principles that bind us together within this organization.

Thank you