"There are several reasons why we have taken mental health as the main topic, but one is that last year there were many cases of suicide compared to previous years, which was a significant annual increase of LGBT people, which we cannot we know them, but they are mainly related to non-acceptance either by the family, by society, by the institutions, by the school", said Arbër Nuhiu, director of the Center for the Development of Social Groups
Sponsored article - Members of the LGBTIQ+ community in the first days of "Pride Week" at the beginning of June were not sure that Prime Minister Albin Kurti would participate in the June 10 Parade.
Privately, they expressed this concern because of the conservative views of a part of the deputies of Vetëvendosje and a part of his supporters, who oppose the freedoms and liberal rights that are also guaranteed by the Constitution.
However, these freedoms and rights are already an indisputable part of the legislation of EU member states, but have become important parts of the constitutions and laws of countries that aspire to membership, such as Kosovo.
"You know how you are!"
Prime Minister Kurti and the mayor of Pristina, Përparim Rama, were at the forefront of the "Pride Parade", holding in their hands the slogan "You are the same as you are!", which has highlighted the whole range of this year's activities. In the parade, Kurti said that he had given his word to the activists six days before the Parade that he would participate in the "March of Pride".
"Because I believe in human rights. I believe that we should all be equal and everyone should have their dignity and integrity guaranteed and protected", he said, adding that the state should protect members of the LGBTIQA+ community, while "societies should learn about them ".
Members of this community say that support from politicians is very important for changing the views of those who do not recognize the rights of this community.
Blert Morina, from the CEL organization, said that diversity is being embraced more and more in Kosovo.
"More than ever, LGBTI people are coming out and joining the parade, and definitely more than ever we are having allies regarding the rights of LGBTI people", he emphasized during the march.
But the leaders of other non-governmental organizations, such as Arbër Nuhiu, director of the Center for the Development of Social Groups, say that many of their members are facing psychological pressure in their daily lives because of their sexual orientation. Such pressure comes from the environment and society. Therefore, this year the activities were focused on mental health.
"There are several reasons why we have taken mental health as the main topic, but one is that last year there were many cases of suicide compared to previous years, which was a significant annual increase of LGBT people, which we cannot we know, but they are mainly related to non-acceptance either by the family, by society, by the institutions, by the school", he emphasized.
Nuhiu has said that there should be powerful campaigns to sensitize citizens who prejudice others only because of their sexual orientation.
Main concerns
His organization and others are demanding that the proposed changes to the Health Law should take seriously the concerns of organizations and experts who deal with community challenges on a daily basis. Nuhiu said that the Ministry of Health has not shown willingness to take into account the specific requests of the organizations that represent this community.
Similar concerns were raised in the show "Tempus" on KTV, where the concept approved by the Government in December was discussed. In the debate with representatives of the position, the opposition, experts in the field, but where the representative of the Ministry of Health did not appear despite prior confirmation, Bind Skeja from the "Lifeline" organization raised the two main concerns that he sees as shortcomings in the proposal-changes new legal.
"Under one is the problem of services, how many services are there and how many services are offered to citizens, and under two is this problem of legislation", he said, indicating that various experts in the fields of medicine have recommended that changes be made identification and treatment of early mental health problems, or that treatment in the community is not foreseen, as are members of groups with different sexual orientations, who face prejudice and stigmatization.
The opposition deputy, Shemsedin Dreshaj, thinks that there should be a completely new law with a comprehensive approach. He said that it is not possible to proceed with the approval of sectoral laws without having a comprehensive health law.
In the conference entitled "From crisis to action", held during "Pride Week", the Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, said that not voting for the code in the Assembly is one of the most wrong decisions of the deputies. However, according to her, there will be no going back on this matter.
"I inform you that the Ministry of Justice has already established the working group for drafting the concept document for registered civil societies. This is being done for the first time in the Republic of Kosovo, so for the first time there is a government that is working on this concept document", she promised. "The Civil Code will again be sent to the Assembly, there is no going back. The rights of the LGBT community are human rights and even the deputies must support them, must work for them and must serve to emancipate our society".
E Nazlie Balaj from the Ministry of Justice has emphasized that since 2018 the Civil Code has been worked on, but the issue of civil communities has not been addressed in these drafts.
"Human rights are not even negotiable"
The Mayor of Pristina says that the citizens of Kosovo should enjoy equal rights regardless of their views and orientations.
"Human rights are not even negotiable", said Rama. "So it is our duty as a society that they are protected, reflected in our laws and implemented in practice".
The adoption of the draft code failed in March of last year, due to objections regarding the article that regulates the civil union between persons of the same sex. In terms of legislation, the Government had it planned for the first half of the year. The opposition is accusing him of failure.
"We are convinced and determined to continue to defend our right and we will send the Civil Code for questioning to the Constitutional Court if marriage is not regulated as it is foreseen by the Constitution", warned Nuhiu.
The Prime Minister is convinced that the changes to the Code will pass in the Assembly, where his party has the majority, but is not unanimously supporting the change.
But, community members say that the biggest challenge will continue to be mental health in a society where they are being prejudiced because of their sexual orientation.
This article was written in the framework of the "Human Rightivism" project, which is implemented by "Integra" and is supported by the Community Development Fund - CDF and the Embassy of Sweden in Kosovo.
