Registrar Fidelma Donlon has signed a grant agreement with Switzerland, on behalf of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC), which provides that the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) will continue its financial support to the outreach efforts of the KSC in Kosovo throughout 2022 and 2023.
With the start of trials, streamed in the three official languages of the court and closely followed by the Kosovo media, the new grant from Switzerland will enable the KSC to continue and intensify its dialogue with civil society and citizens in Kosovo during this dynamic period of the proceedings.
“As the President of the Specialist Chambers, I consider it very important that the KSC maintain an open and transparent dialogue with people in Kosovo. It is imperative that citizens understand our mandate to administer justice fairly, safely, impartially and independently,” said KSC President Ekaterina Trendafilova. “I want to thank Switzerland, as a contributing State, for its decision to extend its support to our Outreach Programme for another two years.”
Through its Outreach Programme, and with the support of Switzerland since 2018, the KSC has held over one hundred interactive events in communities all over Kosovo, reaching over 2,200 participants directly. In events organised in cooperation with civil society, young people and students, journalists, legal practitioners, minority community representatives, and other citizens have the opportunity to hear from representatives of the court about its work, to ask questions, and to express their views.
The Outreach Programme has also sought to inform the wider public with informational materials, including through video clips on topics such as the mandate of the court, witness protection and support, victims’ participation, and the questions raised most frequently at outreach events. These videos have been broadcast hundreds of times on television in Albanian and Serbian and accessed thousands of times on the KSC website and YouTube channel (https://www.scp-ks.org/en/ksc-outreach/videos).
