Homosexuality in Kosovo

Geographical location of Kosovo

Homosexual acts are legal in Kosovo , with a uniform age of consent of 16 years. Although there have been comprehensive anti-discrimination laws in Kosovo since 2004, homosexuality is largely taboo in society. This is ensured by the strong influence of the prevailing Abrahamic religions , which in addition to Sunni Islam also include the Serbian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches . There is no complete legal equality.

Legal status of homosexual acts in the history of Kosovo

→ Main article : History of Kosovo

Kosovo as part of the Ottoman Empire

In 1858, the Muslim Ottomans ruling the Ottoman Empire, including Vilâyet Kosovo , legalized same-sex sexual acts, which up until that point were punishable .

→ For the further development of homosexuality in the Ottoman Empire see Homosexuality in Turkey

Kosovo as part of the Kingdom of Serbia

Same-sex intercourse also remained legal in the Kingdom of Serbia, including Kosovo.

Kosovo as part of Yugoslavia

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia banned anal sex between men in 1929 as "fornication against the natural order"; the Communist Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia , which was proclaimed in 1945, retained the ban for the time being. At that time Kosovo was an autonomous province of the Socialist Republic of Serbia within Yugoslavia. In 1959, the ruling Union of Communists of Yugoslavia reduced the maximum sentence from two years to one year imprisonment .

At the beginning of the 1990s , Yugoslav legislation in Slovenia , Croatia , Macedonia (both 1991) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992) lost its validity due to the independence of the states concerned.

→ For further developments there, see homosexuality in Slovenia , Croatia , North Macedonia or Bosnia and Herzegovina

In 1994 the ban on sexual intercourse between men in the rest of Yugoslavia , which only consists of Serbia and Montenegro , was lifted.

Kosovo as an autonomous province of Serbia in the rest of Yugoslavia

The legality remained in Kosovo even during the Yugoslav Wars (1991-1999), in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia , which was created by the collapse of the state, and in the subsequent confederation of Serbia and Montenegro , to which Kosovo initially belonged as an autonomous province of Kosovo and metochia within Serbia .

In 2004, the entrance was sexual maturity in Serbia and Montenegro uniform age of 14, regardless of gender and sexual orientation fixed.

→ For further developments since the declarations of independence for Montenegro and Serbia in 2006, see Homosexuality in Montenegro or in Serbia

Kosovo as an independent republic

In the Republic of Kosovo, which was proclaimed independence in 2008 and split from Serbia that year, the regulations on the sexual self-determination of homosexuals passed in 2004 continued to apply . At least de facto , from the perspective of the Kosovar parliament also de jure , the Serbian legislation lost its validity in Kosovo at this point in time.

Situation in the present

The government of Kosovo has given political support to the LGBT community after the fact that it gained independence from Serbia, which was controversial under international law . In late 2013, a government coordination group was established for this purpose. This was supported by numerous politicians such as Hashim Thaçi , Isa Mustafa , Kadri Veseli , Petrit Selimi , Vlora Çitaku and Mimoza Kusari-Lila .

Recognition of same-sex relationships

The constitution of Kosovo prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and states that everyone "has the right to marry and have a family under the law". In September 2014, the President of the Kosovar Constitutional Court declared that Kosovo de jure allows same-sex marriage. Due to the simultaneous government crisis, however, this is de facto impracticable (as of autumn 2014).

Adoption law

The adoption of children by homosexual couples, including stepchild adoption, is currently not possible in Kosovo, but unmarried individuals can adopt children regardless of sexual orientation.

Protection against discrimination

Article 24 of the Constitution of Kosovo prohibits discrimination against people on various grounds, including homosexuality. This makes Kosovo one of the few European states in which protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation enjoys constitutional status . Protection against discrimination extends to the labor market , the movement of goods , the service industry , social security , education and the right to housing . The Anti-Discrimination Act, which came into force in 2004, prohibits indirect and direct discrimination through victimization , segregation or threats .

Homosexuality in culture

According to the civil rights organization “Center for Social Emancipation”, as of 2007 there were no gay clubs in Kosovo. LGBT is practiced largely covertly, and there are no self-confessed homosexual celebrities . However, there was and is a broad public discussion on the subject.

Although no major LGBT events had been held in Kosovo by then, several well-known politicians and the British ambassador Ian Cliff as well as members of the gay organizations QESh and CEL took part in a large demonstration against homophobia in the capital Pristina on May 17, 2014 . The representation was expressly welcomed by the Representation of the European Union and the Kosovar government itself. The government building was decorated with a large rainbow flag that night .

Homosexuality, religion and politics

→ For the individual religions represented in Kosovo and their relationship to homosexuality, see Homosexuality in Islam , Homosexuality and Orthodox Churches or Homosexuality and the Roman Catholic Church .

The religion in Kosovo with the largest number of members is Sunni Islam , followed by the Serbian Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church as weak minorities ; There are hardly any atheists . All three religious communities view practiced homosexuality as a sin .

Article 8 of the constitution defines Kosovo as a secular country with a separation between religion and state . The larger parties also support equality for homosexual people under civil law . Furthermore, various smaller parties with religious programs are fundamentally secular and / or do not meet the electoral thresholds . There is thus a stable majority for the relatively liberal approach to homosexuality.

Violent attacks by the Islamist organization Bashkohu on gays in Kosovo are known. The police intervened to protect homosexuals.

On October 10, 2017, the first Pride Parade with the motto In the Name of Love took place in the capital Pristina . The basic law of Kosovo protects love , tweeted President Hashim Thaçi after the parade. There were isolated protests on the sidelines of the Pride parade, but these did not lead to attacks, also because the police coordinated the demonstration.

Civil rights organizations for homosexuals

There are currently three major local groups in Kosovo: the Center for Equality and Freedom , the Center for Social Group Development and the Center for Social Emancipation .

Web links

• The rights of homosexuals in Kosovo ( Memento from March 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.assembly-kosova.org/common/docs/ligjet/Criminal%20Code.pdf#page=115 Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo, p. 115
2. ↑ ^{a b} CROATIA: NEW PENAL CODE ( Memento of the original from April 14, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ^ Adolescence, Sexuality, and the Criminal Law: Multidisciplinary Perspectives
4. ^ The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us
5. ↑ State-sponsored Homophobia: A world survey of laws prohibiting same sex activity between consenting adults ( Memento of the original from October 20, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, authored by Lucas Paoli Itaborahy, May 2014  
6. ↑ Qeveria merr në mbrojtje komunitetin LGBT . Albinfo.ch.
7. ↑ Qeveria formon trupë këshilluese e coordinuese për komunitetin LGBT . Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
8. ↑ LGBT Speeches . Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kosovo).
9. ↑ Thaçi: Të Gjithë Kryetarët Do T'i Respektojnë Ligjet e Kosovës . Gazeta Jeta në Kosovë.
10. ↑ Kosovė, qeveria Miraton ligjet për mbrojtjen e të dhe drejtave lirive . Top channel. Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 18, 2015. 
11. ↑ Petrit Selimi: Serbia and Kosovo: LGBT * rights and the footnote . Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 18, 2015. 
12. ↑ Petrit Selimi (twitter) .
13. ↑ Petrit Selimi, Vlora Citaku support .
14. ↑ Çitaku në përkrahje të komunitetit LGBT . Retrieved May 4, 2015.
15. ↑ Mimoza Kusari Lila - end homophobia . Retrieved May 17, 2015.
16. ↑ ^{a b} Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, Fundamental Rights and Freedoms ( Memento of the original from May 26, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
17. ^ Same-Sex Marriage Legal in Kosovo? , Human Rights Campaign. September 12, 2014. Archived from the original on July 6, 2015 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved September 21, 2014.  
18. ^ Adoption Laws in Kosovo: Unmarried persons . Constitution of Kosovo. Archived from the original on March 18, 2015. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 19, 2015. 
19. ↑ Law 2004/3: The Anti-Discrimination Law ( Memento of the original from October 1, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , UNMIK  
20. ^ Center for Social Emancipation . Qesh.org. Archived from the original on November 16, 2007. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
21. ↑ Lone Gay Bar's Closure Leaves Kosovo Gays Bereft
22. ↑ Marsh Kunder homofobisë . Telegrafi.com. Archived from the original on April 27, 2015. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 19, 2015. 
23. ↑ Komuniteti LGBT është i dukshëm dhe pjesë e shoqërisë kosovare . Zëri.
24. ↑ Press release: European Union in Kosovo: March against homophobia . European Union Office in Kosovo. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
25. ↑ Flamuri i LGBT'së në ndërtesën e Qeverisë së Kosovës . Gazeta Express.
26. ↑ Kosovė, qeveria Miraton ligjet për mbrojtjen e të dhe drejtave lirive - Lajme - Top Channel . Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 4, 2015. 
27. ↑ Stephan Ozsvát: gays in Kosovo dangerous . Deutschlandfunk , April 4, 2013
28. ↑ Abdul Husaain Nagri: President of Kosovo attended the first Pride Parade in Pristina. In: blu.fm. October 11, 2015, accessed December 24, 2017 .