Albania’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs on Friday condemned the deactivation of addresses of ethnic Albanian nationals living in Southern Serbia by local authorities and asserted that this practice violated human rights. The ministry added that Alabanian authorities are closely following the progress of the issue with Serbian authorities and that they remain open to dialogue.
The Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the administrative measure of marking ethnic Albanians’ addresses as inactive in Serbia’s police system as a violation of human rights and standards for the protection of minorities. Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) prohibits all kinds of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, association with a national minority, or any other status.
The Albanian ministry also highlighted that the mass suspension of permanent home addresses of the Albanian community living in the region of the Presevo Valley in southern Serbia had serious repercussions on the daily life of these citizens who couldn’t have access to basic services. At the end of its statement, it reiterated its commitment to protect the Albanian community in Serbia in accordance with international human rights standards.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’s statement is related to the mass deactivation of home addresses for ethnic Albanians living in Serbia, which has sparked local protests. Several members of the Albanian community have discovered that Serbian authorities have marked their permanent home address as inactive in their security system without prior notice or any written explanation. This deactivation means that the concerned person no longer resides at his registered address and is subsequently removed from the Serbian population register.
This measure has raised international concerns about the rights of the ethnic Albanian minority who has been living in southern Serbia since the Kosovo war ended. Ana Pisonero, the European Commission’s enlargement spokesperson stated on Thursday that the European Commission is aware of the increasing deactivation of Albanian home addresses and indicated a potential risk of targeting Southern Serbia, where the majority of the Albanian minority resides. Additionally, she emphasized that Serbian authorities must provide a proper explanation regarding their procedure for verifying resident status.
Research conducted by the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity shed light on the possible misuse of Serbia’s residency laws by local authorities and the impact that these passivizations have had on the rights of the Albanian community.
Relations between Serbia and Kosovo have been strained for many years and remain a source of regional tension. The Kosovo War, which pitted ethnic Albanians against ethnic Serbs, ended in 1999 and resulted in Kosovo’s separation from Serbia. In 2008, Kosovo unilaterally declared independence, which Serbia has not recognized. Since then, tensions between Serbs and Albanians have escalated despite the European Union’s efforts to facilitate a normalization dialogue between the two states. In June 2024, Serbia’s Minister of Internal Affairs banned a reconciliation festival intended to promote cultural exchange between the two nations. Additionally, Kosovo’s government’s decision to reopen the Ibar Bridge faced international criticism.
