Ambassador Greg Delawie joined Minister of Justice Dhurata Hoxha at a one-day conference on guaranteeing women’s property rights in Pristina on October 25^th.  The Ambassador spoke about the importance of women claiming the right to own property as well as the need for communities across Kosovo to stop the informal practices that prevent women from exercising this right.  According to a USAID-sponsored report, only 19 percent of women in Kosovo own land, which has a negative impact on women’s ability to access finance, own a business, or build and pass on prosperity.

The conference was organized by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) with support from USAID through the Property Rights Program (PRP).  The PRP aims to improve the legal framework and institutional practices and procedures governing property rights. The conference was also used to publicly announce the MOJ’s plan to submit new legislation regarding inheritance to the Government of Kosovo. The recommendations of the new legislation will be submitted on November 5th.  USAID’s PRP has also assisted the MOJ in developing amendments to a package of laws in order to address issues pertaining to property rights including, the Law on Inheritance; the Law on Notary; the Law on Non-Contested Procedure; and the Law on Civil Status.