The Council for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (KMDLNJ) has strongly reacted against the Government of Kosovo, accusing it of negligence toward pensioners and the most vulnerable categories of society.
In its statement, KMDLNJ assesses that the executive is allocating budget funds to various categories, while pensioners, social assistance beneficiaries, war veterans, and war invalids are facing serious difficulties in survival.
According to KMDLNJ, the rise in prices and the cost of living is in stark contrast with the financial capacities of most families in Kosovo. The organization states that despite continuous price increases, pensions over the past six years have risen by only 20 percent, or an average of about 3.25 percent per year.
KMDLNJ has also criticized the decision to grant a 13th salary payment to civil servants and the €500,000 financial support for the players of the Kosovo national football team, saying these measures do not reach the most vulnerable groups in society.
“With these pensions, one cannot ensure even a dignified death, let alone a dignified life,” the statement from KMDLNJ reads.
The organization has also raised concerns about electricity tariffs, claiming that Kosovo citizens have been seriously harmed over the years by billing policies and rising energy prices.
KMDLNJ states that the Government has failed to protect the human rights of the most vulnerable and most contributing groups of society, denying them, in their view, a dignified life through adequate pensions and payments.
Finally, KMDLNJ emphasizes that in regional countries pensions and social schemes have increased several times, while in Kosovo there have only been improvisations and manipulations without real effect for citizens in need.
Today, the Government of Kosovo has allocated a 13th salary for public sector employees in the country.