Ethnic minority right. The case of Kosovo in the analysis of housing rights.

Kosovo represents a microcosm in which the relations among different ethnic communities are established. The minority communities’ access to housing rights has been historically conditioned by ad-hoc laws and policies. In the post conflict period, the presence and the activity of the “international community” in Kosovo had influenced the local actors and laws, in the attempt to apply the human rights standards within the specification of the context. This research aims at analysing the regulations adopted by UNMIK (United Nations Mission in Kosovo) and the laws adopted by the Kosovo Assembly (in the post-independence period) in order to understand not only their compliance with the human rights standards on housing, but also their particular relevance for the non-majority communities. The analysis of the housing-related policies and strategies implemented by international and local institutions, as well as the functioning of judicial and quasi-judicial bodies in this area are studied in order to understand their impact on the non-majority communities and the level of implementation of the laws in force. The relevance of the housing rights' legal framework on the non-majority communities is also studied through on-the-field observation and interviews. Chapter III (Kosovo: housing rights and their relevance for ethnic minorities) is the core of the research and the part in which the objectives of the research are reached.