Thank you very much,
Honourable Director Dibrani,
Honourable Acting Minister, Mr. Sallahu,
Honourable Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, Ms. Haxhiu,
Honourable General Barbano,
Honourable Ambassador McGurk,
Leaders of Kosovo institutions,
Ombudsman,
KIA Director,
Dear participants,
No state can stand upright without the strength of order, conscience and justice. The Kosovo Correctional Service embodies this each and every day.
It is a special honour to be here with you today, on this day that marks an important moment for our state, namely the 26th anniversary of the Kosovo Correctional Service.
This service, although little visible to the public, is recognized in the democratic world as one of the most important links in the modern state. Because states are also tested by the way they treat those who have made mistakes. Kosovo, thanks to your work, has proven maturity, dignity and professionalism.
In these 26 years, the Correctional Service has shown that justice is not limited to punishment. Justice is responsibility, it is construction and it is trust.
You, the officers of this service, work every day in a challenging environment, where high alertness, emotional stability and unwavering professionalism are required. This is a profession that requires heart and humanity.
Thanks to your work, supported by justice mechanisms, today we have a correctional system that focuses not only on maintaining order, but also on the rehabilitation, education and reintegration of convicted persons.
The Kosovo Correctional Service is proof of how a small state can build large and strong institutions, which every day honor the state with their seriousness, integrity and professionalism.
Since its establishment, the Kosovo Correctional Service has gone through numerous phases of transformation, professionalization and modernization. At each stage, the responsibility has been great, because your mission is complex and requires high ethical and professional standards.
The Correctional Service is an institution where justice, humanism and responsibility come together. Precisely for this reason, your work is of great importance, because it touches people’s lives, influences the path of their reintegration, and helps our society to be safer, stronger and more just.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Despite the difficulties, you have consistently proven that you are dedicated to your duty and to serving your country.
Today, too, is the right moment to mention the strong support that has been provided to the Correctional Service by allied countries and international organizations, support that proves that your work is appreciated even beyond our borders.
The Correctional Service has been accepted as a member of the European network for prisons and correctional services EuroPris, a very important achievement that shows that our institute of resources for the implementation of sentences also functions according to international standards.
The Correctional Service has also won the international award for excellence at the International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA), in the rehabilitation and health care sector, demonstrating your commitment to quality and high standards.
In light of these successes, international support is not just words, but it is an investment in our institutions, it is trust in your capacities and it is a challenge not to stop on the way forward. And you have shown that you can fulfil this trust every time.
Honourable participants,
A modern correctional system is built on the concept of resocialization. The ultimate goal of sentencing is not only punishment, but also the creation of conditions for people to return to society as more responsible citizens, with new opportunities and also with better prospects. Therefore, the work you do has a direct impact on preventing recidivism, strengthening social peace and building a more just and safe society.
In this mission, your role is essential, such as: in working with prisoners, in the administration of institutions, in ensuring internal processes or in creating the necessary conditions for justice to be applied with integrity. You serve the state, but at the same time you also serve society, through work that often remains invisible, but always with great impact.
On this 26th anniversary, I want to express my deep gratitude to all of you, who continue to make an extremely valuable contribution. Special thanks and respect also to those who have served in the most difficult periods, in times of great change, and who have helped raise this institution to the level it is today.
And the most special thanks from me today comes to the women. For the women who serve in this institution, who have faced extraordinary challenges throughout these 26 years, but who today constitute, I would say, the strongest pillar of this institution.
Through the support by the former Minister of Justice, now Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, we have almost 300 women in this institution, one of the largest percentages of all other institutions.
And, of course, each of them has made an extraordinary contribution to all the successes that we are celebrating today.
26 years of Correctional Service means 26 years of experience, challenges and victories.
It means over a quarter of a century of professionalism in the service of human rights, in the service of security, order and law.
Let us continue to build this institution as an example, with standards that honour our state and bring our citizens closer to the Kosovo we want, which is just, safe and European.
Congratulations on the 26th anniversary of the Kosovo Correctional Service!
Thank you for your work, professionalism and daily dedication to our Republic!
