Dear President Biden,
\nEsteemed participants,
\n\u00a0
\nI speak to you as the President of the Republic of Kosovo, one of the youngest yet most vibrant democracies in the world.
\n\u00a0
\nKosovo will soon mark 14 years of independence, but we have fought authoritarian and genocidal regimes for much longer than that. Democracy is in the fabric of our society, it is deeply entrenched in our historic struggle for freedom and human rights. And, as envisioned by our founding father, President Rugova, our Republic stands strongly on three pillars: freedom, independence, and democracy.
\n\u00a0
\nKosovo today\u00a0continues to thrive through free and fair elections, with peaceful transitions of power, unfettered media freedoms, and the highest standards of human rights enshrined in our constitution.
\n\u00a0
\nBut, Democracy is never a finished or finite project. So\u00a0today, I set out Kosovo\u2019s commitments for strengthening and nurturing our democracy to ensure it stands the test of time. We will:
\n\u00a0
\n1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Strengthen the rule of law\u00a0through the full implementation of the Strategy on Rule of Law, and a vetting process that will instill integrity, impartiality and professionalism at the heart of our justice system. We commit to enacting and implementing advanced legislation to seize illicit wealth, impose a travel ban on foreign individuals involved in serious human rights abuses, clamp down on foreign governments\u2019 funding for political parties and ban public institutions from using untrusted surveillance vendors.
\n\u00a0
\n2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Bolster the role of women in our society\u00a0by initiating proceedings to harmonize all relevant laws with the provisions of the law on gender equality, to guarantee women\u2019s rightful place in public institutions and decision-making roles. We will also adopt a bold national strategy against gender-based violence to implement the Istanbul Convention, to halt this epidemic through prevention and protection, and increase minimum sentences to reflect the severity of the gender-based crimes.
\n\u00a0
\n3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I will establish a Presidential Council on Democracy and Human Rights\u00a0that will bring together public institutions and civil society to drive and monitor the implementation of our commitments. This council shows our long-term commitment to improving our democracy.
\n\u00a0
\nWe must not take democracy for granted, and we must relentlessly protect it. Whether a big or small a country, we can all make a difference, especially if we join forces. We are, therefore, pledging to work with you all to deliver on our objectives, share best practices, counter Russian interference and propaganda, and promote peace around the world.
\n\u00a0
\nIn this spirit, I will host a Global Summit for Women in Peace and Security in 2022 that will bring together leaders from around the world.
\n\u00a0
\nIn the struggle between democracy and autocracy, history teaches us that appeasement of autocrats never works. Today\u00a0is more than a Summit, it is our collective voice rejecting autocratic tendencies, and it is our collective voice standing up for democracy.
\n\u00a0
\nI want to thank President Biden for his leadership in this endeavor.
\n\u00a0
\nFrom the most pro-American nation on earth, thank you all, and goodbye.
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear President Biden, Esteemed participants, \u00a0 I speak to you as the President of the Republic of Kosovo, one of the youngest yet most vibrant democracies in the world. \u00a0 Kosovo will soon mark 14 years of independence, but we have fought authoritarian and genocidal regimes for much longer than that. Democracy is in the fabric of our society, it is deeply entrenched in our historic struggle for freedom and human rights. And, as envisioned by our founding father, President Rugova, our Republic stands strongly on three pillars: freedom, independence, and democracy. \u00a0 Kosovo today\u00a0continues to thrive through free and fair elections, with peaceful transitions of power, unfettered media freedoms, and the highest standards of human rights enshrined in our constitution. \u00a0 But, Democracy is never a finished or finite project. So\u00a0today, I set out Kosovo\u2019s commitments for strengthening and nurturing our democracy to ensure it stands the test of time. We will: \u00a0 1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Strengthen the rule of law\u00a0through the full implementation of the Strategy on Rule of Law, and a vetting process that will instill integrity, impartiality and professionalism at the heart of our justice system. We commit to enacting and implementing advanced legislation to seize illicit wealth, impose a travel ban on foreign individuals involved in serious human rights abuses, clamp down on foreign governments\u2019 funding for political parties and ban public institutions from using untrusted surveillance vendors. \u00a0 2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Bolster the role of women in our society\u00a0by initiating proceedings to harmonize all relevant laws with the provisions of the law on gender equality, to guarantee women\u2019s rightful place in public institutions and decision-making roles. We will also adopt a bold national strategy against gender-based violence to implement the Istanbul Convention, to halt this epidemic through prevention and protection, and increase minimum sentences to reflect the severity of the gender-based crimes. \u00a0 3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I will establish a Presidential Council on Democracy and Human Rights\u00a0that will bring together public institutions and civil society to drive and monitor the implementation of our commitments. This council shows our long-term commitment to improving our democracy. \u00a0 We must not take democracy for granted, and we must relentlessly protect it. Whether a big or small a country, we can all make a difference, especially if we join forces. We are, therefore, pledging to work with you all to deliver on our objectives, share best practices, counter Russian interference and propaganda, and promote peace around the world. \u00a0 In this spirit, I will host a Global Summit for Women in Peace and Security in 2022 that will bring together leaders from around the world. \u00a0 In the struggle between democracy and autocracy, history teaches us that appeasement of autocrats never works. Today\u00a0is more than a Summit, it is our collective voice rejecting autocratic tendencies, and it is our collective voice standing up for democracy. \u00a0 I want to thank President Biden for his leadership in this endeavor. \u00a0 From the most pro-American nation on earth, thank you all, and goodbye. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n