CIAO DATE: 04/04

Kosovo/a Standing Technical Working Group, Twelfth Meeting: Review of Activities 2002

Introduction

The Standing Technical Working Group (STWG) was established in March 2001 to address important issues of public policy in Kosovo/a at a technical level. It is composed of experts from Kosovo/a NGOs, the main political parties and other civil society representatives. Its membership is fully interethnic and it prides itself on being able to conduct debate in Kosovo/a in an interethnic way. The Group reviews technical aspects of current policy and formulates proposals and critical questions in relation to them. It then seeks to engage the relevant appointed local and international representatives on these issues. In response to the changed political environment in Kosovo/a following the Assembly elections in November 2001, the Group sought to enhance its role in public policy analysis and development through the establishment of four expert working groups. These Expert Committees (ECs) have devoted their activities in 2002 to monitoring policy developments in four areas considered most relevant to the needs of all communities in Kosovo/a:

1. Justice, Human Rights, and Law and Order.
2. Health and Social Welfare.
3. Economic Development and Labour.
4. Education and Youth.

On 7 December 2002, the plenary of the STWG organized a workshop to revisit the work of the Expert Committees over the year. At the beginning of 2002, the four Expert Committees were tasked to monitor, consider and initiate developments in public policy in their area of expertise. They were also charged to develop the expertise of their members on a technical level and maintain critical relations with the relevant policymakers and Assembly Committees of the newly formed Kosovo Assembly.

This workshop sought to assess the performance of the Expert Committees over the year and provide an opportunity for the STWG to engage the respective members of the Assembly in critical dialogue. The concluding session to the workshop was set aside to evaluate the effectiveness of the STWG, develop measures to improve its performance and adopt a work plan for 2003. A summary of the proceedings is provided below.

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