Our Mission
To support the implementation of a holistic, inclusive and victim-centred transitional justice (TJ) framework in Kosovo in order to restore the dignity of victims and contribute peace building and state building in Kosovo.
The Humanitarian Law Center Kosovo (HLC Kosovo) is operating as an independent organization since April 2011. The HLC Kosovo continuously contributes to Kosovo’s ability to establish the rule of law and implement transitional justice mechanisms, in order to develop a just society that faces the past and respects rights of each citizen.
The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) Kosovo was established in Prishtinë in May 1997, by a well-known human rights activist Mrs. Nataša Kandić, as a branch office of the Humanitarian Law Center.
The Humanitarian Law Center Kosovo (HLC Kosovo) is operating as an independent organization since April 2011. The HLC Kosovo continuously contributes to Kosovo’s ability to establish the rule of law and implement transitional justice mechanisms, in order to develop a just society that faces the past and respects rights of each citizen.
The HLC Kosovo is working to document facts that will assist Kosovo society to deal with its violent past. The organization seeks to counter denial and political manipulation of human losses, and ensure the integrity and transparency of war crimes trials.
Until the outbreak of hostilities between Serbian security forces and the Kosovo Liberation Army in February 1998, the HLC Kosovo focused on documenting police repression of Kosovo Albanians, investigating cases of torture, illegal detention, mass invitations of Albanians for ‘informative talks’, and political trials. After the conflict began, the HLC Kosovo shifted its focus to documenting killings and disappearances of Kosovo Albanians as well as disappearances of Serbs and members of other ethnic groups. When NATO intervened in 1999, HLC moved its office to Montenegro, where it continued its documentation work among the Kosovo Albanians whom Serbian security forces had expelled from Kosovo. Following the June 1999 peace agreement that ended the war, HLC Kosovo returned to Pristina and began documenting the atrocities that had been conducted by Serbian forces during the NATO intervention. After the establishment of the international administration in Kosovo in June 1999, the HLC Kosovo worked on publishing a report on the killings and disappearances of Albanians. It also investigated kidnappings, disappearances and murder of Serbs, Ashkalia, Bosniaks and Albanians.
HLC Kosovo will continue its efforts on monitoring the judicial procedures related to the consequences of the recent conflict. Specific focus will be put on Kosovo Specialist Chamber which is expected to be operational in the near future. Beside monitoring and reporting on trials, HLC Kosovo will actively involve in locating victims and their families and representing them in the courts in Kosovo and Serbia. The third essential element of the HLC Kosovo activities will be spreading the knowledge on transitional justice within professional and non-professional communities.
HLC Kosovo will implement its activities in the frame of two main programmes: ‘Transitional Justice’ and ‘Regional Cooperation’.
To support the implementation of a holistic, inclusive and victim-centred transitional justice (TJ) framework in Kosovo in order to restore the dignity of victims and contribute peace building and state building in Kosovo.
HLC Kosovo’s vision for Kosovo is that of a democratic society that deals with its past appropriately and engages in the building of a common democratic and rights-based future.
Ms. Nataša Kandić, the Founder of the HLC, has won over 20 international, regional and national awards for human rights. In 2000, she was presented with the Martin Ennals award, a prestigious award for human rights defenders. Nataša Kandić is one of the names on the list of 36 European heroes in 2003 chosen by the American magazine Time. In 2004, the People in Need Foundation awarded the Homo Hominiaward to Nataša Kandić and the HLC, and this award was presented to Nataša Kandić by Vaclav Havel. In 2005, she was pronounced an Honorary Citizen of Sarajevo, and Slobodna Bosna magazine elected her Person of the Year in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In September 2006, Timemagazine pronounced Nataša Kandić one of the heroes of the past 60 years. In March 2007, Nataša became a member of the International Journal of Transitional Justice (Oxford University Journals), and in August 2008, she was invited to join the Advisory Council of the Weiser Centre for Emerging Democracies, University of Michigan. The Kosovo Institute of Peace presented Nataša with ‘The Peace Award’ in November 2012, “for her extraordinary work and contribution for reconciliation among the nations in the Balkans”. In 2013, Nataša was named the ‘Civil Rights Defender of the Year’, she was the winner of the ‘Days of Sarajevo 2013’ award, given by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights in Serbia, and also received the ‘Hrant Dink’ award from the Turkish ‘Hrant Dink Foundation’.
Ismet Hajdari is a journalist who has been covering issues relating to Kosovo and the breakup of Yugoslavia since the 1980s. Mr. Hajdari has a law degree from the University of Prishtina and graduate degrees in the field of international relations, with a Ph.D. focused on geopolitics and the European Union. During his long career as a journalist, he reported for regional papers such as "Naša Borba", “Novi List” and covered the Kosovo conflict for the Associated Press and later as an editor at Radio Free Europe. His more recent work includes being a correspondent for Reporters Without Borders and Agence France Press. He currently lectures on topics such as journalism, international relations, and EU policies at several Kosovo universities.
Vjollca Krasniqi is a sociologist. She holds a Ph.D. degree from the University of Ljubljana, an MSc degree in Gender, Development and Globalization from the London School of Economics, and a BA degree in Philosophy and Sociology from the University of Prishtina. She is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Prishtina. She is the co-chair of the University Programme for Gender Studies and Research. She has written on political, social, and gender developments in Kosovo. Currently she is engaged in several international research projects on post-war justice, informality, migration and human rights, gender and education
Mario Mažić has been an advocate for rights and democracy for over 15 years. He runs a consultancy company “Europe&Southeast” based in Zagreb, Croatia. Mario is also a Strategic Advisor at Robert Bosch Foundation in Berlin, Germany; the initiator of Political Youth Network which gathers young political leaders from post-Yugoslav nations; the Co-founder of Arterarij, a Zagreb, Croatia-based organization promoting tolerance through arts; Chair of the Board at the National Center for Peace and Development in Kabul, Afghanistan and the Western Balkans Initiative expert at the International Institute for Peace based in Vienna, Austria. He holds an MA in International Development and Policy from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and is part of the inaugural cohort of Obama Foundation Scholars. He also holds a BA in International Relations from Libertas International University in Zagreb, and has taken undergraduate courses at the University of Zagreb, University of Oslo, Northwestern University and University of Belgrade. In 2012 he was a Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Human Rights at Columbia University in New York. He founded and led the Youth Initiative for Human Rights - Croatia in Zagreb, Croatia, an NGO focused on reconciliation and transitional justice, between 2008 and 2018. In 2019, on behalf of this organization, Mario received the French national human rights prize ‘Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité’ for a “Shared Narratives” project, which supports reconciliation by bridging the gaps in divisive narratives among youth in the former Yugoslav societies. Between 2019 and 2023, he worked as a Senior Program Advisor at PeaceNexus Foundation in Prangins, Switzerland. For two years (2015-17) he led the efforts of Reach for Change Foundation in Croatia as its Country Manager and Representative. Since 2020, Mario has been a Fellow at the Royal Society of Arts (London, UK).
Arjeta Spahiu has 19 years of professional career in International Organisations, serving in various Legal Advisory roles with the Senior Mission Management. Initially she worked for NGO’s as IMC and Humanitarian Law Centre, while for the last 16 years she worked with the EU Common Security and Defence Policy Missions initially in North Macedonia with EUPOL Proxima and EUPT Macedonia, while the last 10 years she served as a Senior Legal Advisor for EULEX Kosovo. In 2014, Arjeta established a consultancy company in Kosovo “Advoco Solutions” providing training, coaching and legal expertise. Ms. Spahiu holds a Law Degree from Pristina University and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Sheffield, UK. Ms. Spahiu is Certified Professional Coach from the Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching, Washington D.C. and the International Coach Federation. She is as well the Leadership and Management Instructor at the Training and Development Institute within American University in Kosovo/Rochester Institute of Technology. She provided Coaching Services to the administrative staff of Parliament of Kosovo as per the Project “Support to the EU Integration Process in Kosovo” funded by the German Development Agency GIZ “Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit”. Arjeta is a representative of the U.S based company Ken Blanchard, for Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania. She served 2 years consecutively as a Board Member in the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo and re-elected for the 3d year.
Admir Salihu works as a lawyer since 2010. He started his career as a journalist in Radio Tema, Ferizaj, and after that he was the Executive Director of Democratic Forum for Civil Society from 2003 to 2006. Admir Salihu was engaged by Humanitarian Law Center Kosovo to represent victims in front of Serbian court. Mr. Salihu holds a law degree from Pristina University. He worked as Assistant Lawyer in the Lawyer Office ‘Avni Ibrahimi’ and as a Program Assistant at Forum for Civic Initiative. Since 2010 until 2011 he worked as a Program Manager in Initiative for Progress. For three years he worked as a Legal Advisor/Lawyer in Fol Movement. He currently leads the Legal Advocacy Office ‘Fer Lex’ in Ferizaj. He is registered in the Kosovo Bar Association from 2013.
Kushtrim Palushi is a founding partner of RAMAJ & PALUSHI LLC. He is a lawyer with specializations and experience in Labour Law, Administrative and Regulatory Law, White Collar Crimes and Compliance, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Human Rights, International Criminal Law, Litigation and Arbitration. Kushtrim has a proven track record before Kosovo courts and administrative bodies litigating and achieving remarkable results for institutional clients, businesses and individuals. Prior to joining RAMAJ & PALUSHI Kushtrim worked as a Strategic Litigation Specialist with SEJDIU & QERKINI LLC as part of the Justice and the People Campaign Partnership raising and litigating strategic cases before Kosovo courts in pursuit of systemic changes within the justice system. Kushtrim graduated from the University of Notre Dame Law School with a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree with specializations in International Human Rights Law, International Dispute Resolution, International Criminal Law and Arbitration. He holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree from the University of Prishtina, Faculty of Law in Kosovo. He is a certified trainer by the Kosovo Bar Association and the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative and delivers trainings to advocates and other legal practitioners, civil society and students. Prior to starting practicing law, Kushtrim has worked for over five years in the civil society sector in Kosovo as a legal advisor and in various management positions. He has also worked with USAID’s System for Enforcing Agreements and Decisions (SEAD) program in streamlining the procedures for enforcement of Courts’ decisions and introducing Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms in Kosovo. Kushtrim is the recipient of numerous recognitions and awards, such as the Fulbright Foreign Student Scholarship by the U.S. Department of State, National Price for Justice “Sali Ceku” by the Ministry of Justice of Kosovo Honorable Mention at the 18th Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot.