Kosovo and the WPS Agenda: a prevention centered approach in safeguarding women’s public leadership
Women’s rights, leadership and security were put at the center of peace and security governance through the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, launched with the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000.[1] Twenty five years on, while these commitment’s importance and adherence are without doubt acknowledged, challenges persist on how much they have influenced the role of women at the local level, inside justice systems, and in political arenas, where intimidation can function as a silent veto on women’s participation.
The Republic of Kosovo has, immediately after their adoption, included the WPS agenda as part of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo-led governance processes and, after the declaration of independence in 2008, as guiding effort by the government and presidency of Kosovo, through promotion of women rights; legal and institutional guarantees; reparative and recognition measures for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence; and overall increased participation of women in public life. In this regard, Kosovo has also embraced a prevention-centered application of the WPS agenda, where participation is safeguarded through coordinated national strategies on violence against women and domestic violence, local-level coordination mechanisms, and legal reforms - most notably, the criminalization of violence targeting women in public roles - recognizing such acts as threats to democratic integrity and security. This contribution focuses specifically on those efforts aimed at addressing violence against women in political life as a key component of meaningful and sustained participation under the WPS framework.
WPS Agenda: from commitments to credible protection
A central paradox in general with international commitments, including the WPS agenda, is that norms and plans continue to expand, however outcomes in field often fall behind. The Oxford Handbook of Women, Peace, and Security[2] highlights various challenges in institutionalizing and putting in practice the commitments of the WPS Agenda. Scholars like Kirby and Shepherd frame WPS as a “policy ecosystem” that continuously reproduces itself through plans, reports and templates, generating substantial documentary activity without equivalent change in lived security and political agency.[3] However, despite these limitations, such reports and planning tools still offer a window into how the WPS agenda is being applied on the ground, and they help us understand the level of progress achieved so far.
To make this progress more effective and lasting, there is a growing recognition that implementation should go beyond participation counts or surface-level activity. Instead, WPS efforts must adopt an evaluation lens that prioritizes prevention and institutional reliability, ensuring that commitments are not only made but are backed by systems capable of preventing harm and sustaining women’s safety and agency in public life. This is where a concept from public international law, human rights and transitional justice becomes useful: guarantees of non-repetition (non-recurrence), a set of measures aimed at ensuring that violations do not recur, increasingly treated as an integral part of institutional reform in post-conflict settings (2024)[4] but worthy of application in furthering protection of women and their participation in public life. Guarantees of non-repetition are mostly relevant and important to adopt in response to gross and systematic human rights violations.[5] They consist of legal and institutional measures, and have been increasingly been required in response to gender-based violence, prescribed under the Istanbul Convention,[6] as well as the workings of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (see, CEDAW General Recommendation No. 35, 2017).[7] This understanding of guarantees of non-repetition as prevention tools is also informed by my own academic work, developed during my doctoral research and further explored in my recent book on the subject.[8] My core argument is simple but essential: for non-recurrence to be meaningful, it must go beyond declarations, it must be built into the daily operations of institutions through concrete, monitorable reforms. Only then can we ensure that protection is not symbolic, but lasting and effective, particularly when it comes to safeguarding women’s rights and participation in public life.
WPS implementation in practice in Kosovo
Viewing implementation through the lens of non-repetition moves the discussion beyond the adoption of commitments and toward the institutions that must uphold them. The real test lies in whether systems are able to prevent harm and support women’s rights. Kosovo’s policy approach in the field of violence against women and domestic violence increasingly reflects this understanding, relying on a structured, system-based framework that seeks to turn principles into routine practice. The National Strategy on Protection against Domestic Violence and Violence against Women (2022–2026)[9] frames violence as an obstacle to equality and proposes an integrated approach combining prevention, institutional strengthening and survivor support, aligned with international standards.
What matters here is not only the policy content, but also how implementation is organised. One of the strengths of Kosovo’s approach is the emphasis on clear responsibility, coordination, and routine monitoring. The role of the National Coordinator was initially established through a Decision of the Prime Minister, and it is now formally regulated under the Law against Domestic Violence. The law designates the Deputy Minister of Justice as National Coordinator, with responsibility for overseeing the implementation of the Strategy and organising reporting mechanisms across both central and local levels. This is more than administrative design. In many contexts, WPS initiatives lose credibility when responsibilities are dispersed across institutions and no one is clearly accountable for delivery.
That central coordinating role is reinforced at local level through municipal coordination mechanisms that report to the National Coordinator and support implementation within communities. Regulation (GRK) No. 01/2025,[10] further clarifies the duties and responsibilities of these local mechanisms in providing protection and support to victims of domestic violence, violence against women and gender-based violence. In WPS terms, this is what “localisation” looks like when it is built into institutional design: formalised roles and clearer coordination reduce dependence on individual discretion and make protection more consistent across municipalities.
Protecting participation: violence against women in public life
This governance approach becomes even more important when one looks at violence aimed at women in political and public life. Intimidation, harassment and coercion can limit women’s voice, discourage leadership, and push women out of public roles altogether. International bodies and research have documented how widespread this problem has become, including in its online forms, yet relatively few countries have introduced legal provisions that address it directly.[11] In many cases, such acts are treated under general gender-based violence or anti-discrimination laws, which do not always capture the specific dynamics of political intimidation or provide a clear basis for enforcement.
In this context, Kosovo’s legal development in 2023 is notable.[12] Amendments to the Criminal Code introduced Article 248/A, which criminalises violence against women in public life, including against elected officials, political candidates, public servants, and women who lead civil society organisations. The provision recognises that intimidation and coercion targeting women in these roles are not only forms of gender-based violence, but also acts that undermine democratic integrity. It provides institutions with a clearer legal basis for response, which is an important step in translating WPS commitments into practical protection.
The significance of this reform is both normative and practical. Normatively, it signals that attempts to silence women in public roles are not “part of politics” or an acceptable cost of visibility. Practically, it equips institutions with a more precise legal framework through which to act.
At the same time, a non-repetition approach calls for realism. Criminalisation is essential, but it is rarely sufficient on its own. Deterrence depends on whether women can report safely, whether police and prosecutors respond consistently, whether courts process cases effectively, and whether institutions can collect and use digital evidence in cases of online harassment and intimidation. The OSCE/ODIHR toolkit on violence against women in politics brings these elements together, emphasising an integrated response across prevention, protection, prosecution and coordination—exactly the kind of approach required if protection is to be credible in practice.[13]
What Kosovo’s experience humbly suggests for WPS implementation
For an Italian and European readership, Kosovo’s relevance lies in the implementation logic that emerges from this experience. It suggests the value of connecting participation to protection systems, building coordination into governance structures, and recognising intimidation, whether directed at women in public institutions, politics, or civil society, as a challenge to democratic integrity rather than a private burden that women must simply endure.
A prevention-oriented approach, informed by guarantees of non-repetition, also points to a more meaningful way to assess progress. Beyond plans, trainings or representation figures, institutions should be evaluated on whether protection mechanisms function in real time, whether coordination reduces gaps between agencies, whether recurrence declines, and whether women can remain in public roles without having to normalise harassment as routine. This is the practical difference between WPS as a policy ecosystem and WPS as institutional performance.[14]
At a moment when women in public life across the world face heightened hostility, including online abuse, Kosovo’s experience reinforces a simple but essential principle: participation without protection is not participation. The credibility of the WPS agenda ultimately depends on whether women’s engagement in politics, civil society and public institutions is sustained not by extraordinary personal resilience, but by institutions that are prepared, coordinated and committed to preventing harm from recurring. This prevention-centred direction is the one Kosovo has been working toward, and it offers a constructive contribution to European discussions on how to strengthen WPS implementation in practice.
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[1] United Nations Security Council. (2000). Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security (S/RES/1325).
[2] Davies, S. E., & True, J. (Eds.). (2019). The Oxford Handbook of Women, Peace, and Security. Oxford University Press.
[3] Kirby, P., & Shepherd, L. J. (2021). Women, peace and security: Mapping the (re)production of a policy ecosystem. Journal of Global Security Studies, 6(3).
[4] Shala, N. (2024). Guarantees of Non-Repetition in International Human Rights Law and Transitional Justice: Building Peace after Conflict. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-032-60209-7 (hbk); DOI: 10.4324/9781003458104.
[5] United Nations General Assembly. (2005). Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation… (A/RES/60/147, adopted 16 December 2005).
[6] Council of Europe. (2011). Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) (CETS No. 210).
[7] Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). (2017). General recommendation No. 35 on gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 (CEDAW/C/GC/35).
[8] Shala, N. (2024). Guarantees of Non-Repetition in International Human Rights Law and Transitional Justice: Building Peace after Conflict. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-032-60209-7 (hbk); DOI: 10.4324/9781003458104.
[9] Republic of Kosovo, Office of the Prime Minister. (2022). National Strategy on Protection against Domestic Violence and Violence against Women 2022–2026.
[10] Republic of Kosovo (Government). (2025). Regulation (GRK) No. 01/2025 for the Local Coordinating Mechanism for Protection from Domestic Violence, Violence against Women, and Gender-Based Violence.
[11] Krook, M. L. (2020). Violence against women in politics. Oxford University Press. ; OSCE/ODIHR. (2022). Toolkit for Addressing Violence against Women in Politics in the OSCE Region (incl. Tool 2: Addressing Violence Against Women in Parliaments). OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.
[12] Republic of Kosovo. (2023). Law No. 08/L-188 on Amending and Supplementing the Criminal Code No. 06/L-074 (incl. Article 248/A “Violence against women in public life”).
[13] OSCE/ODIHR. (2022). Toolkit for Addressing Violence against Women in Politics in the OSCE Region (incl. Tool 2: Addressing Violence Against Women in Parliaments). OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.
[14] Republic of Kosovo. (2023). Law No. 08/L-185 on Prevention and Protection from Domestic Violence, Violence against Women and Gender-Based Violence (Official Gazette, 12.10.2023).