Kosovo Human Development Report 2010 - UNDP Kosovo - United ...

Ineffective institutional support
mechanisms. Where institutions are
inefficient, unaccountable and unresponsive
they cannot create opportunities
or provide an adequate safety net
for the socially excluded. Institutional
failures can extend to private sector,
faith-based and civil society institutions
– which can deepen social exclusion
by failing to promote and provide
equality of opportunity to all groups
and promoting rooted concepts.
Only two streets have not been paved in my neighbourhood,
and one of the streets is inhabited by Roma, where I live, and
there are 10-12 houses with Roma in the other street and only
these two streets are not paved.
RAE participant of a focus group
Weak rule of law. Where rule of
law does not operate to prevent the
expression of prejudice, social and political
biases can rule individual opportunity.
In such climates, discrimination
on the basis of ethnicity and gender
may result in exclusion from the labour
market or participation in political processes.
In extreme cases, it can lead
to overt hostility and violence against
certain groups. Lack of trust in the rule
of law process can prevent excluded
groups from taking up their rights
despite the existence of legislation to
protect them.
Discriminatory social values and
cultural practices. Cultural liberty is
critical to human development. Freedom
to express a cultural, religious,
ethnic or sexual identity and to enjoy
gender equality is a fundamental human
right. Where this freedom goes
against a socio-cultural norm, exclusion
is a very real risk. There are multiple
manifestations of this type of exclusion
across society; for example, where
26 | KOSOVO HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2010
minorities lack cultural services to support
their native culture, or are unable
to find jobs because of their skin colour.
It is equally possible for groups to
participate in their own exclusion – a
far more challenging situation. Where
minority groups do not integrate sufficiently
to read and write the national
language, for example, their access to
education, political life and to justice
becomes extremely precarious. 23
There are cases where people are hidden
and locked in their houses in villages.
Occasionally we are lucky and
find new members in town who have
disabilities and we invite them to meet
with us in order to have communication
with other people who face similar
difficulties regarding social exclusion.
There are households in which
family members with disabilities are
totally isolated from the outside world.
Disabled participant of a focus
group
Inequalities between groups. Inequalities
that exist de facto or de jure
among groups can increase exclusion.
These can include, for example, inequalities
in terms of class/wealth and
access to resources. Frequently, they
include gender relations shaped by
formal and informal rules for men and
women, boys and girls to participate
in decision-making and control resources.
In ethnically diverse societies,
dominant ethnic groups may define
the degree and form of discriminatory
practices towards disadvantaged
groups including language and religious
practices. Social groups living in
certain regions with poorly developed
infrastructure may have limited access
to state support and services that can
lead to their exclusion.
Even if all social groups are provided
with the same level of opportunity,