The UNMIK Office of Community Support (OCS) plays an important role in monitoring, reporting and promoting responses to issues and concerns pertaining to all communities in Kosovo.
OCS staff regularly visit communities throughout Kosovo, including minority communities, displacement and returns areas, and religious and cultural sites. They work through an active network of community-based partners and interlocutors, guided by the vital need to promote tolerance and build bridges across community fault lines.
OCS team members provide critical interface support between communities and institutional platforms for the delivery of essential services at the local level. They help ensure that vulnerable groups are able to access humanitarian and development assistance, that all communities enjoy equal access to available public services, and that discriminatory policies and practices are reported and addressed.
OCS also manages the Mission’s Community Trust-building Projects (CTBPs) and coordinates the SRSG’s outreach visits to municipalities.
Monitoring, reporting and support
One of the core functions of the Office of Community Support (OCS) includes monitoring and assessment of developments and trends in Kosovo municipalities south of the Ibër/Ibar River (except South Mitrovica), and the production and dissemination of daily and special field reports. OCS teams gather information through daily liaison with local authorities, including those representing non-majority communities, religious and community leaders, the international community and civil society. OCS field teams also attend meetings of municipal bodies, where issues affecting communities are discussed.
Furthermore, OCS supports and promotes the functioning of the main local level mandatory mechanisms (the Municipal Offices for Communities and Return and the Communities’ Committees) and officials (the Deputy Mayor for Communities and the Deputy Chairperson for Communities). These have been established in order to promote and protect the interests of non-majority communities, and to ensure institutional responsibility for resolving and preventing cases that have the potential to impede trust-building and the reconciliation process.
OCS has been actively supporting the work of municipalities, the Office of Community Affairs (Prime Minister’s Office) and the Consultative Council for Communities (Office of the President).