15.06.2023.

EU Support Strengthens Kosovo's Civil Status Registration System, Paving the Way for Efficiency and Reliability

The Civil Registration Agency of Kosovo is pleased to announce the successful integration of over 3 million missing civil status records into their identity management system. This achievement was made possible through funding from the European Union (EU) and with the support of the Danish Refugee Council, spanning from 2012 to 2023. The project aimed to fulfill the agency's mandate under the dialogue process between Kosovo and Serbia.

On 1 June 2023, the Civil Registration Agency of Kosovo can officially announce the successful completion of the integration of data from over 12,000 civil status registers into their system. This accomplishment marked the finalisation of the “Digitalisation of the Certified Copies of Civil Registry Books – Phase III” project, which aimed to link the certified-copy e-archive and the Central Civil Status Register in Kosovo. The project, funded by EU, had a budget of EUR 2 million and was implemented by Danish Refugee Council over a 42 month period, starting on 2 December 2019.

The main objective of the project was to contribute to the creation of a single, comprehensive upgraded system of civil status data towards enhancing the reliability of Kosovo’s registration system in the framework of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue. Key staff of the Civil Registration Agency of Kosovo, Ministry of Interior as well as Municipal Civil Status Offices, (providing services on local level) participated in the project.

The implementation of the project led to several significant outcomes:

Availability of Historic Records: A total of 3,100,783 records of birth, marriage and death, covering the period between the establishments of the civil status registry system after World War II and 1999, became accessible to Kosovo authorities.
IT infrastructure upgrades: The Civil Registration Agency and Municipal Status Offices received improvements in their IT infrastructure which enhanced their capacity to handle and manage civil status data efficiently.
Integrated-Search Solution: The project developed an integrated-search solution that allowed for easy access to civil status data on both central and local levels. This user-friendly format enables efficient retrieval and utilization of civil status information.
Delivery of Software and Manuals: The Civil Registration Agency received essential deliverables, including software source codes, encryption and validation algorithms as well as user manuals.
Pilot solutions Implementation: The project conducted pilot solutions implementations in the municipalities of Istog/Istok, Mitrovicë/Mitrovica, and Prishtinë/Priština.

The project’s results achieved form an important milestone in the implementation of the 2011 Agreed Conclusions under the EU-led dialogue on the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. However, there are still challenges ahead, namely:

Ensuring the solutions developed by the project – the tools allowing matching identities between different data sources and searching for data from all digital sources – are rolled-out in all remaining municipalities, thus making them fully sustainable.
Finalising the full reliability and comprehensiveness of the civil status system by processing the remaining caseload of civil status data that is currently available in hard-copy format.
Further improve the consolidation of capacities within the Civil Registration Agency and Municipal Civil Status Offices to utilise the above-mentioned tools and apply them to other similar processes.

While significant progress has been made in this area with EU support, it is acknowledged that continuous efforts are needed to ensure sustainability of the reforms for the benefit of Kosovo citizens.