Joint Press Release

On the occasion of 61st anniversary of the Élysée Treaty and the 5th anniversary of the Aachen Treaty, the German and French Embassies in Kosovo organized a discussion on reconciliation. Taking place on January 25, at the Diakonie Youth Center in Mitrovica, the event, supported by Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO), included representatives from NGOs in the Mitrovica region.

Participants discussed various individual and community-level perceptions of reconciliation, their impact on the reconciliatory processes in Kosovo, as well as finding the common ground in defining the first steps that need to be undertaken in order to reinvigorate the inter-ethnic peacebuilding process.

As stated by their Excellencies Mr. Rohde and Mr. Guérot during the event and underlined by sharing personal experiences how reconciliation became part of their own biographies, although of a different nature and scope, the German-French reconciliatory process can still offer food for thoughts and inspiration to local communities in their pursuit of overcoming the heavy baggage of the past.

Notwithstanding the fact that it is very challenging to find common ground for defining what reconciliation entails for different communities in Kosovo’s post war environment, participants came to the conclusion that reconciliation processes need to be detached from the overwhelming influence of nationalistic narratives and toxic rhetoric. It is of utmost importance that grassroot communities address cross-cutting issues related to reconciliation in a manner that leads to irreversible and concrete progress for all, supported by local, national and international stakeholders.

Germany and France will actively continue to support genuine efforts for reconciliation.