Institutional leaders pledged to fight racial discrimination in Kosovo at the opening of the Western Balkans Summit against Racial Discrimination on Wednesday.

President Vjosa Osmani said that this summit is the right platform against racial discrimination and equal freedoms of every citizen.

“It is the right platform to raise our voice against discrimination of any kind, but at the same time to re-strengthen our institutional commitment against racial discrimination in particular. The recognition of the innate human dignity of equal and inalienable rights and freedoms is best sublimated in the universal declaration of human rights since 1948. Therefore, we must continuously walk in this line as this is the direction that guarantees equality, inclusiveness and mutual respect. Inclusion, respect and dialogue are prerequisites for an equal and just society,” she said.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti also offered commitment to fight this negative phenomenon.

On the other hand, the acting ambassador of Switzerland in Kosovo, Christoph Fuchs, congratulated the executive for his commitment to address the issue of racial discrimination, separately in the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians communities.

Meanwhile, the executive director of the “Voice of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians”, Isak Skenderi, said that now is the time to accept that racial discrimination is not a problem of minorities but a social problem.