The monastery of Deçan enjoys full protection and is in good and functional condition

Today, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Hajrulla Çeku and the Minister of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, Liburn Aliu, received the delegation made up of representatives of the Europa Nostra Organization, accompanied by representatives of the Institute of the European Investment Bank.

The meeting discussed the aspects of the inclusion of the Monastery of Deçan in the list of the 7 most endangered localities in Europe in 2021. The ministers reiterated the position of the institutions of Kosovo, and the disagreement for this inclusion, without genuine consultation with the parties.

The ministers declared that the lack of risk assessment for the Novobërda Castle, and the insistence on the "danger" to the Monastery of Deçan, is also evidence of the non-professional, politically influenced approach of the Europa Nostra organization, and emphasized once again that Europe Nostra owes an apology and compensation for the damage caused to the reputation of Kosovo Institutions.

The inclusion of Deçan Monastery in the list of the 7 most endangered sites in Europe was not fair, because it was not based on professional arguments and does not reflect the real picture.

The monastery of Deçan, as a cultural heritage asset, is a building in good physical and functional condition, where regular religious ceremonies take place.

The security situation in cultural heritage sites, especially religious ones, has improved, and this fact is argued by the reports of the security bodies, the Kosovo Police, and the KFOR Mission in Kosovo. From 2014 to 2021, 537 cases in religious buildings (most cases of theft) were reported to the Kosovo police, of which 61% were in Muslim religious buildings, 31% in Catholic buildings and 6% in Orthodox buildings. Most of them are cases of theft, while no case has been classified as religiously motivated.

Based on the latest statistics from the Special Unit of the Kosovo Police, during the period January - June 2022, 5.88% fewer cases were presented compared to the same period in 2021. The security situation in the monuments of religious heritage is satisfactory, without serious cases (incidents), where the influx of believers during religious ceremonies is increasing, without problems, also with an increase in visitors from different countries of the world.

The monastery of Deçan is located within the “Bjeshkët e Nemura” National Park. Kosovo's institutions are taking all the necessary steps to ensure the basics of environmental protection and cultural heritage values, in order to create conditions for sustainable development through mountain and cultural tourism. In this regard, our institutions are working to find solutions that are in function of protecting the integrity of the natural and cultural values of the National Park “Bjeshkët e Nemura”.

The Republic of Kosovo through its Constitution guarantees the protection and respect of the rights of non-majority communities, and in particular provides all legal and institutional mechanisms for the protection of cultural heritage.

In this aspect, the monastery of Deçan enjoys full legal protection in accordance with International Conventions, which ensures the preservation of the integrity of the values of the heritage, valued as part of the World Heritage.

During the past year, MCYS has supported the nomination of Novobërda Castle in the Europa Nostra program of the 7 most endangered localities in Europe. Despite the critical condition and the threat to the integrity of Novobërda Castle as a result of unprofessional work, the Castle is not included in the program of endangered localities.