From 23-26 May, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo organised a study visit to Vienna featuring Gender Budgeting. The aim was to learn about best practices from Austria which has taken a pioneering role when it comes to Gender Budgeting. Yet, it does not start from scratch as Gender Budgeting obligations have been enshrined in the Kosovarian Law on Gender Equality as well as in Budget Circulars issued by the Kosovarian Ministry of Finance.

Former Vice Head of Department IV/1 Gender Equality Policies and Legal Matters, Sieglinde Stockinger, and Birgit Eigelsreiter, member of Department IV/1 provided an insight into the implementation of Gender Mainstreaming and Gender Budgeting in the public administration.

Interesting to know: Legal stipulations featuring Gender Budgeting in Kosovo.

All public authorities at all federal levels have been obliged to apply Gender Budgeting principles and, as such, take account of gender equality between women and men. This runs the gamut from budgetary planning, to distributing budgets, inclusive of generating income/budgets. With regard Gender Budgeting, art 5 of the Kosovarian Law on Gender Equality, which introduces “General measures to prevent gender discrimination and ensure gender equality” and art 12 and 23 of the Kosovarian Law on Gender Equality shall be pointed to in particular.

• Accordingly bodies at all levels of legislative, executive, judicial and other public institutions shall be responsible to implement inclusion of gender budgeting in all areas, as a necessary tool to guarantee that the principle of gender equality is respected in collecting, distribution and allocation of resources,
• Also, the relevant officials for gender equality must include gender budgeting in drafting and implementing policies;
• Finally, the competent courts must develop a violation procedure and impose sanctions.