Nora Ahmetaj

Nora Ahmetaj, "a Kosovar Albanian, began working in the field of human rights seven years ago, when Serbian President Slobodan Milosovich began his crackdown on Albanians in Kosovo. She spent a number of years working to promote non-violence and peaceful resolution to the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and conducted research on human rights abuses committed against Albanians and Serbs during the conflicts. The focus of Ahmetaj's work at the Carr Center was on the poorly-understood Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). Her work demonstrates how the KLA adroitly pulled NATO into its war with the Serb authorities, and, in many parts of Kosovo, how it became more authoritarian and abusive with each success. In addition to her formal work, Ahmetaj spoke at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, for a special event entitled "Woman Uniting for Peace", where she presented the work of Woman in Black, a Belgrade-based NGO. She returned to the UN headquarters to participate in the final Preparatory Commission International Criminal Court. This session, organized by the Women's Caucus for Gender Justice, finalized the Rules of Procedure and Evidence and the Elements of Crimes for the ICC. Ahmetaj also participated in two conferences; "Truth, Responsibility, and Reconciliation in Yugoslavia", Former Republic of Yugoslavia and "Women's Initiatives and Responses to War and Conflict", Women's Rights Group at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.“


 * Carr Center, Former Fellows 1999/2000