New Bill Orders State Department to Assess Serbia’s Treatment of Ethnic Albanians in Preshevo Valley

This legislation, dubbed the Preshevo Valley Discrimination Assessment Act, mandates that the Secretary of State produce a detailed report on the treatment of ethnic minorities in Serbia. Specifically, within 180 days of this law taking effect, the State Department must deliver an unclassified report (with a potential classified annex) to the House and Senate Foreign Affairs Committees focusing on issues concerning ethnic Albanians, particularly those living in the Preshevo Valley. This isn't a policy change yet—it’s an information-gathering mission to help Congress figure out what, if anything, needs to be done next regarding U.S. foreign policy toward Serbia.

The Administrative Hurdles Report

The core of this bill (SEC. 2) is a deep dive into specific administrative and systemic barriers that allegedly affect ethnic Albanians. The report must investigate the practice known as 'passivation'—the deactivation of registered residences by Serbian authorities. If confirmed, the State Department must assess whether this administrative move prevents people from renewing identity documents, which in turn would block them from exercising basic rights like voting. Imagine trying to renew your driver’s license, only to find your home address has been erased from the government registry; that’s the kind of fundamental access issue this report aims to uncover.

Access to Jobs, Education, and Language

Beyond residency, the report must examine whether Serbia is failing to ensure the proportional integration of ethnic Albanians into state and public institutions—basically, are they getting fair access to public sector jobs and government roles? It also looks at education, specifically whether Serbia refuses to recognize diplomas earned in Kosovo and if there are delays in providing Albanian-language school textbooks. For a young person trying to build a career, having their degree dismissed or their education materials withheld creates a significant, direct barrier to economic stability and upward mobility.

The Budget and Police Scrutiny

Two other key areas the bill targets are municipal funding and police activity. The State Department must investigate whether central government grants to majority-Albanian municipalities are significantly lower than those given to majority-Serb municipalities, potentially starving essential infrastructure and public services of funds. Furthermore, the report requires an assessment of whether Serbian police or law enforcement interrogate, threaten, or intimidate local ethnic Albanians without due cause. While the specific issues are complex, the mandate itself is clear: Congress is looking for hard data on whether systemic discrimination is making life unsustainable for this minority group, potentially leading to increased poverty through deliberate measures (SEC. 2). For the Serbian government, this report means increased diplomatic scrutiny based on objective findings, forcing a closer look at how local governance and law enforcement practices align with international human rights standards.