A number of North Mitrovica residents recently discovered inconsistencies in their identification documents that, rather than listing “North Mitrovica” as their residence, simply state “Mitrovica.” This discrepancy is allegedly a result of outdated data in Kosovo’s Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) system, according to Nedžad Ugljanin, President of the North Mitrovica Assembly. Ugljanin characterized the issue as a “technical problem,” for which the municipality has formally requested MIA to make necessary corrections.
Ugljanin also specified that this labeling inconsistency violated both Kosovo’s laws and key agreements, including the Ahtisaari Plan and the Brussels Agreement, which set administrative guidelines for both North and South Mitrovica as distinct entities.
A Legacy of Division and Data Misalignment
The roots of this discrepancy trace back to Kosovo’s 2008 Law on Municipal Boundaries, which officially divided the formerly unified Mitrovica into two municipalities: North Mitrovica and South Mitrovica.
However, it wasn’t until the local elections of 2013 and 2014 that these municipalities began functioning independently. At that time, North Mitrovica’s municipal administrative office, located in the Bosniak Mahala, transitioned into an official municipality.
Since then, residents’ IDs reflected their residence as “North Mitrovica,” while “Mitrovica” remained in the field for their place of birth.
However, in the past month, our portal has received reports from several citizens who obtained their ID cards primarily in the second half of this year, but some also from February, showing that their residence in Severna Mitrovica has been omitted. Instead, only Mitrovica is listed. Most of them noticed this change quite by chance, considering that the place of residence is located on the back of the ID card.
Ugljanin contends that the issue arose from outdated data in the MIA system, which still recognizes the pre-division Mitrovica data.
He asserts that this was caused by records imported before the administrative split and creation of North Mitrovica.
“Old data remains in the system, listing ‘Mitrovica’ as the place of residence,” said Ugljanin.
He added that the municipality’s dedicated ID issuance unit has already submitted a formal request to MIA to address these “technical problems.”
South Mitrovica Records Prompt Further Concern
In contrast, South Mitrovica identification documents uniformly display “Mitrovica” rather than “South Mitrovica.”
Ugljanin argues that this practice also contravenes legal agreements.
“This is a violation of the law and the agreements,” he said, referring to the continued use of the outdated “Mitrovica” designation rather than specifying “South Mitrovica.”
North Mitrovica’s municipal administration, on the other hand, he emphasized, consistently adheres to proper terminology, labeling both “North Mitrovica” and “South Mitrovica” in official documents.
Efforts to Address and Resolve the Issue
On September 24, Ugljanin brought the issue before North Mitrovica’s Finance Committee and has plans to raise it in the North Mitrovica Assembly on October 31.
He aims to safeguard North Mitrovica’s legal and administrative identity, insisting that “North Mitrovica must be listed as the place of residence“.
The Kosovo Registration Agency issued a public statement on social media clarifying that ID documents display the residence information citizens provide to their civil registry office.
This announcement, however, raised further questions about whether the agency conducts due diligence on the addresses citizens submit or simply records them without verification.
Inquiries from KoSSev to the agency operating within the Kosovo MIA regarding the extent of the discrepancy and future corrective measures remain unanswered.
KoSSev encourages citizens to report any irregularities in their IDs, particularly regarding their place of residence, as the issue unfolds.
‘North’ Removed from New Mitrovica ID Cards: Technical Error or Intentional?
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