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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Works in Special Protective Zone of Visoki Dečani Monastery must be halted

Belgrade, 29 July 2026

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija today called on international representatives in Kosovo and Metohija to react urgently and decisively and to stop, without delay, the resumption of illegal construction works within the Special Protective Zone of the Visoki Dečani Monastery.

These activities are clearly part of a broader policy of systematic pressure against the Serbian Orthodox Church and its believers and are therefore being carried out without any consent or knowledge of the Diocese and the brotherhood of the Visoki Dečani Monastery.

Over the past 27 years, the monastery has been the target of armed attacks on as many as four occasions, along with numerous other threats and the writing of graffiti containing messages of ethnic and religious hatred and intolerance.

Today, we are witnessing a new attack on one of the most important sanctuaries of the Serbian Orthodox Church, carried out through unilateral actions, unauthorised and unlawful construction and the execution of works within the monastery’s Special Protective Zone itself, which may have far-reaching consequences for this Serbian medieval gem, which is also under UNESCO protection.

For who knows how many times, we are witnessing the fact that even the regulations adopted in Pristina are not being respected when it comes to the guaranteed rights and property of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija, and that they are being openly and shamelessly violated. This is why it is necessary for the international community to react decisively this time as well and prevent any further actions within the Special Protective Zone of the Visoki Dečani Monastery.