Kosovo seeks to join Europe’s top human rights organization

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The government of Kosovo has formally applied for membership of the Council of Europe, the continent’s top human rights organization. Neighboring Serbia, from which Kosovo seceded after a war in the late 1990s and which doesn’t recognize its former province’s independence, expressed opposition to the bid. The Council of Europe, or CoE, which has 46 member nations — including Serbia — already has an office in Kosovo to assist with democratic reforms. Kosovo’s government said in a statement Thursday that the small Balkan country already has ratified the relevant conventions for joining the organization. “Human rights and elementary freedom are guaranteed” by Kosovo’s constitution, the statement said.