Human Rights, Development and the Protection System in Serbia

1. Office of the Resident Coordinator in Serbia Human Rights, Development and the Protection System in Serbia

2. Human Rights in Serbia after 2000 • General impression that situation is improving • Reports for 2007 state that situation with both CP rights and ESC rights has progressed • With development of democratic values, human rights are getting their place

3. However… • One of the first statements of the Serbian Ombudsman, Sasa Jankovic is that the culture of human rights in Serbia is not developed • Shocking report of the MRDI regarding the situation in mental health care institutions • Significant deterioration of the situation of the HRD in only 2 days after February 17th 2008

4. However… • Embassies on fire • Attacks on Albanian minorities in Vojvodina (Sombor, Novi Sad) • Attempted attack on the B92 and threats to B92 staff and editors • Attacks on NGOs (LINGVA Kraljevo, HLC Belgrade…) and those involved in transitional justice

5. Poverty • One of the gravest problems in Serbia • Second report in the implementation of PRSP states that nearly 9% of the population lives with less than 6000 RSD a month (80E) • Population in the interior of the country is three times poorer than the one living in Belgrade • South Serbia is the poorest region • Roma are the ethnic group suffering from poverty the most

6. Unemployment • National Employment Service states that there are 913,000 unemployed in Serbia, 54% of which are women • Vulnerable groups affected more (Roma, PWD) • World Bank country brief – unemployment rate 20.9% • UNDP 2004: General population 19%; Refugees and IDPs 32%; Roma 39%

7. Situation of Roma • Roma community is still suffering severe exclusion and discrimination • Living in conditions of extreme poverty with limited access to education and healthcare • Substandard living conditions (unhygienic settlements) • Higher mortality rate • Targets of numerous incidents of violence, verbal and physical harassment

8. Situation of Roma • Difficulties in obtaining personal documents (access to the social security system, education, employment etc) • Working in waste collection – unregulated area (no health, social or pension insurance…)

9. Women • Concern: violence against women, high level of domestic violence persists • Social status of women: inferior to men • Women discriminated in the labor market / according to the Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, women’s average wages are 11% lower than that of men

10. Children • Educational system provides 9 years of mandatory and free schooling • However, elementary education remains a problem for Roma and for poor populations – around 1/3 of Roma children completes primary education • Some Roma children are placed in schools for mentally disabled children because of their language difficulties

11. Children • Children from socially vulnerable groups suffer discrimination and exclusion • Domestic violence against children remains a problem • Child marriage is still present, especially within Roma community, so is child labor

12. People with disabilities • Law on prohibition of discrimination of PWD adopted, implementation disputable • 2007-2015 Strategy for improving conditions of the PWD adopted • Inclusive education still not possible in Serbia • Only 13% of PWD are employed, 70% lives in poverty • Architectonic barriers remain to be a problem, as well as access to public transportation (voting) • MRDI – Torment not Treatment

13. Minorities • COM 2007 states that the number of ethnically motivated incidents has decreased. This report was developed prior to the events following the February 17th 2008 • Recorded attacks against Albanian minority in Vojvodina (owners of bakeries, one bakery set on fire…)

14. Minorities • Legislative amendments have allowed better representation of minorities in the parliament • There is a Republican Council for Minorities but it has not met since 2006 • Tensions in south Serbia persist

15. Refugees and IDPs • 104,000 refugees and 208,000 IDPs living in difficult socio-economic situation Readmission • CoE estimates 60,000-100,000 but the number may be much higher

16. Human Rights Defenders • Human Rights Defenders are often subject of harassment, threats… • Some media led campaigns aimed at demonizing and discrediting human rights activists (e.g. Natasa, the women that does not exist, V. Novosti) • Several attacks reported, NGOs state that officials are slow to investigate or prosecute these threats • Overall public image of the human rights defenders remains negative, identified as traitors…

17. Journalists • Continue to face threats, even murder attempts (Dejan Anastasijevic) • Assassinators of Slavko Curuvija not identified yet • Defamation is not de-criminalized, which imposes additional pressure on journalists (Bodrozic)

18. UN Human Rights System • Party to almost all UN Human Rights Treaties (ratifications pending for CMW, CPD and CED) • Report under CERD overdue • CRC and CAT reviews in 2008 • ICCPR report to be submitted in 2008 (?) • Universal Periodic Review – in December 2008

19. Constitution/al Court/Appeal • Better catalogue of human rights • Constitutional appeal for the first time in Serbia (existed on Federal level) – specificlegal remedy against individuals, state bodies or organizations exercising public authority and violating or denying rights guaranteed by Constitution, if other legal remedies are exhausted or do not exist • Constitutional court: 10 out of 15 judges appointed, significant backlog, president Bosa Nenadic

20. Request for the protection of legality • Filed by the Republican Public Prosecutor to the Supreme Court, if a final court decision is in violation of the law • According to the new Criminal Procedure Code, individual can appeal to the Supreme Court if Prosecutor decides not to file the request despite the facts • (will have to be exhausted prior to Constitutional appeal or a submission to international body such as ECtHR)

21. Ombudsman • Ombudsman on three levels: • State level – Sasa Jankovic (mid 2007) • Province level – Petar Teofilovic for Vojvodina (2003) • Local (municipality level) • It took 199 years for the Ombudsman idea to travel from Sweden to Serbia

22. Commissioner for Information of Public Importance • Law on access to information of public importance delivered in 2004 • Free access to information has to be further improved… Government has not sufficiently acted on the Commissioners recommendations (COM 2007)

23. Within the Government • Agency for Human and Minority Rights Continues to operate within the Government of Serbia (one of the departments is dealing exclusively with Roma issues) • Sector for Gender Equality also established within the Government of Serbia

24. Civil Society • Human Rights NGOs • Media

25. Enforcement of decisions of International Bodies • CAT and HRC decisions not implemented / Serbian legislation needs to be amended in this regard (BGCHR 2007) - Bodrozic • ECtHR delivered six judgments finding that Serbia has violated at least one article of the ECHR / first ruling was fully enforced by Serbia (COM 2007)

26. Still missing • Anti-Discrimination Law • Law on Associations • Law on Gender Equality • Human Rights Strategy/Policy • Consistent strategy against dissemination of hatred and hate speech • etc