The Anti-Discrimination Coalition and partner organizations demand from the competent authorities to withdraw from the adoption procedure the proposed Amending Act on the Anti-discrimination Law because representatives of vulnerable and discriminated groups, as well as the general public, had no opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed legal solutions. The text of the draft Act has an extremely large number of shortcomings; therefore, it is necessary to postpone its adoption and enable all stakeholders to provide their respective feedback.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia has recently prepared a proposed Amending Act on the Anti-discrimination Law. Contrary to the legal rules governing the drafting and adoption procedure of draft laws, the parties interested in the content of the Act were not allowed to participate in its drafting, nor was a public discussion on the proposed solutions held before the Government formally adopted them. This is also stated in item 9. Analysis of the effects of the Act that was submitted to the National Assembly along with the proposed Amending Act.

The lack of a wide debate on the new legal solutions directly prevented interested parties from making a constructive contribution to the quality of the proposed Act, and above all,  from contributing to the elimination of its numerous shortcomings, which can be divided into four different groups.

The first group consists of shortcomings which are linguistically meaningless or impossible linguistic structures, but also of spelling mistakes. For example, the text uses the word "doesnotjustify" (translator’s note: the whole phrase is written as one word) and states that "harassment...which is aimed at or constitutes a violation of dignity... is forbidden" (translator’s note: in the original, an impossible language structure is used). 

The second group of shortcomings indicates that the amendments are not proposed in accordance with the law drafting rules. For example, in a contradictory manner, the act authorizes the Commissioner to process names and other personal data of the parties in the ongoing court discrimination-related proceedings, but at the same time imposes the obligation to anonymize those data before the submission of the court judgments to the Commissioner.

The third group consists of legal and systemic shortcomings that prevent the adequate implementation of the Act, such as deleting general procedural guarantees pertaining to the complaint proceedings, thus jeopardizing the rights of the parties in the proceedings and paving the way for arbitrary decision-making on the part of the Commissioner. 

Finally, the fourth group of shortcomings are of legal and political nature and cast doubt on the actual intent of the author of the proposed amendments, such as the authorization of the Commissioner to decide not to act upon a complaint if he/she finds that the purpose of the proceedings can be achieved by issuing a public warning, or the introduction of misdemeanor fines ten times higher than the currently prescribed ones, without any reasoning behind it.

Since the number of these shortcomings exceeds the number of proposed amendments, and especially taking into account the fact that their adoption would significantly aggravate the status of the parties concerned with this Act, we consider it necessary to withdraw the proposed Act for adoption without any delay, and then enable all interested parties to participate in the improvement of the legal text at hand.

The Anti-Discrimination Coalition consists of the Center for the Advancement of Legal Studies, Civil Rights Defenders, Labris -Organization for Lesbian Human Rights, the Network of Human Rights Committees (CHRIS Network), the Association of Disabled Students, Gayten LGBT, Praxis and the Equality.

The list of organisations supporting the initiative can be downloaded here.

At the initiative of UNICEF and the Coordination Body for Gender Equality, the National Coalition to End Child Marriage was established with the aim of contributing to ending child marriages in Serbia by eliminating institutional and social barriers to law enforcement and promoting good practice of partnership between local communities, the media, non-governmental, governmental and private sectors. At the same time, the Coalition should work on safe choice options for Roma girls and on empowering Roma boys and girls to change the existing harmful practices.

The first founding meeting of the Coalition was held on 21 February 2019 in the building of the Government of the Republic of Serbia. On this occasion, UNICEF Representative in Serbia Regina De Dominicis pointed out that early and child marriages constituted a serious violation of the rights of girls, who were more at risk from this phenomenon.

"The story of every early married girl I met is full of pain and regret. Tradition is not harmful in itself, but the question is how society perceives this tradition and how it stimulates stereotypes. One of the most important aspects of child protection is precisely prevention of child marriages", said De Dominicis.

Assistant Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Jovana Atanacković, noted that marriage before the age of 18 was a serious violation of human rights and affected the girls' right to health, education and life without violence.

"Therefore, we are establishing the National Coalition in order to contribute, through our joint efforts, to creating intervention models, empowering young Roma women to get educated, strengthening local Roma communities and establishing better coordination at all levels in order to eradicate child marriages," said Atanacković.

Silvija Nešić, a representative of NGO Ternipe, stressed that no Roma woman had a future without support.

"Therefore, UNICEF's support is extremely important for us, Roma organisations. Support and cooperation are the only way of fighting", said Silvija.

The Coalition represents a community of individuals, institutions and organisations, including representatives of the Coordination Body for Gender Equality, UNICEF, the Office for Human and Minority Rights, the Administrative Districts of Nišava, Jablanica and South Banat, the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality and the Committee on the Rights of the Child of the National Assembly. The members of the Coalition are also representatives of the Protector of Citizens, the Commissioner for Protection of Equality, the City of Belgrade, civil society organisations Bibija, Ternipe, Praxis, Indigo, the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Team, the Roma Inclusion Office, the Association of Roma Novi Bečej, the Republic Institute for Social Protection and UN agencies.

Throughout December 2018 and January 2019, Praxis continued providing assistance to refugees/migrants, through information, psychosocial support, referrals to the targeted assistance provided by various organisations/institutions or covering the costs of transport to the asylum and reception centres.

A total of 1352 newly arrived refugees/migrants were informed about current situation in Serbia and the region, legal status and available legal options (seeking asylum in Serbia, assisted voluntary return to the country of origin, possibilities of family reunification abroad or resettlement to a third country when possible), accommodation in asylum centres (AC) or transit-reception centres in Serbia, means of transportation to the assigned centres, other rights and available services (medical care, psychosocial support, food, NFIs, various workshops for refugees/ migrants etc).

Download the whole Protection Monitoring Report for December 2018 here.

Download the whole Protection Monitoring Report for January 2019 here.

On 12 February 2019, the study Equality in Practice - Implementing Serbia’s Equality Laws was presented in the Media Centre in Belgrade as one of the results of the two-year project entitled Improving the Equality Legal and Policy Framework in Serbia and Monitoring Implementation of Equality Norms and Policies, implemented by partner organisations: Praxis, London-based organisation Equal Rights Trust and Sandžak Committee for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms, with the support of the European Union.

The study was prepared by the Equal Rights Trust in cooperation with two professional consultants: Prof. Nevena Petrušić, PhD and Lawyer Kosana Beker.

The study addresses the issue of continuous discrimination in Serbia, analyses the exiting legal and political framework and assesses its effectiveness in practice.   In the absence of similar study, the aim of this comprehensive study is to serve as a key reference point and evidence base for all those who work on combating discrimination and promoting fundamental human rights and freedoms. On the other hand, the study aims to influence the government and the judicial system with its own authority and to serve as an effective tool in advocating for improving the efficiency of the anti-discriminatory framework.

The study is based on extensive research conducted over 12-month period including: field research conducted by civil society organisations in different regions of Serbia; focus groups with survivors of discrimination, lawyers and civil society organisations in Niš, Belgrade, Novi Pazar, Pančevo and Vranje; over 55 one-to-one interviews with key stakeholders including lawyers, government and private sector representatives.  In addition, the study includes the analysis and assessment of the compliance of Serbia’s anti-discrimination framework with the country’s international and regional obligations, and the analyses of the extent to which Serbia has adopted the practical measures that are necessary to ensure that its equality laws provide protection in practice.

The findings contained in this study raise serious questions about the efficiency of legislation in practice and indicate that there are areas in which the legislative framework does not ensure international best practice, despite the undisputed progress achieved by Serbia in the past decade in improving conditions and opportunities for exercising the right to equality through the adoption of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination and the establishment of an independent body for the protection of equality. The study has revealed a widespread lack of awareness of the existence of anti-discrimination legal framework both among potential victims of discrimination and among public authorities and institutions, and has shown that individuals are unable or unwilling to seek legal redress due to the cost of proceedings and a lack of confidence in the judiciary as an efficient and independent form of redress.

The study provides recommendations that are also priorities that should be addressed in the future in order to improve the efficiency of the Serbia’s existing anti-discrimination legal and political framework in practice.

Joanna Whiteman from the Equal Rights Trust and Lawyer Kosana Beker spoke about the experience of conducting research for the study, the content of the study and expectations regarding its impact on improving the efficiency of protection against discrimination in Serbia. The current challenges from the aspect of various vulnerable groups were presented by civil society representatives who were also members of the Working Group established to provide expert support for the study:  Dijana Malbaša, Autonomous Women’s Centre; Osman Balić, League of Roma; Milan Đurić, Gayten-LGBT; Vladimir Petronijević, Grupa 484; Lazar Stefanović, Mental Disability Rights Initiative.

Study is available in Serbian  and English.

See ERT's statement here.

Media coverage:
Romano Them

The first meeting of the Children’s Rights Council of the Government of the Republic of Serbia this year was held on 12 February 2019 in Belgrade. Jasmina Miković, Praxis Deputy Executive Director and MODS Management Board President, who is also a member of the Children’s Rights Council, participated in the meeting on behalf of MODS.

The Council’s Annual Activity Plan for 2019 was adopted and the participants were informed about developments in the field of children's rights. Ines Cerović, Director of Child Rights Center, informed the members of the Council about the development of indicators for monitoring the recommendations that the Committee on the Rights of the Child had given to Serbia.

In addition, Suzana Paunović, Director of the Office for Human and Minority Rights, informed the participants about the planned activities on the drafting of the Common Core Document in accordance with the agreed guidelines for reporting on international human rights treaties.

UNICEF presented the initiative for the establishment of the National Coalition to Eliminate Child Marriage, with the aim of motivating relevant actors who, through coordinated action, would contribute to the elimination of this harmful phenomenon. After the constituent meeting to be held on February 21st, the coalition will be open to the participation of individuals, public institutions, independent bodies, non-governmental organisations, private sector and the media, or those ready to commit to addressing this problem.

Nadjat Madjid from Morocco, guest participant, spoke about the experiences and good practices in formulating national policies for children, focusing on good practices from Ireland, Kenya and Mauritius.

Finally, UNICEF presented the results of the conference System Cooperation in Supporting Children with Developmental Risks and Disabilities and Their Families - Towards Integrated Early Intervention Services.

See the footage by Tanjug.

The Commissioner for Protection of Equality, acting upon a complaint lodged by Praxis, established a discriminatory action of the Assembly of the City of Kraljevo because by its Decision on Helping Children with Disabilities, it deprived the pupils from internally displaced families residing in the City of Kraljevo of the right to the compensation of the costs of transport, dormitory accommodation and meals, and part of the costs covered by the City in case of necessity for a person accompanying the person with disability.   More specifically, the Assembly of the City of Kraljevo ruled out the possibility for internally displaced pupils with disabilities residing in the City of Kraljevo to exercise the said rights under equal conditions by determining permanent residence as one of the criteria for exercising these rights.  Due to this condition, the Decision violated Articles 7 and 22 of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination, which was established in the complaint procedure by the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality who then recommended to the Assembly of the City of Kraljevo to take all measures within its purview to make the decision in question applicable to the pupils who were internally displaced persons with temporary residence registered in the territory of the City of Kraljevo.

It is very important to emphasise, as stated in the Commissioner’s Decision, that status must not be a limiting factor for the exercise of any rights enjoyed by other citizens, and that special attention should be paid to internally displaced children with disabilities who may be exposed to multiple discrimination based on several personal characteristics.

In addition to this, the Commissioner informed the Assembly of the City of Kraljevo that the language and terms were means of combating discrimination, and that it was necessary to recognise that the terminology used when talking about people with disabilities changed over time depending on approach. More specifically, the name of the Decision in question included some outdated terminology that was not in the spirit of anti-discrimination policy, such as "children with special needs", while some provisions of the Decision included terms such as "invalid", "blind and deaf persons", etc. The needs of all people are the same and only the ways of fulfilling them can differ, with disability being only one of the characteristics of a person. It is therefore unacceptable and insulting to focus on someone’s disability.

Before the Commissioner issued an opinion, the City of Kraljevo had not responded to the allegations of the complaint. This is one of a dozen of discriminatory decisions due to which Praxis lodged complaints against the Assembly of the City of Kraljevo. As usual, Praxis will continue to monitor further actions of the competent authorities in terms of aligning the disputed decisions with anti-discrimination legislation.

This is one more opportunity to address public authorities, stressing the importance of respecting human rights, adhering to the principles of non-discrimination and taking into account the needs of the most vulnerable citizens in the policy-making process.