International Transgender Day of Visibility, March 31, is the day when we celebrate transgender, courage and persistence of individuals in the determination to live their lives outside gender norms and be who they are, despite all the difficulties they face after speaking out and affirming their own gender identity.

Although there are anti-discrimination legislation in Serbia, which prohibits discrimination and guarantees equality of all citizens, transgender people are, more likely than others, exposed to discrimination and violation of basic human rights such as the right to human dignity, bodily integrity, life without violence, the right to medical care, the right to marriage and many others.

The greatest legal impediments to protection and full equality of transgender people include the lack of legislation that would protect the rights of transgender people in Serbia and regulate important issues from different areas of life, such as the ability to change mark of sex/gender, name and personal identification number in all personal documents.

For more information, see: We Celebrate Transgender and Remind of the Importance of Joint Struggle for the Rights of Transgender People in Serbia

Today, we are celebrating 17 May, the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, the annual holiday which was established to coordinate international events that remind of LGBTI rights violations and the importance to respect them worldwide. 

One of the main goals of 17 May is creation of a globally visible event without a need to adapt to a specific type of action. Though united in their messages, due to the variety of social, religious, cultural and political contexts in which LGBTI rights violations take place, the present action around the world include various activities - large street marches, parades and festivals, dance flash mobs, musical events, street art, etc.

LGBTI persons are day-to-day exposed to discrimination and violence, including physical violence and abuse. Therefore, it is necessary that the government and society in general pay more attention to measures to protect the physical and psychological integrity of LGBTI people as well as to the prevention of discrimination and hate speech.

For more information, see: On the Occasion of the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

This week, for the first time after four years, a ten-year girl with severe sight impairment goes to school by a vehicle provided by the Municipality of Smederevska Palanka. 

We remind that the girl was born with severe sight impairment and that over the past four years, ever since she started the primary school, her parents have been trying to persuade the Municipality of Smederevska Palanka to provide her the transportation to and from school, which is the obligation of each municipality according to the Law on the Fundamentals of the Education System. The Municipality of Smederevska Palanka has been unsuccessfully reminded of this legal obligation over the past years by the School Inspection, the Ombudsman and the Commissioner for Protection of Equality, which in 2015 found that the Municipality shall take all necessary measures to ensure the transportation to the girl. 

As the Municipality failed to act upon the Commissioner’s recommendation, in November 2015 Praxis filed a lawsuit for establishing of discrimination against the Municipality of Smederevska Palanka. On the basis of the above-stated lawsuit, the Supreme Court in Belgrade issued a judgment in April 2016 and established that the Municipality acted discriminatory towards the girl as it rejected to provide the transport to school, violating thus the principle of equality prescribed by the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, and provisions of the Law on Prohibition of the Discrimination in Education.    

However, the quality education and respect for the principle of equality means much more – along with the transportation, the textbooks in Braille alphabet, as well as a qualified personal assistant, should be also available to the girl.

For more information, see: Transportation to School Provided for a Girl with Severe Sight Impairment

Human rights organizations have launched today a procedure for assessing the constitutionality of the Law on Registry Books to challenge the provision of the Law which provides that registrars exceptionally may postpone the birth registration for checking or determining the data which they  consider missing at the moment of the birth registration. This imprecisely worded provision of the Law actually allows to the official bodies to deny children the right to a name and identity, giving these authorities the legal cover for the denial of a birth certificate. In this sense, the Law is contrary to the internationally recognized human right of every child to be registered immediately after birth.

The Initiative actually raises a question of whether this provision is in accordance with the best interests of the child and the principle of prohibition of discrimination. Every child has the right from birth to a name and identity that must be available to all children in Serbia.

Praxis and ERRC are members of the European Network on Statelessness (ENS), and together they developed this initiative as part of a three-year pan-European strategy ENS which aims to eliminate statelessness among children.

For more information, see: Roma in Serbia Still Denied Birth Certificates – Human Rights Organisations Take Legal Action to Challenge Register Offices’ Unlimited Power

In order to raise awareness of professional and wider public about the need for prevention and elimination of child, early and forced marriages (CEFM), throughout this week Praxis will point at various aspects of this phenomenon, ranging from statistical data, over causes and consequences, to the main conclusions and recommendations for further activities, in a form of short messages and charts that will be shared on social media.

The CEFM problem in Serbia is mainly recognized as part of Roma tradition, which also pervades all aspects of child development, is one of the possible causes of statelessness, endangers the mental and physical health of girls, puts them at a greater risk of domestic violence, leads to increased rates of school drop-out, which together lead to a vicious cycle of poverty and economic dependence of women.

The activities performed by Praxis throughout 2016 with the financial support of UNHCR are aimed at raising awareness of children and parents, professional and wider public, about the risks and consequences of CEFM, as well as at advocating for prevention and elimination of this problem.

So far, we have held 4 two-day workshops with Roma children and parents in Leskovac and Kostolac where we discussed about the CEFM phenomenon, potential causes and consequences, with special reference to sexual and reproductive health, gender inequality, the importance of timely education, and the right to free choice of a spouse. Following the workshops, we held community meetings in Pozarevac and Leskovac attended by relevant local stakeholders with an aim to identify the possible solutions of the CEFM problem.

By the end of this year, we will hold follow-up workshops and community meetings in the same municipalities, as well as a workshop and a community meeting in Novi Pazar, which will follow up the activities held last year in this municipality, with an aim to access the effects and changes.

Also, a working group has been established to discuss possible solutions for the prevention and elimination of CEFM, and conclusions of the performed activities will be summed up in a policy brief that will address the CEFM problem.

Download the charts:

What does statistis say

The main causes of the CEFM

The consequences of the CEFM

Roma about CEFM

How to prevent CEFM

For more information about the performed activities, see:

Praxis Held Community Meetings on Prevention and Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriages 

Praxis Held Workshops on Prevention and Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriages 

Praxis Implements the Project Aimed at Prevention and Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriages

Humanitarian Report for July 2016 gives an overview of the latest developments in the field and activities of the Norwegian Refugee Council and Praxis within the Serbia Refugee Response, implemented within the Project "Emergency Protection, Shelter and Assistance for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Serbia," funded by ECHO. 

Several notable developments occurred in the refugee crisis in July contributing to deterioration in conditions in Belgrade and elsewhere. In Hungary, legal amendments that came into force on 5th July 2016, allow push-backs of asylum-seekers intercepted within 8km of the Hungarian border, depriving them of the right to seek-asylum and be given international protection, contrary to the international law. Subsequently, the Government of Serbia (GoS) deployed joint military-police teams along the borders with fYRoM and Bulgaria which the GoS announced as a measure to combat illegal entry of migrants into Serbian territory and to combat smuggling and trafficking. The former led to an increased number of push-backs from Hungary in comparison to June, while the latter brought about a significant increase in the reports of pushbacks from Serbia to Bulgaria and fYRoM compared to June. Furthermore, Serbian Commissariat for Refugees and Migration (KIRS) started transporting refugees from Krnjaca Asylum Centre and Belgrade parks to other asylum centres or refugee aid points (RAPs), and opened the AC Bogovadja to asylum seekers. However, AC Krnjaca, Belgrade, returned to its previous policy of allowing entry only to those whose asylum seeker registration referred them to this specific AC, leaving the facility only fractionally occupied, and an average of over 500 persons sleeping rough in Belgrade city centre nightly. Serbian authorities also set up a waiting list system for legally entering Hungary in the transit zones Horgos and Kelebija at the Hungarian border for asylum seekers already in the transit zones or in RAPs elsewhere in Serbia. While positive in principle, a lot of confusion remains as to the functioning of this system.

In July, NRC-Praxis assisted 2,852 beneficiaries in total with protection services.

At the end of July, NRC-Praxis completed their ECHO-funded project, with teams concluding field implementation as of July 29. During the implementation of the project from Dec 2015 – Jul 2016, in both Dimitrovgrad and Belgrade, Praxis assisted over 25,000 beneficiaries with protection services.

Download the Report here.

In the premises of the Human Rights House, on 22 July 2016, Praxis held an informal meeting with a group of interns from the European Commission's Directorate General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement during their study visit to Serbia.

During the meeting, we discussed the accession process, especially in the context of the opening of Chapters 23 and 24, and the importance of the issues regulated by these Chapters for the citizens of Serbia. Praxis shared with the interns its experiences regarding the basic challenges in the protection of human rights and the problems faced by minority groups. We especially emphasised the significance of advocacy activities and monitoring of the application of regulations and measures proposed by various action plans and strategies. During the discussion, emphasis was placed on problems in the protection of the rights of the child and the achievement of gender equality. We also talked about the living conditions and the level of exercising the rights of the Roma community in Serbia. The interns were also interested in the current situation of migrants.