The UN Human Rights Committee has assessed that Serbia did not respond adequately to the recommendations issued as part of its Concluding Observations on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in Serbia, thus failing to comply with the Committee’s recommendations.  

These are recommendations related to resolving issues that the Committee stressed as particularly important and that need to be solved urgently, including certain problems faced by the Roma population in Serbia. The Committee has recommended, among other things, that Serbia should facilitate and allow the registration of children whose parents do not have personal documents, as well as allow the internally displaced Roma living in informal settlements to register their permanent residence.

As Serbia has not complied with the recommendations, the Committee has decided to include these problems in the list of issues for the start of the next cycle of reporting on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in Serbia. 

Praxis had previously pointed out to the Committee the problems faced by members of the Roma population in registering in birth registry books, acquiring citizenship and registering permanent residence, as well as in accessing the rights to education, social protection, health care and public services.

On the occasion of the open call for physical violence by the Member of the National Assembly, Aleksandar Martinović, civil society organizations gathered in National Convention on the European Union working groups for Chapters 23 and 24 and cross-sectoral groups for political criteria and freedom of expression and the media demand a reaction from the President of the National Assembly from the position of Chairman of the Committee on Administrative, Budgetary, Mandate and Immunity Issues.

At a regular session, on March 11, 2021, Aleksandar Martinović threatened that anyone who criticized the government would be "beaten in the jack", thus openly calling for violence. We express our support and solidarity with CRTA and other organizations and individuals who have been accused by MP Martinović of participating in the "coup d'etat". We ask the members of the Committee for Administrative-Budgetary and Mandate-Immunity Issues to urgently remove the chairman of the Committee from this position; the President of the Assembly, Ivica Dacic, to sanction the drastic violation of the Code of Conduct, and the MP Martinovic to publicly apologize to CRTA.

The National Assembly forum must not be abused for the purpose of inappropriate reckoning with dissidents who are not in a position to answer to accusations. With the threats presented, MP Martinović once again showed that he is not worthy to perform the function of the Chairman of the Assembly Committee which should decide on cases of violation of the Code of Conduct for MPs. Martinovic, as well as his colleagues from the same parliamentary group, show how they have no intention to improve the work of the legislative body.

The criminalization of civil society, the media and political opponents has not stopped, despite the warnings from relevant domestic and international institutions and organizations. Verbal attacks by representatives of the executive and legislative branches of power mark the civil society organizations as "enemies of the state" and thereby question their professional integrity and reputation, and directly endanger activists and employees. This is repeated on a daily basis. Any indication of connection between the state and organized crime or a flagrant violation of the law provokes more and more brutal reactions of the holders of the highest state functions, instead of initiating positive changes and improving the environment in which we live. This kind of behavior distances Serbia and its citizens from meeting the basic criteria for EU membership, which remains declarative strategic goal of the Government.

Due to the aforementioned, the latest call for open violence against non-governmental organizations requires an urgent sanction and the removal of Aleksandar Martinović from the head of the parliamentary committee. Civil society organizations gathered in the working groups of the National Convention on the EU will continue to closely monitor the work of institutions and individuals and point out all illegalities and irregularities in their work. We are not giving up the fight for the rule of law in which freedom of expression is respected and all violence is sanctioned, even verbally, especially when it comes from the National Assembly, an institution that should reflect the sovereignty of the democratic will of the citizens of Serbia.

Signatories:

• Working Group for Chapter 23
• Working Group for Chapter 24
• Cross-sectoral group on political criteria
• Cross-sectoral group on freedom of expression and media

You can download Press Release HERE

Roma face discrimination in everyday life, in daily contacts with fellow citizens, in employment, social protection, health care and education. And yet, they rarely report discrimination, and that needs to be changed, say new reports published by Minority Rights Group Europe (MRGE).  

All the three reports that MRGE is launching this week (“Roma in Hungary: The Challenges of Discrimination”, “Roma in Republic of Serbia: The Challenges of Discrimination” and “Roma in the Republic of Serbia and Hungary: The Challenges of Discrimination - A Comparative Report”) summarize and analyse the findings of two pieces of research which were conducted in the framework of the REILA project, coordinated by MRGE with the participation of two experienced partners: Praxis in Serbia and Idetartozunk (We Belong Here) in Hungary.

‘The research, that was carried out in Serbia and Hungary from October to December 2020 shows that in both countries, prejudice and negative stereotypes towards Roma are the main reasons for their discrimination.’ says Zsofia Farkas, MRG Europe’s Managing Director. ‘Roma face rejection and social exclusion from an early age, a situation that often continues throughout their lives.’

According to one study, in Serbia only around half of respondents reported that they would accept a Roma as their neighbour and only a fifth would be willing to marry a person of Roma origin. Similarly, in Hungary, according to a recent survey, 54 per cent of the respondents stated that they would not accept a Roma family member, 44 per cent that they would not want a Roma neighbour, and 27 per cent that they would not accept Roma as citizens of the country.

The report provides a thorough overview of the position of Roma in Serbia and Hungary, prejudices and forms of discrimination they face and obstacles in access to justice. As such, it also gives a comprehensive set of recommendations and calls on all relevant stakeholders, national and local decision-makers, EU decision-makers, Roma activists and Roma CSOs, legal practitioners and the media, to undertake measures within their powers to establish an efficient system of social inclusion and of institutional fight against discrimination.

‘Only a synergy of ideas, policies, measures and activities of all actors will contribute to improving the position of Roma, eliminating prejudices towards them and creating a more favourable environment and a more equal society for all,’ says Marijana Lukovic, Executive Director of Praxis.

Read the reports:

“Roma in Hungary: The Challenges of Discrimination” (in English and Hungarian)

“Roma in Republic of Serbia: The Challenges of Discrimination” (in English and Serbian)

“Roma in Republic of Serbia: The Challenges of Discrimination” (in English and Serbian)

“Roma in the Republic of Serbia and Hungary: The Challenges of Discrimination - A Comparative Report” (in English, Hungarian and Serbian)

1 March 2021

One of the conclusions of the research presented today in Kraljevo by the non-governmental organisation Praxis is that even when Roma have a job, they are poorly paid and often perform jobs that are dangerous to their lives and health.

“These are the least valued jobs in society, because due to the prejudices that society has towards Roma, they are usually given such kind of jobs”, said Marija Dražović, Praxis Policy and Research Coordinator.

She also pointed out that the Roma national minority considered that the measures implemented with the aim of employing Roma men and women were not adjusted to the real needs of potential beneficiaries and that they should be redefined.

The research findings also show that members of the Roma national minority are highly exposed to discrimination, insults, denigration and hate speech, as well as that they are not familiar with the mechanisms for the protection of the right to equality. The research has shown that the fear of victimisation is one of the important reasons why Roma do not seek protection from discrimination.

This publication is based on the research conducted by Praxis in the period June-August 2020 in order to provide insight into the key challenges encountered by the Roma national minority in the labour market in Kraljevo, the efficiency of active employment policy measures, and the occurrence and most common forms of discrimination against Roma men and women in the field of work and employment.

Praxis conducted this research on a sample of 100 Roma in Kraljevo, including 66 Roma who had never been formally employed. Nearly half of them have not finished even primary school, while 40% of them said they were not looking for a job at all.

Ms. Dražović said that this situation resulted from the fact that Roma men and women were a multiple vulnerable social group.

“There are 417 Roma registered with the National Employment Service, and 365 of them have completed primary school or several grades of primary school, while only one person has a university degree," said Srbislav Antonijević, Employment Counsellor at the National Employment Service, Kraljevo Branch.

Milun Jovanović, Assistant Mayor of the City of Kraljevo responsible for human rights issues, also spoke at the conference and said that the local authorities in Kraljevo planned to work on “functional adult education, housing and health care”. Jovanović also spoke about public works as one of the best opportunities for the City to help Roma. Another option was the assistance through the City's self-employment competitions, to which, unfortunately, a small number of Roma applied, usually due to a lack of confidence about their ability to do anything.

“We must all work together to make the community aware of the importance of being included in the measures offered to them. It seems to me that long-term discrimination and marginalisation, especially of the poorest Roma, is the cause of their distrust in the possibility of changing anything. All of us together - civil society, local self-government, the media and the public - have to analyse the current measures and design new ones,” said Marijana Luković, Praxis Executive Director.

The Praxis research showed that Roma were mostly satisfied with the way they had been treated and with their level of understanding the information received from the National Employment Service. Although they had confidence in the work of the NES and its staff, they did not believe that this service was able to find them a job, i.e. they did not see the effects of the measures.

The Praxis research also showed that the living conditions of Roma had further deteriorated during the pandemic.

It is disconcerting that a large number of them do not even know how to fill in an ordinary payment order - which is devastating for the whole society. Half of the Roma respondents said that they had a business idea, but also that they did not have any start-up capital, that they were afraid of not being able to survive in the market or maintain their business, which is why they did not dare to implement their business ideas.

“We need the promotion of good practice examples - we need the media to widely spread the news about successful Roma men and women who have started their own business, for example. This would have a positive impact on other members of the community, encouraging them to be more included in active employment policy programmes and use other available resources, and would change the awareness of the entire population about the Roma community”, said Ms. Dražović.

The publication was prepared as part of the project "Improving the Position of Roma Men and Women in the Labour Market in the City of Kraljevo”, implemented by the City of Kraljevo, in partnership with the non-governmental organisation Praxis. The project is implemented as part of a grant scheme under the programme "EU Support to Roma Inclusion - Empowering Local Communities for Roma Inclusion", funded by the European Union and implemented by the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities.

The publication is available HERE

On 18 February 2021 in Belgrade, the non-governmental organisations A 11 - Initiative for Economic and Social Rights and Praxis presented reports on the implementation of the Law on Free Legal Aid with respect to the persons at risk of statelessness and internally displaced persons in Serbia. The report of A 11 Initiative focused on the implementation of the Law on Free Legal Aid with respect to internally displaced persons, while Praxis’ report dealt with persons at risk of statelessness. Although in analysing the implementation of the law these two NGOs focus on two different categories of citizens, both reports highlight the major challenges encountered by the most vulnerable population groups in attempting to exercise their right to free legal aid.

The research conducted by Praxis has revealed that only 32% of towns and municipalities established a free legal aid service, and that in 18% of local self-governments no request for free legal aid was submitted, while in 32% of them no more than 10 requests were submitted in one year. Another problematic fact is that in two out of three local self-governments the persons who decide on requests for free legal aid are the ones who provide such aid.

According to Milan Radojev, Praxis Legal Coordinator, an extremely small number of persons at risk of statelessness succeeded in receiving free legal aid in the manner prescribed by the Law. He stressed that these citizens almost never managed to exercise the right to free legal aid on their own, but were granted such aid only with the assistance of Praxis lawyers.

“Persons at risk of statelessness are among the most vulnerable groups in society. The lack of documents prevents them from accessing other basic rights, and these are persons who already live in destitution. These are persons with a low level of education, legally ignorant, and often do not even know what kind of help they need. If they cannot get free legal aid in order to obtain personal documents, they are in a hopeless situation”, states Marijana Luković, Praxis Executive Director.

On the other hand, the research of Initiative A 11 indicates the inaccessibility of the system of free legal aid for the most vulnerable among internally displaced persons. Persons belonging to particularly vulnerable groups, who participated in the research, stated that they were not adequately informed about how they could access free legal aid, that procedures were not accessible and transparent, and that their requests were often rejected orally.

In addition, they noted that a special problem that hindered their access to legal aid was an insufficiently clear form of free legal aid request, which was not adjusted to the needs and level of education of some of the most vulnerable citizens. The presented case studies indicate the illegality of the work of free legal aid services, as well as insufficiently clear procedures and the overall inaccessibility of free legal aid for the most vulnerable.

Having in mind the shortcomings in the application of the Law on Free Legal Aid for the most vulnerable citizens, as well as the fact that the Law practically excludes the associations of citizens specialized in providing free legal aid from the circle of free legal aid providers, during the presentation of the reports, the question was raised of whether it was necessary to amend the Law and sharpen its focus on providing access to justice to citizens most at risk. In addition, campaigns aimed at informing about the rights of citizens in the free legal aid system, as well as training of employees dealing with the provision of free legal aid, are the necessary steps towards the improvement of free legal aid for the most vulnerable.

The Praxis report is available: HERE