Praxis
Kraljevo Announced its Willingness to Change Discriminatory Decisions
In the past period, the Kraljevo City Assembly adopted several decisions whose implementation should improve the situation of vulnerable social groups or individuals, but by imposing the condition of permanent residence for exercising the rights established by the said decisions, it excluded the possibility for the internally displaced persons residing in the territory of the City of Kraljevo since 1999 to exercise the rights under the same conditions as their fellow citizens.
Thus, the Decision on Free Bus Transportation in the City of Kraljevo was adopted to ensure access to public services (free bus transportation) to persons who, due to their health or social status, encountered obstacles or were denied such access. On the other hand, the Decision on the Right to One-off Financial Assistance for the First-born Child and the Decision on Financial Assistance to Unemployed New Mothers aim to encourage procreation and increase birth rate, as well as to provide support to women who decide to have children despite being unemployed.
Despite the apparent intention of the decision-makers to allocate budget funds for improving the situation of the most vulnerable citizens, but also for improving the city’s demographic structure, by setting the permanent residence requirement, they unjustifiably denied the right to all the refugees and internally displaced persons residing in the City of Kraljevo. Undoubtedly, there is no reasonable and objective justification for such a different treatment.
In order to point out that the disputed decisions violate the principle of equal rights and obligations, thus contravening non-discrimination regulations, Praxis lodged complaints with the Commissioner for Protection of Equality. Consequently, responding to the allegations of the complaints, the President of the Kraljevo City Assembly accepted the objections and expressed the readiness to alter the disputed decisions aligning them with anti-discriminatory regulations, which was also the reason why Praxis gave up the further complaints procedure.
Since the disputed decisions have not been altered and discriminatory requirements have not been changed yet as to allow all citizens to exercise the right under the same conditions, and given that the withdrawal of the complaints is based on the expressed intention of the representatives of the City of Kraljevo to implement the procedures for changing the decisions, Praxis will continue to monitor the actions of the City of Kraljevo in the coming period regarding the alignment of the disputed decisions with anti-discrimination regulations.
Despite the expressed willingness by the City of Kraljevo, Praxis expresses its concern over the statement made by the President of the Kraljevo City Assembly that it would not be possible to change the Decision on the Right to One-off Financial Assistance for the First-born Child and the Decision on Financial Assistance to Unemployed New Mothers until the local budget for the year 2019 was adopted. We remind that in this way the unequal treatment of individuals or groups on the grounds of their personal characteristics is tolerated, while the equal exercise of rights is postponed and conditioned by the planning of budgetary funds.
On the other hand, the adoption of general acts that violate the right to equality of citizens is not a rare phenomenon, and one of the main causes for such a situation, in addition to the non-transparent decision and policy making process, is certainly an insufficient knowledge of non-discrimination regulations, as well as a lack of sensitivity among decision-makers at the local level in cases where the basic values, such as the right to equity and equality, should be respected.
Praxis at the conference “Youth Engagement in the Danube Region” in Stuttgart
On 23 March 2018, a conference “Youth Engagement in the Danube Region” was organized in Stuttgart, gathering partners and associates of the foundation Agapedia, as a part of the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. The conference gathered the Minister for Education of the Baden-Württemberg region, Germany, as well as the representatives of organizations and institutions from the countries in the Danube Region. Network of Organizations for Children of Serbia - MODS was represented by Sasa Stefanovic, Director of MODS, Jasmina Mikovic from Praxis who is the President of the Steering Committee of MODS and Aleksandra Grubin, Project Manager from SOS Children’s Villages in Serbia.
Since the beginning of the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR), there have been many efforts to deepen cross-border youth cooperation between the Black Forest and the Black Sea.
A multitude of initiatives and networks have for many years successfully brought together young people across all 14 countries of the Danube region; enabling cross-cultural exchange on issues as diverse as environmental protection, language learning, the future of the European Union or the challenges posed by digitalization. Yet, many initiatives are project-based and have only limited awareness of other undertakings. The Danube Strategy in itself provides only limited support in this particular field.
In the past, there have been several attempts to create more stable framework conditions and networks. The emergence of the Regional Youth C
ooperation Office (RYCO) as part of the so-called Berlin Process to improve cooperation among Western Balkan countries and the European Union marks an important milestone in this regard.
The first part of the programme provided an overview of the existing structures and networks, mapping the field of youth cooperation in the Danube Region. For the second part of the dialogue, stakeholders, experts and project practitioners from civil society, national and regional administration as well as academia were invited to share their experiences and identify joint challenges. Various thematic roundtables enabled a structured debate on issues to be targeted in youth cooperation, such as: Common European values, Employability, Migration and Brain drain, (Social) Entrepreneurship, New Media and Digitalization, Intercultural Cooperation and Environmental issues.
In the third part of the dialogue, working groups reflected on support mechanisms and networks in place to support youth cooperation in the Danube Region.
Anti-Gypsysm and General Discrimination against Roma Prevail in Serbia - Danas Daily
On 22 May 2018, the report entitled The Wall of Anti-Gypsysm - Roma in Serbia, prepared by the Civil Rights Defenders, was presented in the Media Centre in Belgrade.
On that occasion, Marija Dražović, Antidiscrimination and Gender Equality Programme Coordinator in Praxis, highlighted that decisions relevant to Roma were often made without participation of their community, due to which they were ineffective. She said that there was no awareness, at the national level, about the real problems of Roma, and consequently there was no progress n solving them.
See the article in Danas daily.
Presentation of Report Entitled "The Hoop of Anti-Gypsyism: Roma in Serbia"
On 22 May 2018, in the Media Center in Belgrade, the report entitled The Hoop of Anti-Gypsyism: Roma in Serbia, prepared by the Civil Rights Defenders, was presented. The report contains the information about the situation of Roma in Serbia in various areas of life, including employment, education, housing, access to justice, personal documents, health care, security and the prohibition of torture, asylum seeking and forced return.
On that occasion, Marija Dražović, Praxis Antidiscrimination and Gender Equality Programme Coordinator, stressed that, despite some progress, Roma continued to face problems in exercising their basic rights.
„In most cases, they need free legal aid, but the problem lies in the fact that the Law on Free Legal Aid has not been adopted and Roma have to address the civil sector”, said Ms Dražović. Emphasising the need to include Roma in decision-making processes related to the improvement of their situation, Marija highlighted the high importance of improving the existing laws and provisions concerning the exercise of the rights to citizenship, possession of personal documents, receiving child allowance.
„Due to the lack of financial resources, Roma mothers are not able to pay a fee for the issuance of ID card. Consequently, they are prevented from exercising the right to child allowance because they do not possess a valid personal document. Having in mind their social position, this is a serious problem for them; therefore, our recommendation is to find a solution as soon as possible in order to overcome such situations”, Ms Dražović concluded.
See the statement of Media Center here.
See the statement of EurActiv.rs here.
See the statement of Danas here.
Roma in Serbia Exposed to Systemic Discrimination - EurActiv.rs
On 22 May 2018, the report entitled The Wall of Anti-Gypsysm - Roma in Serbia, prepared by the Civil Rights Defenders, was presented in the Media Centre in Belgrade. The report includes the information about the situation of Roma in Serbia in different areas of life, including employment, education, housing, access to justice, personal documents, health, security and freedom from torture, asylum and forced return.
On that occasion, Marija Dražović, Antidiscrimination and Gender Equality Programme Coordinator in Praxis, said that the problem of discrimination against Roma should be seen from the perspective of good public administration.
"The basic problem is how our judiciary provides access to justice, because if citizens are not aware of their rights, they do not exist", said Marija, adding that institutions must begin to formulate regulations to address the situation of the most vulnerable groups of population.
See EurActiv.rs statement here.
Presentation of Report on the Situation of Roma in Serbia - Media Centre
On 22 May 2018, the report entitled The Wall of Anti-Gypsysm - Roma in Serbia, prepared by the Civil Rights Defenders, was presented in the Media Centre in Belgrade. The report includes the information about the situation of Roma in Serbia in different areas of life, including employment, education, housing, access to justice, personal documents, health, security and freedom from torture, asylum and forced return.
On that occasion, Marija Dražović, Antidiscrimination and Gender Equality Programme Coordinator in Praxis, said that despite progress, Roma continued to encounter problems in exercising their fundamental rights.
“Most often they need free legal aid; however, the problem lies in the fact that the Law on Free Legal Aid has not been adopted in our country due to which Roma have to rely on the civil sector”, said Ms. Dražović. Marija stressed the necessity of including Roma into decision-making processes regarding the improvement of their situation, but also a great importance of improving the existing laws and regulations regarding the exercise of the right to citizenship, possession of personal documents, receiving a child allowance.
“Roma mothers, due to scarcity of financial resources, are not able to pay fees for the issuance of ID cards. Thus, they are prevented from exercising the right to child allowance, as they do not possess a valid personal document. Given their social position, this is a serious problem for them, and therefore, it is our recommendation to find a solution as soon as possible in order to overcome such situations", Ms. Dražović concluded.
See the statement of Media Centre here.
Praxis Held Conference Contributing to Public Administration Reform in Kraljevo - WeBER PAR Monitor
Within the framework of the Western Balkans Enabling Project for Civil Society Monitoring of Public Administration Reform (WeBER), financed by the European Union and co-financed by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the non-governmental organisation Praxis examined the process of public administration reform in Kraljevo and gave proposals for the improvement of that process. One of the proposals was that the City of Kraljevo should ensure public participation in the process of decision making and adoption of general acts.
Read the full text here.
Praxis about the Public Administration Reform in Kraljevo - KRALJEVO ONLINE
Within the framework of the Western Balkans Enabling Project for Civil Society Monitoring of Public Administration Reform (WeBER), financed by the European Union and co-financed by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the non-governmental organisation Praxis examined the process of public administration reform in Kraljevo and gave proposals for the improvement of that process. One of the proposals was that the City of Kraljevo should ensure public participation in the process of decision making and adoption of general acts.
Read the full text here.
Praxis about the Public Administration Reform in Kraljevo - INFO PLUS
Within the framework of the Western Balkans Enabling Project for Civil Society Monitoring of Public Administration Reform (WeBER), financed by the European Union and co-financed by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the non-governmental organisation Praxis examined the process of public administration reform in Kraljevo and gave proposals for the improvement of that process. One of the proposals was that the City of Kraljevo should ensure public participation in the process of decision making and adoption of general acts.
Read the full text here.
GRETA Report concerning the implementation of the CoE Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings by Serbia
The Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA), set up by the Council of Europe, launched the second round of evaluation of the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings in respect of Serbia to examine the impact of legislative, policy and practical measures on the prevention of trafficking, the protection of the rights of victims of trafficking, and the prosecution of traffickers. In preparation of the report, GRETA used the reply to the questionnaire for the second round sent to the Serbian authorities, the report submitted by the Serbian authorities to the Committee of the Parties, as well as information received from civil society.
The final Report concerning the implementation of the CoE Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings by Serbia was adopted at GRETA’s 30th meeting (20-24 November 2017). The Report deals with the main developments in the implementation of the Convention, emerging trends in trafficking in human beings, developments in legal and institutional framework, national strategy and action plans, prevention measures, measures to prevent and protect the rights of victims, etc.
Briefly, in 2013-2016, a total of 296 trafficking victims were officially identified in Serbia, the majority of them (130) were men trafficked for labour exploitation; 72 women were trafficked for sexual exploitation, and 94 children, including 78 girls, trafficked primarily for the purpose of sexual exploitation, followed by forced begging and forced marriage. Most of the identified victims were Serbian nationals.
During GRETA’s evaluation visit to Serbia that took place from 6 to 10 March 2017, Praxis took part in their meeting along with other civil society organizations and presented the present situation in relation to birth registration, statelessness and child, early and forced marriages among the Roma population in Serbia.
You can see Council of Europe’s press release here.
You can download GRETA Report here.
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