On 26 July 2013, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) adopted Concluding Observations on the combined second and third period report of the Republic of Serbia (CEDAW/C/SRB/2-3). Among others, the Committee recognized some of the key issues and problems to which Praxis and European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) had pointed in the Parallel Report on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The Committee welcomed the adoption, since the consideration of the State party’s previous report, of certain laws and strategic documents aimed at eliminating discrimination against women, as well as the ratification and accession to a number of international and regional instruments.

Furthermore, the Committee also pointed to the principle areas of concern and produced recommendations for overcoming observed problems and gaps, and requested that the State party submit to the Committee, within two years, written information on the steps undertaken to implement the recommendations. The Committee also invited the State party to submit its fourth periodic report in July 2017.

It should be recalled that, on 14 September 2012, Praxis, in cooperation with ERRC, submitted Parallel Report on the implementation of the Convention. In order to give a clearer picture of the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Parallel Report contains the data about the problems in the areas regulated by the Convention, primarily the problems faced by women from particularly vulnerable groups – Roma women and refugee and IDP women. The Parallel Report provides information about the implementation of the Convention in the areas of prevention of sexual and gender-based violence, mechanisms for achieving gender equality, as well as about access to rights to personal documents, education, employment and health protection. In addition, the Parallel Report also gives information relating to forced evictions of informal Roma settlements and hindered access to justice.

At the 55th Session of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, held on 18th July 2013, the State delegation of the Republic of Serbia presented the Second and Third Periodic Report on the implementation of the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Bearing in mind that the Committee focused on certain issues mentioned in the Parallel Report, on 24 July 2013, following the 55th Session, Praxis and ERRC pointed once again to the given recommendations and submitted relevant information to the Committee that would be useful for formulating recommendations that would be produced to Serbia.

In the Concluding Observations the Committee, among others, expressed concern at the absence of a legal framework on access to free legal aid and assistance which impedes women from claiming their right to non-discrimination and equality. (point 10 c)

The Committee called upon the State party to allocate substantial and sustained resources, both human and financial, to all national strategies, mechanisms and action plans aimed at the elimination of discrimination against women, especially disadvantaged women, and to ensure their effective implementation. (point 17 a)

Recalling its general recommendation No. 19 (1992) on violence against women, the Committee urges the State party:

(a) To review and revise the Criminal Code, the Family Code and other relevant laws with a view to effectively preventing all forms of violence against women and protecting victims;
(b) To encourage women to report incidents of domestic and sexual violence by raising awareness of the criminal nature of such acts;
(c) To ensure effective investigation of cases of violence against women and to prosecute and punish perpetrators of such crimes with sanctions commensurate with the gravity of the crime;
(d) To ensure that all women victims of violence have adequate assistance and unhampered access to effective protection from violence, including by ensuring a sufficient number of shelters funded by the State and improving cooperation with relevant non-governmental organizations in this respect;
(e) To ensure that the relevant authorities are aware of the importance of issuing emergency protection orders for women at risk and of maintaining such orders until the women are no longer at risk;
(f) To enhance the system of data collection by ensuring that the data are disaggregated by type of violence and by relationship between perpetrator and victim, supporting research in this field and ensuring that such information and data are available to the public;
(g) To expeditiously ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. (point 23)

The Committee recommends that the State party raise awareness of the importance of education as a human right and as the basis for the empowerment of women and girls. To this end, it urges the State party:

(a) To promote the enrolment and attendance of Roma children, especially girls, at the primary and secondary levels of education in regular schools and to eliminate all barriers, including financial barriers, to their access to education;
(b) To review and revise materials and textbooks used for secondary education to eliminate patriarchal gender stereotypes;
(c) To introduce age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health and rights education, including issues of gender relations and responsible sexual behaviour, in the curricula at all levels. (point 29)

While noting the adoption of a revised National Strategy on the situation of refugees and internally displaced persons for the period 2011-2014, the Committee is concerned about the lack of State monitoring of the conditions of women refugees, women asylum seekers and internally displaced women and the lack of sex-disaggregated data, in particular with regard to violence against women. (point 36)

The Committee calls upon the State party to establish mechanisms to monitor the situation of women refugees, women asylum seekers and internally displaced women in order to better protect their rights, including by protecting them against violence, and to provide relevant data thereon. It also recommends that the State party ensure that court decisions on birth registration and citizenship of undocumented persons are effectively implemented and cannot be reversed by any executive body. (point 37)

Download: Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
Parallel Report of Praxis and ERRC submitted to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
Praxis and ERRC Recommendations submitted to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

See the news: Parallel Report to the Committee on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Submitted