Taken from BETA

State secretary to the Ministry of Justice, Gordana Stamenic, stated today that total of 20,679 Roma have been subsequently registered in birth registries since 2009 and the plan is to register all people currently identified as legally invisible by 2015. She pointed to the journalists in Belgrade that she had no precise data on the number of unregistered Roma but that there is an impression that their number is getting smaller as there are increasingly fewer requests for subsequent birth registration.

At the presentation of the results achieved in the project on solving the problems of undocumented Roma, she pointed out that the Law on Registry Books from 2009 did not contribute much and in 2012 it was necessary to pass the Law on Amendments to the Law on Non-Contentious Procedure.

“The Law on Registry Books has recognized the children without parental care and need of registration in birth registries after the prescribed period. However, there were cases when persons could not prove the precise date of birth and needed to go through a non-contentious procedure”, Stamenic said.

According to her, the request for registration in birth registry books may be also submitted by a social welfare centre, besides by persons who want to exercise that right, being thereby exempted from all court and administrative fees.

Stamenic stressed that the Agreement of Understanding signed in April 2012 by the Ministry of Justice, Ombudsperson and UNHCR, had particularly contributed to solving of the Roma problem.

Based on that Agreement, as it was said, a lot of trainings were organized for judges, employees in social welfare centres and registrars, as well as visits to Roma settlements. Head of the UNHCR Representative Office in Serbia Eduardo Arboleda stressed that Serbia is the first country in the Western Balkan which has signed such agreement and which actively works on the solution of the problem of “legally invisible”.

“There is still much to be done, as all children have the right be registered in birth registry book at birth, while those without permanent residence registered can be registered at the address of social welfare centre, in order to provide conditions for obtaining ID cards”, Arboleda said.

The Deputy Ombudsperson Robert Sepi expressed satisfaction at the results of the partnership with Ministry of Justice and UNHCR and assessed that the problem of Roma registration was being solved at good pace.

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On 24 September 2013, Praxis informed Ministry of Interior (MoI) about the problems faced by the citizens in the Police Station (PS) Zemun when submitting a request for registration of residence at the address of social welfare centre.

The precondition for registration of residence required by PS Zemun was to obtain the certificate on not having the registered residence from the Inspectorate for Administrative Affairs of MoI in Ljermontova Street. On the other hand, the Inspectorate refused to issue such certificate with an explanation that PS Zemun also possessed the data on residence registration. In other cases, it required that SWC directly address the Inspectorate for the issuance of the certificate.

On 26 November 2013, MoI informed Praxis that it had pointed to PS Zemun not to require the certificate on not having the registered residence but that a police officer needs to carry out necessary checks through electronic and manual records of permanent and temporary residence of citizens.

Nikola Bodiroga, PhD prepared the legal analysis of the Article 71k, Paragraph 2 of the Law on Non-Contentious Procedure with the support of the non-governmental organization Praxis within the project “Contribution to Social Inclusion and Combat Discrimination of Marginalized Population in Serbia”, funded by Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Law on Amendments to the Law on Non-Contentious Procedure in its Article 71k explicitly prescribes that an administrative authority, that is, the authority in charge of conducting the citizenship acquisition procedure, is not bound by a final and binding ruling of the non-contentious court department establishing the time and place of birth.

The analysis assesses the constitutionality of the provisions of the Article 71k, Paragraph 2 in regard to the norms guaranteeing the integrity of the legal order, exercise of the right to citizenship and principle of independence of the judiciary and division of powers. In addition, the analysis assesses the motion of the Ombudsperson for the change of the Article 71k establishing that it is also contrary to the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and shall not be accepted as it will not lead to the solution of the problem related to the application of the disputable article of the Law on Non-Contentious Procedure. Finally, the author offers proposal for the solution of the problem and he confirms that the Article 71k, Paragraph 2 needs to be set aside as unconstitutional.

Download the analysis: Legal Analysis of Article 71k, Paragraph 2, of the Law on Non-Contentious Procedure

Nikola Bodirooga, PhD has prepared the legal analysis of the registration of the fact of birth of a child in the birth registry book with support of the non-governmental organization Praxis within the project “Contribution to Social Inclusion and Combat Discrimination of Marginalized Population in Serbia”, funded by Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The analysis deals with the problems of the registration of the fact of birth of children in birth registry books whose parents do not possess a birth certificate or an ID card.

According to the author, the solution of the problem lies in the possibility to register the children only on the basis of data received from parents without enclosing documents, and also in changing the Instruction on Administering the Birth Registry Books and Birth Registry Forms in a way to alleviate the conditions for the registration of the birth of a child meaning that parents could use other evidence to confirm the identity of their child instead of enclosing an ID card.

Download the analysis: Registration of the Fact of Birth of a Child in the Birth Registry Book by Nikola Bodiroga, PhD

Upon the opinion of the Commissioner for Protection of Equality issued on the basis of the complaint filed by Praxis against the Nis City Administration – Administration for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport and the Primary School “Vuk Karadzic” from Nis for segregation and discrimination of Roma children, the representatives of the Administration for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport delivered the Proposal for Development of Plan of Measures for Solving the Problem in the Primary School “Vuk Karadzic” to the Commissioner for Protection of Equality.

In order to develop the aforementioned plan, the meetings were held with the representatives of relevant local and republic institutions at which it was concluded that one of the main reasons for which more than 90% of Roma children attend the Primary School “Vuk Karadzic” is demographic composition of the population in the territory of the school, bad condition of the school building and also the fact that the existing legal regulation does not provide for the possibility of so-called administrative enforcement to enrol a child in certain school.

The proposed measures envisage undertaking a number of activities that would be directed at investing in the school building and procuring the contemporary equipment, raising the level of knowledge acquired in preschools and motivating the parents to support the education of children, as well as the activities on improving the curriculum in the Primary School “Vuk Karadzic”.

Even though solving of this problem requires activities that need to be taken continuously and at long run, it is necessary to carry out the proposed measures as efficiently as possible so that the first results would be soon seen and thus provide impetus for solving these problems in the following period.

For more information, see the announcement: Proposals for Development of Plan of Measures for Solving the Problem of Segregation in the Primary School “Vuk Karadzic” Prepared

Upon the opinion of the Commissioner for Protection of Equality issued on the basis of the complaint filed by Praxis against the Nis City Administration – Administration for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport and the Primary School “Vuk Karadzic” from Nis for segregation and discrimination of Roma children, Praxis addressed the Commissioners with the plea to deliver the notification whether and to what extent the Administration has acted in accordance with the recommendation given in the opinion.

The representatives of the Administration for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport delivered the Proposal for Development of Plan of Measures for Solving the Problem in the Primary School “Vuk Karadzic” to the Commissioner for Protection of Equality. In order to develop the aforementioned plan, the meetings were held with a member of the Nis City Council in charge of social issues, representatives of the Administration for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development – Nis School Administration, republic and city inspectors, headmaster of Primary School “Vuk Karadzic”, pedagogical assistant in school, representatives of the Council for Human and Minority Rights, National Council of the Roma National Minority, local team for improvement of education of Roma, representatives of the Regional Centre for Professional Development of Employees in Education, and representatives of three non-governmental organizations (RNGO “Ponos”, Association of Roma “Cvetno srce” and “Centre for Active communication”.

The participants in meetings concluded that one of the main reasons for which more than 90% of Roma children attend the Primary School “Vuk Karadzic” is demographic composition of the population in the territory of the school, bad condition of the school building and also the fact that the existing legal regulation does not provide for the possibility of so-called administrative enforcement to enrol a child in certain school. This, according to their opinion makes this school less attractive than other schools in the territory of the City of Nis. Given that the problem of increased percentage of Roma pupils is very complex compared to pupils of other nationality and that it has been occurring over a long period of time, the participants agreed that it cannot be solved by one-time measured but through continuous application of a series of measures throughout a longer period of time. The proposed measures are divided in the following categories:

1. Measures and activities directed at investing in the school building and procurement of contemporary equipment,
2. Measures and activities directed at raising the level of knowledge acquired in preschools and motivating the parents to support the education of children,
3. Measures and activities directed at the activities on improving the curriculum in the Primary School “Vuk Karadzic”.
4. Measures and activities that will be carried out  by  the representatives of Roma non-governmental organizations, directed at raising awareness of  Roma population about the importance of education and regular attendance of classes, as well as active work in the field, visiting families and distribution of adequate brochures and leaflets
5. Measures and activities that include media coverage of the work of Primary School “Vuk Karadzic” and popularization of school in order to affect the enrolment of children of other nationalities in the following period.

Considering the complexity of proposed measures, which primarily require engagement of a larger number of actors not only at a local level also at the level of the state and competent Ministry, it is necessary to monitor the implementation of the proposed measures and effects of their application throughout the longer period of time. The evaluation will be done at the beginning of each school year, and the indicator will be the number of enrolled students of Roma and non-Roma nationality.

Given the seriousness of the consequences of segregation, it is necessary to carry out the proposed measures as efficiently as possible so that the first results would be soon seen and thus provide impetus for solving these problems in the following period.

Download: Proposals for Development of Plan of Measures for Solving the Problem of Segregation

See related statements:

Proceeding upon the Recommendation of the Commissioner for Protection of Equality for the Purpose of Removal of Segregation of Roma Children in Primary School “Vuk Karadzic” in Nis

Commissioner for Protection of Equality Has Not Established Discrimination Irrespective of Segregation in Primary School “Vuk Karadzic” in Nis

Download the report: Registration of the Fact of Birth of a Child in the Birth Registry Book by Nikola Bodiroga PhD

Year 2014 marks the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. On this occasion, worldwide efforts will be focused on increasing awareness and improving action to address the problem of statelessness.

UNHCR's special features page on statelessness contains the most up-to-date data relating to statelessness, including nationality legislation, international law and doctrine on statelessness, case law, information on accessions to the statelessness conventions and country specific statelessness reports

For more than one year after the adoption of recommendation issued by the Commissioner for Protection of Equality for discriminatory acting of the Belgrade City Administration towards the Roma living in the container settlements formed after the forced evictions, the consequences of discriminatory acting have not been eliminated.

To remind, the Commissioner acted upon the complaint of Praxis for establishing the legal regime in container settlements by the City Administration, which does not apply to other categories of citizens. By this legal regime, the City Administration has stipulated that if the Roma residing in container settlements “do not adopt rules of good manners towards the representatives of the institutions of the City of Belgrade”, and “do not show an interest in the efforts of the City to socialize the individuals and their families”, or if they “have guests in the containers”, they might be again forcibly evicted from the accommodation provided to them. At the same time, the provisions of the house rules imposed on the residents of container settlements by the city authorities incited prejudices and stereotypes about the Roma.

Instead of changing the house rules, which applied to the residents of container settlements and adopting the new rules, the City Administration, in “agreement” with the residents of settlements, adopted “Rules for better and healthier life”, which reworded the previous house rules. At the same time, apart from the obligation of adopting the “rules of good manners towards the representatives of the institutions of the City of Belgrade, the reasons for eviction from mobile housing units remained the same and forced evictions of the Roma living in these settlements continue.

For more than one year after the adoption of recommendation issued by the Commissioner for Protection of Equality for discriminatory acting of the Belgrade City Administration towards the Roma living in the container settlements formed after the forced evictions, the consequences of discriminatory acting have not been eliminated.

Specifically, last year Praxis filed a complaint with the Commissioner for Protection of Equality for establishing the legal regime in container settlements by the City Administration, which does not apply to other categories of citizens. By this legal regime, the City Administration has stipulated that if the Roma residing in container settlements “do not adopt rules of good manners towards the representatives of the institutions of the City of Belgrade”, and “do not show an interest in the efforts of the City to socialize the individuals and their families”, or if they “have guests in the containers”, they might be again forcibly evicted from the accommodation provided to them. At the same time, the provisions of the house rules imposed on the residents of container settlements by the city authorities incited prejudices and stereotypes about the Roma.

Based on these discriminatory provisions, the City Administration has evicted at least 11 families (44 persons), and the above-stated recommendation of the Commissioner should have eliminated the consequences of discrimination. However, more than a year has elapsed and the City Administration has just partially acted upon the recommendation.

Instead of changing the house rules, which applied to the residents of container settlements and adopting the new rules, the City Administration, in “agreement” with the residents of settlements, adopted “Rules for better and healthier life”, which reworded the previous house rules. At the same time, apart from the obligation of adopting the “rules of good manners towards the representatives of the institutions of the City of Belgrade, the reasons for eviction from mobile housing units remained the same and forced evictions of the Roma living in these settlements continue.