Introduction The EU officially opened negotiations for Serbia’s accession to the Union in January 2014. The negotiating framework requires progress in normalising relations with Kosovo, while the implementation of the Agreement will be closely monitored. The opening of the negotiations has not improved the situation in regards to human rights; they have even deteriorated compared to 2013, particularly in the area of national minorities, freedom of expression, independent regulatory bodies and judicial reform. The situation for minorities remains precarious, especially for Roma and LGBT people. Although the Belgrade Pride Parade was successfully organised for the first time in 2014 after being banned four times, the improvement in the situation regarding LGBT people remains rather symbolic. The fact that media reports on human rights are strongly influenced by politics verifies the conclusion that the Serbian media is moving further away from informing people and instead moving towards becoming a political tool for influencing public opinion. The situation for Human Rights Defenders in Serbia Over the last several years, a number of human rights defenders in Serbia have continued to be subjected to violations of their human rights. They have been the target of torture, beatings, death treats, hate speech, harassment and defamation as well as imposing restrictions on their freedom of assembly. Violations most commonly target either human rights defenders themselves or the organizations they work for. Ten Rights In Focus The right to life and physical integrity Under the Constitution of Serbia, the right to dignity, life, physical and mental integrity shall be inviolable and no one may be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, or subject to medical or other experiments without prior consent. However, there have been anomalies in applying the legislation when it comes to protecting the right to life. Many crimes committed by the Serbian military and police forces during the armed conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Croatia have not been processed or investigated and their perpetrators have not been brought to justice, although the state is under an obligation to prosecute them. The perpetrators of a number of murders, particularly those committed before 2000, have never been identified. The problem of protecting women from domestic violence still remains prominent in 2014. We defend people's civil and political rights and empower human rights defenders -­‐ in Sweden and globally.Become a human rights defenders, you too! Read more about how you can support our work on:www.civilrightsdefenders.org Head Office Field Office Stora Nygatan 26 Phone +46 8 545 277 30 Kralja Milana 10/5 Phone: +381 11 2686 894 SE-­‐111 27 Stockholm [email protected] 11000 Beograd, Serbia [email protected] Police officers accused of torture or ill treatment are rarely brought to trial or punished for their reactions. Valid provisions and 2014 practices of the judicial authorities clearly demonstrate a lack of will to identify and punish perpetrators of ill treatment, particularly pubic officials (usually policemen). The right to liberty and security of person There are about 11.500 imprisoned people in Serbia although the prison capacities cater for only around 6.000. Overcrowded prisons are a fertile ground for human rights violations, in particular violations of the absolute prohibition on torture. This situation still exists in Serbia’s correctional institutions in which the material conditions, the living regime and overpopulation has led to inhumane and degrading treatment. A lack of staff in prisons, in particular medical personnel, has led to inadequate health care for people deprived of their liberty. Alternative sanctions were introduced in 2009, but there full execution has not come into place. There are 20 offices established for the execution of alternative sanctions but they lack effective capacities. The right to a fair trial and to effective remedy As a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Serbia is obliged to incorporate and implement, into its system, the provisions stipulated by these international documents, including the provisions regarding fair trials. However, the judiciary system in Serbia is marked by inefficiency -­‐ cases are taking too long to be resolved, some even being reconsidered regarding sentencing or under statute of limitations and in some cases not enforcing verdicts, which brings concerns over the functioning of the judiciary and judges impartiality. In the course of one year, courts often have a greater number of received than solved cases, which makes the situation continue to deteriorate year on year. 2014 was marked by a 4-­‐month long lawyers’ strike, which further exacerbated the right to the fair trial in Serbia. The right of freedom of thought, conscience and religion The Constitution of Serbia states that Serbia is a secular state and treats the separation of the church and state at the level of constitutional principles (i.e. prohibits the establishment of a state religion). However, the influence of the Orthodox Church in the decision-­‐making process continues to be significant. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion is a constitutional category in Serbia, and is protected by the highest legal document. Numbers of religiously motivated incidents continued in 2014, but unclear criteria for registration of religious organizations remain, preventing small religious communities the ability to register. Access to church services in some minority languages is not fully enforced. Religious communities are exempted from paying VAT and religious education is an optional subject in primary and secondary schools. The right to the freedom of expression Freedom of expression deteriorated significantly in 2014. Throughout the year, several political TV shows were cancelled; there was an increase in political and financial pressure on the media, as well as threats of prosecution of journalists and bloggers. This has led to a high degree of censorship and self-­‐
censorship that completely disables free and critical debate about any of the serious issues in Serbian society. 4 journalists are still living under 24 hour police protection, 24 attacks on journalists occurred throughout 2014, out of which 12 involved physical assaults which led to inconsistent and lenient judicial closures. A set of new Media Laws, which regulates the media field to a great extent in line with EU standards and regulations, was adopted. However, this did not greatly influence the progress within the media sector when it comes to pressures and attacks on media and journalists, as authorities failed to react or strongly respond to them, thus showing a lack of willingness to protect journalists’ rights and media freedoms. Following the 2014 results on the presence of Roma in mainstream media, it was established that there are very few Roma journalists engaged to report on the actual rights and needs of Roma for the national media. These journalists have no permanent contracts and no media space in mainstream news articles or primetime. This is a serious issue, which not only portrays the lack of participation of Roma in mainstream life but also presents obstacles for combatting discrimination through mass media or integration in the longer run. The right to freedom of assembly and association The Pubic Assembly Act, adopted in 1992, has been amended several times but some of its provisions are still obsolete and largely incompatible with international standards and with relevant articles of the Constitution. In 2014, the Ministry of Interior prepared a new draft Peaceful Assembly Act, but it has not been submitted to parliament for adoption. In 2014 the first successful Pride March took place. Some 2,000 people took part in the march, which was secured by a large police presence, with 7,000 officers deployed in multiple concentric circles around the March area. Immediately after the march ended, the Prime Minister thanked football supporters and other groups for staying at home and not causing violence. The rights to protection against hate speech and war propaganda On several occasions politicians and religious leaders throughout Serbia used political inflammatory speech and hate speech against other political opponents, human rights organisations, human rights defenders and the international community. Hate speech against Roma and LGBT people have largely increased and are frequently used by political party representatives, religious representatives, extremists groups, several media outlets and individuals. The rights to political rights Serbia had parliamentary elections in 2014. According to international observers there were few incidents of procedural irregularities and anomalies reported on Election Day. They declared the election free, transparent and fair, but they did note concerns about the “usurpation” of the media by governing parties and the lack of transparency on media ownership. Serbia has 100 registered political parties, more than any individual EU member-­‐state. The Law on Political Parties states that the political party is required to win at least one seat in parliament during a period of 8 years in order to be a part of the register. In order to participate in parliamentary elections each candidate list has to submit at least 10,000 citizens’ signatures if they want to stand in the elections. Every political party has to win at least 5% of the vote cast to be represented in the National Assembly except for the parties representing national minorities. Finally every list must comprise at least 30% of women amongst its candidates. However minority groups and women still remain underrepresented in political institutions, especially when it comes to decision-­‐making positions. The rights to protection against discrimination Although relatively good legislative framework exists, the Roma and LGBT community remains one of the weakest; most marginalised and discriminated groups who are often exposed to violence. Cases of violence and discrimination are still dealt without proper reactions from the police and judiciary. The highest degree of ethnic distance among Serbs exists towards Roma, LGBT people and ethnic Albanians. The government is seen both as an institution that is engaged in discrimination as well as the one most responsible for alleviating the problem. Discrimination of Roma is most visible in areas of employment, education, health care and housing. The lack of personal documents continues to be a problem, mostly among the forcibly displaced Roma from Kosovo, hindering their ability to enjoy fundamental human rights. Cases in which the LGBT population is discriminated against are still very common in Serbia, and responses by relevant state bodies continue to be inadequate. In general, the watchdog functions of human rights organisations is now key in achieving international human rights standards during the EU integration process of Serbia, but the capacities of the majority of organisations are not sufficient and they are vulnerable both in terms of sustainability and attacks emanating from different duty holders.
The role of Civil Rights Defenders in Serbia Civil Rights Defenders has been strengthening human rights organisations, independent media and human rights defenders in the region of the Western Balkans, including Serbia since 1996. We have worked closely with approximately 100 human rights organisations and media outlets in Serbia, and we have contributed to a number of positive developments in regard to human rights protection. Together with partner organizations we monitor human rights developments, demand reforms, justice and accountability. The Belgrade office serves as a hub covering the Western Balkan region but also covering the programme in Serbia. With this type of regional presence it has enabled us to engage in networking with organisations covering the same issues in the Western Balkan, supporting regional initiatives and cooperation. In 2014, together with our partners from AIRE Centre, we organised the first Rule of Law forum, connecting judges from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) with judges from Serbia and the Region; we collected and published all the verdicts of the ECtHR regarding violation of rights of members of the Roma and LGBT communities. Civil Rights Defenders remains the key partner of Belgrade Pride, organising numerous events during Pride Week and participating in the Pride March. Civil Rights Defenders launched its Roma component in 2014 and became more fluent in protecting and promoting Roma human rights in Serbia and the region at large. In cooperation with the National Endowment for Democracy, we have pushed Roma issues into the spotlight with our photo-­‐
competition, exhibitions and online campaign about life of Roma people, which has reached more than half a million people.