On Monday, May 15th 2017, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia elected Snežana Stanojković, former Deputy Prosecutor, as the new Chief Prosecutor for War Crimes in Serbia. This position has been vacant since January 1st 2016. Human rights organizations are welcoming the election of a new Head of the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor (OWCP), primarily because of the importance of continuity in the domestic prosecution of war crimes…
Nacionalni konvent o Evropskoj uniji i predstavnici i predstavnice naučne zajednice i građanskog društva pozivaju Ministarstvo odbrane Republike Srbije da povuče iz procedure usvajanja Predlog Uredbe o oblastima naučnih i drugih istraživanja značajnih za odbranu zemlje i o postupku i uslovima za izdavanje odobrenja za vršenje tih istraživanja zajedno sa stranim licima ili za potrebe stranih lica.
The review of the Republic of Serbia at the United Nations Human Rights Committee is taking place in a tense political climate in Serbia, and after years of continued deterioration of rights to freedom of expression, in particular media rights, and restrictions to the possibility to participate to public life in general. Previous three years in Serbia have been marked by an evermore growing decay of institutions and the rule of law.
Pro-government media continued to smear independent journalists and human rights defenders, as well as the Ombudsperson’s Office. Prosecutions of crimes under international law committed during the armed conflict in the 1990s remained stalled. Several forced evictions took place in Belgrade. Refugees and migrants stranded in Serbia on their way to the EU lacked access to protection and essential services.
National Convention on the European Union (NCEU) in Serbia was founded by 17 eminent civil society organizations which are on the initiative and invitation of the European Movement in Serbia took over the coordination of the twenty-one Working group to follow the theme of all 35 negotiating chapters. Two years after the establishment of NCEU, more than 700 organizations (NGOs, coalitions, 19 faculties, 12 institutes, 24 professional associations, 11 trade unions, 3 business associations) actively participate in its work.
The research “Social Services and Migration: integration and coherence between the actors in the provision of better services for the refugees, migrants and asylum seekers in Macedonia, Serbia and Croatia” was implemented in the period from January to December 2016 in a dramatic turn of events in view of the waves of refugees from the East to the West.
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, with the support of the OSCE Mission in Serbia, held on the 2nd of December 2016, last out of four trainings “Monitoring, research and specifics of criminal trials for criminal offences with elements of corruption” in the renovated facilities of the House of Human Rights in Belgrade.
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, with the support of the OSCE Mission in Serbia, held on the 24th of November 2016, third out of four trainings “Monitoring, research and specifics of criminal trials for criminal offences with elements of corruption” at the Law Faculty in Niš. Training was aimed at students of the final year at the Faculty of Law and students of master studies.
A conference on the implementation of activities proscribed by the Action plan for chapter 23 was held in the Small plenary chamber in the Republic of Serbia’s National Assembly building on November 1st 2016.
The conference was organized in four segments: Opening and keynote address; Questions pertaining to the judiciary within the context of the implementation of activities within Chapter 23 and the necessary changes to the constitution;