The facts about the Srebrenica genocide and its legal characterization have been determined beyond reasonable doubt by the judgments of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.
On the occasion of the recent violence by the police against citizens protesting at the City Hall on Sunday, December 24th, 2023, the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights – YUCOM is highlighting concern about the excessive use of force by police officers. This disproportionate use of force evident in multiple videos circulating on social media and in the news overtly violates citizens’ fundamental rights to freedom, security, and peaceful assembly.
Civil society organisations in Kosovo and Serbia reiterated their commitment to actively working towards the normalisation of relations throughout the entire region. They call for the building of ties in accordance with the terms and spirit of Article 6 of the recent roadmap on normalisation, through which the parties have agreed to deepen cooperation in a variety of areas.
This is an act of extreme violence against the institution of the National Assembly, since the decision was reversed without the MPs being granted the opportunity to make a decision, all in order to suspend the work of the Inquiry Committee in connection with the crimes of May 3 and 4, that is, so that the government would avoid the risk of political responsibility, related to the explosion of violence in society, becoming more visible through the work of that parliamentary body.
The Working Group of the National Convention on Chapter 23 condemns the illegal election of new heads of public prosecutors and public prosecutors by the High Prosecutorial Council on June 19, 2023, thereby calling into question its commitment to implementing constitutional reforms. Certain competitions for chief public prosecutors were announced as early as 2021, and with the adoption of new laws, the method of selecting chief public prosecutors has been completely changed.[1] The most important change is that public prosecutors are no longer elected by the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, but by the High Prosecutorial Council, and that procedure must now be completely conducted by this body. Since this election grossly violates the new Law on Public Prosecution, we call for the initiation of proceedings from Article 56 (2) of the Law on the High Prosecutorial Council, and for the current president of this body, Branko Stamenković, to resign, as he obtains the function responsible for ensuring that the work of the Council is in accordance with the law.
The National Convention on the European Union Working Group for Chapter 23 alarms the public that only 36 hours after the end of the public debate, the Government of the Republic of Serbia adopted five judicial laws proposals that had entered the parliamentary procedure on January 17, 2023. It has raised the question of the meaning of the public debate, the purpose of 5 meetings held with the expert public, as well as more than 50 attachments with comments submitted to the Ministry of Justice, that were practically impossible to consider within that short period of time.
Following a gathering in Gračanica/Graçanicë, a diverse group of civil society organisations from Kosovo and Serbia have adopted the following joint statement calling for new constructive voices – voices that look to the future whilst retaining a keen eye on the past; voices that seek out partnerships and coalitions beyond the red lines that are supposed to define them; and voices that stand up publicly against divisive and derogatory rhetoric.
Given the recent EU reports and developments on the ground, we the undersigned are concerned about the impact of a lack of progress in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue on local communities in Serbia and Kosovo. It is people on the ground who suffer most from the persistence of tensions and mistrust. All sides must therefore desist from inflammatory rhetoric that harms and damages relations within and between communities. The scope for ambiguities must be reduced through transparency and accountability. All citizens must be clear about what has been agreed to, whilst the process of dialogue itself must be brought closer to the very citizens affected by it.
We welcome the final verdict acquitting Srdjan Vukša, an activist accused of violating the Law on Public Assembly, on the occasion of organizing last year’s protests in Serbia. The end of 2021 was marked by civil protests, which were attended by tens of thousands of citizens who wanted to express dissatisfaction with the Law on Expropriation, as well as laws that would limit their right to participate in public policy directly – the Laws on Referendum and the People’s Initiative.