The proposed project will primarily address legislative gaps and the shortcomings in implementation of existing anti-discrimination, violence prevention, hate speech and hate crime policies regarding LGBT persons.
Writing of the introduction for YUCOM’s annual report, as well as the introduction to the text which presents the overview of the status of human rights in the year behind us, is placed in the context of the situation in the media and TV programs which were cancelled during previous year, and which have left the mark on the media scene in Serbia.
The goal of the Free Elections Through Freedom of Assembly project is two-fold: 1) protection of the freedom of assembly in pre-election period as the prerequisite for free, fair and democratic elections through timely education of users, monitoring of pre-election conventions across Serbia by independent monitors, providing legal protection in cases of violence against freedom of assembly, immediate notification of public on dealt infarctions and requests to relevant authorities to take measures against them; 2) after the elections and based on received results, an evaluation of the influence of the new Law will be made, formulating conclusions and recommendations for the improvement of the legislative framework, considering that harmonization with international standards is already envisioned with the Action Plan for Chapter 23.
The Project will contribute to advancement of the rule of law in Serbia, particularly to its criminal justice system and the comprehensive fight against corruption through building a sustainable national anticorruption trial monitoring student network.
A team consisting of Momcilo Zivadinovic and Ana J. Jovanovic, accompanied by an interpreter for Farsi, conducted a two-day visit from January 28th to January 29th 2016 of the Police station in Dimitrovgrad – a temporary shelter and registration office for refugees.
A team consisting of MomciloZivadinovic and Ana J. Jovanovic, accompanied by an interpreter for Arabic, conducted a two-day visit from January 21st to January 22nd 2016 of the shelter for refugees/migrants in Presevo and the refugee camp in Miratovac.
A team consisting of Momcilo Zivadinovic and Ana J. Jovanovic visited the Asylum Center in Krnjaca on January 19th 2016.
According to the information we were provided, at the time of the team’s visit approximately 120 people, among them refugees from former Yugoslavia as well as migrants and refugees from the east, were staying at the Center.
With the Law on Ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, it is prescribed that the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture (NPM) conducts visits to institutions where detainees may or may not be held, with the aim of discouraging state bodies and officers from any form of torture or any other form of abuse, as well as directing state bodies towards creating accommodation and other living conditions in institutions that hold detainees that are in line with current regulations and standards.
On January 15th 2016 a team consisting of Momcilo Zivadinovic and Ana J. Jovanovic, along with an interpreter for Arabic, visited the Adasevci shelter for refugees and migrants in Sid.
At the time of our visit the center was also host to Alaksandar Vulin, minister of labor in the Government of Serbia, Michel Sen Lot, UNICEF representative, Michael Devenport, chief of the EU delegation in Serbia, as well as Hristos Stilijanides, EU commissioner for humanitarian aid and management of emergency situations, on the occasion of the opening of the new mother-child section at the shelter, where infants can be changed and fed which also features a games room for the children of the refugees/migrants.
The policy goal of the project is to provide institutional analysis of services directed toward refugees, migrants and asylum seekers assessing their integration, coherence and complementarities with local partners, in order to facilitate systemic changes enabling positive outcomes of migration.