The Human Rights Committee today concluded its consideration of the fourth periodic report of Serbia on how it implements the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, with Committee Experts commending the State’s improved anti-discrimination framework, and raising issues concerning measures to prevent violence against women and to locate missing persons.
A Committee Expert said the State party’s legislative and policy framework had been improved through the amendment in 2021 of the law on the prohibition of discrimination, and the adoption of the strategy for the prevention and protection of discrimination and the accompanying biennial action plan. How would the State party further strengthen the legal and policy framework on anti-discrimination?
Another Committee Expert said there continued to be a high prevalence of all forms of violence against women, with 190,000 reported cases between 2017 and 2021. Overall, 21.6 per cent of women had experienced a certain form of violence, and 10 per cent had experienced physical or sexual violence. How would the State party improve measures to prevent gender-based violence and punish perpetrators?
The Expert also asked about measures the State party intended to take to speed up the work of the Commission on Missing Persons. Over the reporting period, the Commission had participated in the identification and exhumation of only 243 persons, out of over 3,300 missing persons. How would the State increase the number of concluded cases, particularly against mid- and high-ranking officials?
Tomislav Zigmanov, Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue of Serbia and head of the delegation, said Serbia had adopted numerous laws, strategies and accompanying action plans related to the prevention of discrimination. The Government had also established anti-discrimination bodies such as the Council for Monitoring the Implementation of the Anti-Discrimination Strategy, the Roma Social Inclusion Coordination Body, and the National Minority Council.
Since the adoption of the law on prevention of domestic violence in 2016, Mr. Zigmanov said, many efforts had been carried out to improve the work of all actors in the domestic violence protection system. Intensive work was being done to establish a single central record on cases of domestic violence. The work of the Council for the Prevention of Domestic Violence was also of great importance. The delegation added that the State party had trained 2,800 police officers on the prevention of domestic violence. Serbia had adopted a strategy on preventing violence against women in 2022 and was currently developing the related action plan.
The delegation said the State party had pursued new mechanisms and international initiatives to find missing persons. In 2018, it signed a joint declaration to put missing persons on the Balkan Agenda and identify the bodies of around 4,000 persons in morgues in the territories. Serbia had identified 1,000 of these bodies and developed a database on them. The State party was obstructed in its efforts by Croatia and Pristina, which were blocking Serbia from conducting investigations into mass grave on their territories, despite bilateral agreements in this regard. Serbia was cooperating with the United States, United Nations agencies and other international organizations on searches. The State party hoped to establish a regional coordination body for prosecution services.
In concluding remarks, Mr. Zigmanov said Serbia was determined to protect human rights. The delegation hoped that it had provided useful information on the implementation of civil and political rights in Serbia. The State party would work to implement the Committee’s concluding observations and protect the human rights of vulnerable groups.
Tania María Abdo Rocholl, Committee Chairperson, in concluding remarks, said issues discussed in the dialogue included hate crimes; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex rights; eradication of slavery and human trafficking; anti-corruption measures; the right to peaceful assembly; freedom of expression; and participation in public affairs. The Committee was determined to ensure the highest possible degree of implementation of the Covenant in Serbia.
The delegation of Serbia was made up of representatives of the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue; Ministry of Justice; Commission for Missing Persons; Commissariat for Refugees and Migration; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Internal Affairs; Ministry of Information and Telecommunications; Office for Kosovo and Metohija; and the Permanent Mission of Serbia to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
The Human Rights Committee’s one hundred and fortieth session is being held from 4 to 28 March 2024. All the documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage. Meeting summary releases can be found here. The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings can be accessed via the UN Web TV webpage.
The Committee will next meet in public at 3 p.m. on Monday, 18 March to begin its consideration of the third periodic report of Guyana (CCPR/C/GUY/3).
Report
The Committee has before it the fourth periodic report of Serbia (CCPR/C/SRB/4).
Presentation of the Report
TOMISLAV ZIGMANOV, Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue of Serbia and head of the delegation, said Serbia was deeply committed to the implementation of all the principles and values of the United Nations.
Serbia could not monitor the implementation of the Covenant in the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija as governance of the province was fully entrusted to the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo. In this province, institutional and systematic suppression of civil and political rights of Serbs was occurring, including denial of the right to vote; arbitrary arrests and beatings; infringement of the supply of medicines and food; illegal expropriation of private property; and abolition of the dinar as a means of payment.
Serbia had carried out a constitutional reform in the reporting period to further strengthen the independence of the judiciary. In 2018, the State adopted the law on the planning system to regulate the creation and monitoring of public policies. The State party was currently drafting a human rights strategy based on the recommendations and standards of the United Nations human rights mechanisms. The Ministry for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue was established in 2020 to institutionally strengthen the protection of human rights. Bodies monitoring the implementation of United Nations human rights recommendations had developed a plan for monitoring these recommendations using an electronic database.
Serbia had amended the law on prohibition of discrimination and adopted numerous laws, strategies and accompanying action plans related to the prevention of discrimination. The Government was currently developing an action plan for the anti-discrimination strategy. It had also established anti-discrimination bodies such as the Council for Monitoring the Implementation of the Anti-Discrimination Strategy, the Roma Social Inclusion Coordination Body, and the National Minority Council.
To promote gender equality, the State party had adopted the 2021 law on gender equality, and was implementing the 2021-2030 strategy for gender equality and an accompanying action plan. Since the adoption of the law on prevention of domestic violence in 2016, many efforts had been carried out to improve the work of all actors in the domestic violence protection system. Intensive work was being done to establish a single central record on cases of domestic violence. The work of the Council for the Prevention of Domestic Violence was also of great importance. After the tragic events in Belgrade on 3 and 4 May last year, the Government had adopted a set of emergency measures, including amendments to the Criminal Code and the law on arms and ammunition, to ensure that such tragedies were not repeated.
Promising efforts had been carried out to develop the capacity of prison officers in the fields of deprivation of liberty and the prohibition of torture. The Government had improved the capacities of the Protector of Citizens, the national preventive mechanism. The new law on the rights of users of temporary housing services in social protection regulated the prohibition of abuse, exploitation and neglect in the field of social protection. The State had also been strengthening the normative and institutional framework in the fight against human trafficking and had developed an application for the preliminary identification of victims.
The Government had adopted a response plan to address the increased number of migrants in Serbia. All internally displaced persons from the Autonomous Province were issued an identification card, with which they exercised their rights. The State had provided more than 7,225 housing solutions and supported the economic empowerment of 5,303 families; 15,667 families, primarily Roma, needed housing support.
Serbia had drafted the law on public information and media and the law on electronic media, and established special legal protections for journalists. A database of criminal offenses against journalists had been established. The strategy for a stimulating environment for the development of civil society and the Council for Civil Society dealt with issues related to human rights defenders. Amendments were made to the Criminal Code to sanction hate crimes, and awareness raising campaigns combatting hate speech had been carried out.
Serbia remained determined to achieve further progress in democratisation, the fulfilment of international obligations, and the attainment of the highest standards of human rights.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert asked about assessments made by the council for monitoring the implementation of recommendations of the United Nations human rights mechanisms. Was civil society regularly consulted in the framework of its monitoring? How did the State party implement the Committee’s Views? What measures would the State party take to raise awareness of the Covenant among legal professionals, Government officials and the public? What was the process for selecting the current Ombudsman? What human and financial resources were available for the Ombudsman to effectively perform its mandate as the national preventive mechanism?
There continued to be a high prevalence of all forms of violence against women, with 190,000 reported cases between 2017 and 2021. Overall, 21.6 per cent of women had experienced a certain form of violence, and 10 per cent had experienced physical or sexual violence. An estimated 71 per cent of cases were not reported to police. In 2023, 29 women were killed in family settings. How would the State party improve institutional measures to prevent gender-based violence and punish perpetrators? What training would be provided to judges, prosecutors and police on the rights of victims? Did the State party plan to create the offence of femicide and expand reporting mechanisms? What results had been achieved by the national strategies on gender-based violence and violence against children? What was the status of proposed amendments to the family law to introduce civil liability for violence and strengthen monitoring of protection measures for victims? Had the criminal offence of rape already been redefined in line with the Istanbul Convention? What resources were devoted to reparations for victims?
What measures did the State party intend to take to speed up the work of the Commission on Missing Persons? Over the reporting period, the Commission had participated in the identification and exhumation of only 243 persons, out of over 3,300 missing people. What measures did the Public Prosecutor’s Office for War Crimes intend to take to increase the number of concluded cases, particularly against mid- and high-ranking officials? What measures would be adopted to search for and try defendants? What reparations would be provided to victims and survivors, including of conflict-related sexual violence? Would the State party increase its cooperation with the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals? Had the law on missing persons been enacted? What results had the national strategy for war crimes prosecution and the revised prosecutorial strategy achieved? How did the State party ensure that State officials respected court decisions in relation to such crimes?
Another Committee Expert said the State party’s legislative and policy framework had been improved through the amendment in 2021 of the law on the prohibition of discrimination, and the adoption of the strategy for the prevention and protection of discrimination and the accompanying biennial action plan. What were the grounds of the discrimination complaints submitted to the Equality Protection Commissioner and what reparations were granted to victims? How would the State party further strengthen the legal and policy framework on anti-discrimination? Had the strategy for active and healthy ageing entered into force?
Roma were victims of a greater level of discrimination and marginalisation than any other minority group. Roma reportedly lacked information about their rights and the mechanisms available to combat discrimination. How many Roma and State officials had received training on birth registration? Did the State party provide education to the Roma in their own language? What employment support schemes were available for the Roma? What measures were being taken to reduce infant mortality rates in Roma settlements, which were higher than the national average? What rate of Roma households had access to electricity, drinking water and sewage networks?
What measures were in place to raise awareness of gender equality and eradicate stereotypes on the roles of women and men? In the private sector, women were victims of discrimination in hiring, were underrepresented in managerial positions, and had lower salaries then male counterparts. What measures were in place to reduce these inequities, tackle horizontal discrimination in the workplace, and reduce the burden of unpaid housework on women?
Could the State party provide information on allegations of excessive use of force by police officers in response to demonstrations related to COVID-19 measures in 2020 and electoral irregularities in 2023? How did the State party ensure that police officers’ use of force was proportional and necessary, and that they wore body cameras and easily identifiable clothing?
