At the beginning of the year, the prEUgovor traditionally reviews the situation in the areas of Cluster 1, which it regularly monitors and offers recommendations on what needs to be done during 2023 in order to solve the key noted problems. The year that passed was marked by the gloomy picture of Serbia’s European integration and, the prEUgovor collation made suggestions for improvement.
In the area of anti-discrimination policy and gender equality, the Coalition reminds the Government, the National Assembly, judicial bodies and independent state institutions that the recommendations of international bodies, including the Concluding Observations of the CEDAW Committee have not been acted upon. It expresses concern about the growing trend of intolerance and the pressures of conservative movements and influential individuals on the rights of minority social groups, especially the LGBTIQ+ population, and the further clericalisation of public education, which is particularly expressed through attacks on gender policies that are labelled negatively (as “gender ideology”), contrary to the laws the state had passed. Additional efforts are needed to improve the efficiency and sustainability of the adopted strategic documents and ensure the adoption of action plans within the statutory deadline and provision of appropriate funds for their implementation. The Coalition reminds that intimidation of and attacks on human rights’ defenders without any consequences for the perpetrators are unacceptable, because they endanger the safety and work of organisations and activists.
In the field of combating violence against women, amendments to the Criminal Code and its alignment with the provisions of the Istanbul Convention have yet to be implemented, especially in relation to crimes against sexual freedom. The European Commission has concluded the same. The Coalition also notes that there have been no changes in the introduction of a sufficient number of easily accessible and geographically well-distributed general and specialised support services for victims of all forms of gender-based violence, which would enable their recovery, empowerment and independence. The serious delay in amending and supplementing the law and adopting a new strategic document in the field of social protection, as well as the legalised discrimination of victims in accessing services in relation to the perpetrators of violence, is contrary to the international standards accepted by Serbia. PrEUgovor warns that the obligation to fully implement measures in the area of sexual and reproductive rights and women’s health, as an integral part of their human rights and freedoms, is still being ignored.
The Coalition points out that the majority of activities concerning the rights of the child have not been implemented yet, including amendments to the law, monitoring of the implementation of strategic measures, and development of the capacity of service providers in accordance with the processes of deinstitutionalisation and decentralisation, including residential institutions for children. A centre for children, young people and the family and the system of financial benefits intended for vulnerable families of children with disabilities have not been established yet.
As regards procedural guarantees, PrEUgovor once again calls on the competent ministry to provide funds to finance the provision of free legal aid services to civil society organisations, which provide almost the same number of services as 90% of local self-government units.
You can view the Reform agenda of the prEUgovor coalition's HERE.
