The European Union stands by Serbia in fighting against discrimination and we are very happy with the achievements of the Twinning project Support for advancement of human rights and zero tolerance for discrimination, said EU Delegation to Serbia representative Nicolas Bizel.

Ahead of the closing conference of the Twinning, Bizel told the press that the EU had financially supported the project with EUR1.2 million.

“A lot of work has been done in terms of training and capacity building of the Office for Human and Minority Rights and the Commissioner for Protection of Equality. This is important for both citizens of Serbia and the country in the context of EU accession and the chapter 23,“ Bizel said.

The Director of the Government Office for Human and Minority Rights Suzana Paunovic said that the two-year Twinning had been implemented in cooperation with the Vienna Institute of Human Rights Ludwig Boltzmann and the Slovenian Office for Minorities.

“This was one of the first projects and contracts Serbia has ever implemented under the decentralised system of management, meaning that we were in charge of administration and expenses and we had to monitor the way in which the project had been implemented,“ Paunovic said.

The Commissioner for Protection of Equality Brankica Jankovic said that the greatest advantage of the project was the deepened cooperation with Austrian and Slovenian counterparts.

“The most important activity of the Twinning was drafting of datasheet for a new database. As the institution of the Commissioner grew stronger, so has the number of citizens’ complaints, that is their ability to recognise and report discrimination so we had to improve the quality of the database,” Jankovic said.

Project information

FoNet

The 22-month project has been funded by the EU with EUR1.2 million and co-funded by the Republic of Serbia with EUR60,000.

The project strengthened and promoted the implementation of relevant legislative and strategic framework on protection against discrimination, protection of minorities and human rights defenders through additional harmonization with European standards.

An important element of the project was the promotion of implementation of measures related to fundamental rights in the Action Plan for Chapter 23 and focusing on the principle of anti-discrimination and the position of socially vulnerable groups as well as national minorities. The project also contributed to strengthening of existing capacity of the Office for Human and Minority Rights, the Commissioner for Protection of Equality and other key stakeholders in the areas of human rights with the goal of making the anti-discrimination policy more effective at the national and local level.

The implemented activities have supported the efforts of the Office for Human and Minority Rights in the process of monitoring the implementation of the Action Plan for the realisation of minority rights and acting on recommendations of the UN human rights mechanism.

Particular attention has been paid to preparatory procedures for the development of state report within the mechanism of Universal Periodic Review to be submitted by Serbia in October 2017 as part of the third cycle. Furthermore, recommendations have been formulated regarding the development of the next Strategy for prevention and protection against discrimination with a pertaining Action Plan.

A wide range of stakeholders (e.g. police representatives, trainees of the Judicial Academy, representatives of National Councils of National Minorities and CSOs, had an opportunity to undergo training aimed at sharing experience in the area of anti-discrimination and protection of human rights defenders. An e-course has also been developed during the last couple of weeks dedicated to prevention and protection against discrimination with a goal of strengthening the capacity of local stakeholders, local self-governments in particular, for development of prevention measures and actions aimed at raising awareness of discrimination.

The visibility of the Commissioner for Protection of Equality has been increased at the local level with a goal of ensuring equal access to legal protection for all victims of discrimination. Particular attention has been paid to improving efficiency and effectiveness of recommendations made by the Commissioner for Protection of Equality which are part and parcel of the mechanism that ensures further prevention against discrimination.

A Code of Ethics has also been developed to provide employers with guidelines for creation of antidiscrimination practices and entice them to uphold the provisions of the Law on Prevention and Protection against Discrimination in the area of labour. Through the coaching programme, the Commissioner for Protection of Equality and her team of experts had a chance to broaden their knowledge and improve their skills regarding the methods of raising awareness of discrimination by getting in touch with various social stakeholders which should in turn contribute to an increase in the number of complaints filed with the Commissioner’s Office in the long run.

Key outcomes of the project are:

  • Recommendations to improve the development of strategic documents in the area of protection of national minority rights and equality,
  • Recommendations to improve the process of monitoring the implementation of recommendations made by the UN human rights mechanism and Action Plans in the area of discrimination and exercise of national minority rights,
  • Input for strategic documents of the Commissioner for Protection of Equality by way of public opinion poll “Citizens’ attitude towards discrimination in Serbia“,
  • Strengthened capacities of the Commissioner for Protection of Equality to do outreach work at the national and local level and gather evidence in discrimination cases,
  • E-course for local stakeholders, local self-governments in particular, with a goal of developing measures for awareness raising and prevention of discrimination at the local level,
  • Capacity building for civil servants (74), National Councils of National Minorities (64) and NGOs (25) to promote access to legal protection and improve observance of rights of vulnerable groups,
  • Training for trainees of the Judicial Academy (54) and law enforcement agents (28) dedicated to protection of human and minority rights,
  • Public awareness raising campaigns for protection of human rights defenders and rights of national minorities.

The project has been implemented by the Vienna Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights and the Office for National Minorities of the Republic of Slovenia which shared their experience and knowledge of various systems of human rights and equality protection in EU Member States with their Serbian partners. Some 40 European experts have cooperated with the Office for Human and Minority Rights, the Commissioner for Protection of Equality and a wide range of stakeholders by exchanging experience, knowledge and skills through training events, at work trainings, conducting legal and institutional analyses and drafting recommendations.

The closing event was attended by the representatives of the Office of Permanent UN Coordinator, OSCE Mission to Serbia, line ministries, National Councils of National Minorities, the Judicial Academy and SCOs engaged in protection of human and minority rights.

Key outcomes of the project are: recommendations aimed at improving the process of development of strategic documents in the area of protection of rights of national minorities and equality: strengthened capacity of the Commissioner for Protection of equality; recommendations regarding the monitoring of the process of implementation of UN human rights mechanisms; e-course for stakeholders at the local level; strengthening capacity of civil servants; training for Judicial Academy trainees and activities aimed at raising awareness of protection of human rights defenders and rights of national minorities.