PRIORITIES

HUMAN RIGHTS

One of the priorities of the Republic of Serbia is the respect for, protection and promotion of human rights both at national and international levels, in accordance with the United Nations Charter, Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant international instruments in the field.

Republic of Serbia has accepted the highest international human rights standards, becoming a State party to almost all the major international and regional treaties and protocols in the field of human and minority rights, international humanitarian law and refugee law. Up to present the Republic of Serbia has ratified the following most important universal treaties:


  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),

  •     Optional Protocol to the ICCPR concerning individual complaints,

  •     Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR aiming at the abolition of the death penalty,

  • International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR),

  • Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT),

  •     Optional Protocol to the CAT concerning regular visits by national and international experts to places of detention,

  • International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD),

  • International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW),

  •     Optional Protocol to the CEDAW, concerning individual complaints and inquiry procedures,

  •     Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC),

  •     Optional Protocol to the CRC on the involvement of children in armed conflicts,

  •     Optional Protocol to the CRC on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography,

  • Slavery Convention 1926 as amended 1956,

  • Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid,

  • International Convention against Apartheid in Sports,

  • Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,

  • UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocols against the smuggling of migrants by land, sea and air and to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons,

  • Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its Protocol,

  • Four Geneva Conventions on War Law and their Two Additional Protocols, etc.

The Republic of Serbia accepted being subject to all communication procedures of the United Nations human rights instruments it has ratified.

The Republic of Serbia has signed the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, as well as two recently adopted conventions - International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Republic of Serbia is also a State party to 69 International Labour Organization conventions including 8 core ILO conventions.

The Republic of Serbia co-operates actively with the Council of Europe (CoE) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in the field of protection of human and minority rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as promoting rule of law and further democratization of society. It has ratified 33 Council of Europe conventions related to human and minority rights including the most relevant – the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter on Regional or Minority Languages.

The Republic of Serbia fully supports the work of the UN HRC Special Procedures. In that regard it put forward its candidature to the UN HRC for the term 2008-2011 expressing thus its readiness to render its active contribution to the reinforcing of the rule of law and strengthening of human rights both at national and international levels. In this context, R. Serbia submitted along with its candidature its pledges and commitments in the field of human rights. (Pledges and Commitments)

As a member of the Executive Board of UNICEF, the Commission for Sustainable Development, the Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Serbia has actively contributed to their work. In cooperation with OSCE and the Council of Europe it has hosted a number of conferences and seminars in the field of human rights and the protection of national minorities.

Bearing in mind that the Republic of Serbia is multinational, multicultural and multi-linguistic country, it pays a special attention to bilateral cooperation with its neighbours, particularly to the protection and improvement of the status of national minorities. In this respect, the Republic of Serbia has concluded several bilateral agreements with neighbouring countries.

REPORTING OBLIGATION

As a State party to most international human rights instruments, Serbia is under the obligation to submit to the relevant United Nations treaty bodies, periodic reports on the implementation of these instruments nationally.

So far, Serbia has submitted the Initial Report on the Implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in July 2004; Initial Report on the Implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in May 2005; and the Initial Report on the Implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in May 2007.

In 2008, the Republic of Serbia submitted the following reports to the relevant UN treaty bodies: