During the course of 2003, Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) investigators visited all the settlements in Kosovo inhabited by persons belonging to ethnic minorities and interviewed 497 Serbs, Montenegrins, Roma, Bosniaks, Turks, Gorani, Egyptians, Ashkali, and Albanians. They paid special attention to the returnees. The investigators discussed with the interviewees the matters of security, freedom of movement, access to administrative and judicial authorities, access to health and social welfare services, employment, education, access to property, participation in political life, and return. The data they gathered indicate some improvement in 2003 regarding the freedom of movement and the return of refugees. This is a major step forward compared with the preceding period when Serbs in particular ran the risk of losing their lives outside their settlements.
The book consists of two parts. The first part deals with the Roma in Serbia from 1998 to 2003, focusing on cases of police violence and violence by private individuals, such as skinheads, and the discrimination experienced by Roma in many areas of society. The second part deals with abuse and violence against Roma in Kosovo between March 24 and September 1, 1999, as well as the position of Roma in Kosovo after the withdrawal of the Serb security forces.