ANNOUNCEMENT: Presentation of the report “The legal and institutional framework in Serbia regarding the rights and needs of civilian victims of war”

The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) will hold the presentation of the report “The legal and institutional framework in Serbia regarding the rights and needs of civilian victims of war” on Tuesday, August 22, 2017. The presentation will take place in the Great Hall of the Media Center in Belgrade (Terazije 2, II floor) at 11:00.

Serbia has taken almost no measures to adequately address the rights and needs of past wars’ civilian victims and their families. The legal and institutional framework is inherited from the time of socialist Yugoslavia. At the same time, protection of victims of war is entirely kept within the system of social protection. As a result of the shortcomings in the definition of a civilian victim, the largest number of victims are not recognized under the existing law. The rights reserved for civilian victims take the form of financial support exclusively, at levels insufficient for today’s living conditions. At the same time, there are no other services of social protection of a rehabilitative, psychological, integrative or inclusive nature which have been specifically designed fot this category of vulnerable citizens.

Discimination and the position of victims of war remains a sideline issue in the process of legal and institutional reform within the framework of the negotiations on accession to the European Union, except in the narrow area of criminal trials for war crimes. Nevertheless, Serbia is up for alignment with EU legislation on compensation, support and protection of victims of serious crimes. This includes the establishing of an efficient mechanism of services which must be accessible to the victim, and such a mechanism would certainly have to encompass victims of crimes committed during the war.

The report by the HLC provides a brief overview of the existing system in Serbia in terms of the rights and needs of civilian victims, and it seeks to ascertain its key shortcomings and identify recommendations for its amendments and improvements.

Simultaneous interpretation into English will be provided.