CDCS: Serbia Needs Ministry of Human Righgs

03 July 2008

The Centre for Development of Civil Society is concerned about the fact that instead of a Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, the competences in that area will be placed under the Ministry of Justice. CDCS finds that solution harmful in a variety of ways.

CDCS reminds that Serbia has not yet met its obligations listed in the Second European Partnership, failing to adopt the general anti-discrimination legislation and the Law on Election and Competences of National Councils of National Minorities.

`If we had a Ministry of Human and Minority rights in the past two years, we would have adopted these laws so far and would have met those obligations`, says Vladimir Ilić, CDCS Executive Director.

CDCS warns that the situation in the area of minority rights protection has not reached such level of development to leave the management of potential crisis to an institution like the Ministry of Justice, which is rather inert and slow to act because of the very nature of its main field of activities.

Past experiences from times of frequent ethnically motivated incidents (2003-2005) demonstrate the need for a separate Ministry on Human and Minority Rights.

CDCS believes that the Ministry of Justice lacks the capacity to provide adequate protection of minority rights and fight the problems of discrimination of people with different faith, disabilities, homophobia or rising neo-Nazi violence.

`Giving up on the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights at this time means that all action will continue through adoption of by-laws and decrees, instead of laws, which is not a good example of institutional capacity building and governing practices`, adds Ilić.