Many Health Professionals Think That Their Human Rights Have Been Violated during the COVID-19 Pandemic

December 10, 2021 by Radomir Bojic

December 10, 2021

The Trade Union of Doctors and Pharmacists and Doctors of Serbia and the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) presented the results of a survey on respect for human rights of health professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic on the eve of International Human Rights Day marked on 10 December.

The answers of doctors and medical technicians who took part in the survey indicate large-scale and diverse violations of their human rights during the COVID-19 pandemic. They singled out breaches of their rights to respect for their private and family life, an effective legal remedy, equality (prohibition of discrimination), freedom of expression, health care and some of their work-related rights.

Most of the respondents were not asked whether they suffered from any chronic diseases or conditions putting them at risk of grave consequences if they were infected with COVID-19 before they were referred to work in the COVID-19 system. The Trade Union’s data indicate that over 130 doctors infected with COVID-19 have died since the pandemic broke out.

A number of respondents said that they worked extremely long hours in COVID-19 hospitals (they worked 12- and 15-hour shifts in hazmat suits), with no breaks or adequate compensation. Some of them reported they were fined for using up PPE (surgical masks) and referred to COVID-19 institutions without any prior training or guidance from specialists (infectologists, pulmonologists or epidemiologists). Most respondents were not asked whether they had underage children before they were referred to COVID-19 hospitals or out-patient clinics.

The survey was presented on 9 December in the Belgrade Media Center by:

Sonja Tošković, BCHR Executive Director,
Rade Panić, Chairman of the Trade Union of Doctors and Pharmacists of Serbia,
Dr. Sc. Med. Gorica Đokić, Trade Union of Doctors and Pharmacists of Serbia, and
Vladica Ilić, BCHR.

The survey, conducted within a project funded by the Balkan Trust for Democracy, the German Marshall Fund of the United States and USAID, involved use of a structured questionnaire especially designed for health professionals, which was distributed and filled electronically (due to the epidemiological situation) by doctors, nurses and medical technicians across Serbia in the 18-28 October 2021 period, with the support of the Trade Union of Doctors and Pharmacists of Serbia.

Detailed results of the survey on the respect of human rights of health professionals during the COVID- 19 pandemic are available in Serbian here.

Results of the public opinion survey on the status of health professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic and satisfaction with healthcare services is available in Serbian here.

Youth Rights Talks on Tuesday, 7th of December – this year theme is environment #WhatNext?

December 6, 2021 by Radomir Bojic

December 6, 2021

Belgrade Centre for Human Rigths and BCHR’s Youth Team are very pleased to invite you to a unique event that focuses on the voices of young people and their human rights – Youth Rights Talks, which will be held on Tuesday, 7th of December, at 11 A.M. For the fourth year in a row, Youth Rights Talks provides young people with a safe space to publicly express their views, thoughts, and stories on social issues, thus establishing dialogue among young people and relevant institutions in the country.

This year’s leading theme is the right to a healthy environment and environmentally sustainable communities with our slogan #WhatNext?. Among the hundred participants, we expect young people from all over Serbia, international organizations, decision-makers, and institutions that deal with issues, problems, and the future of young people in Serbia at the policy level.

You can follow our event via the ZOOM platform, by registering at the link:
https://undp.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0sf-qhpjMrHtTrqTgCHjYaN17b-U3VJPEE

The official language of the event is Serbian. A translation to English will be provided. The event is accessible to people with disabilities, and Serbian sign language interpreters will be provided.

Youth Rights Talks 2021 is organized by the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights in cooperation with the United Nations Human Rights Team in Serbia.

The detailed agenda of the event in english is HERE.

State authorities still tolerating public officials’ ill-treatment

December 6, 2021 by Radomir Bojic

The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights has published its publication Prohibition of Torture and Other Forms of Ill-Treatment in Serbia 2018-2020, which includes an analysis of the relevant national criminal law, prosecutorial investigations and court proceedings against public officials suspected of extortion of confessions and torture or ill-treatment. The publication analyses investigations of police ill-treatment during the July 2020 civic protests and presents the results of a survey of public awareness of post-arrest rights.

The research shows that the national criminal law framework on the prohibition of torture and other forms of ill-treatment is unsatisfactory and that the numerous shortcomings of the Criminal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Legal Aid Act and other regulations are precluding effective investigations of ill-treatment cases and the adequate punishment of public officials found guilty of those crimes.

Police officers still account for most public officials charged with these crimes. The data indicate that their collegiality goes beyond professional; as a rule, they neither report their fellow officers who torture or ill-treat people nor testify against them (at least 226 officers testified in such cases but none of them confirmed that the defendants had used excessive force against the victims). Investigations against public officials are neither prompt nor comprehensive and are rarely independent. Nearly all public officials found guilty have been handed down suspended sentences. In the analysed period, only two police officers found guilty of torturing an individual in Niš were convicted by a final judgment to five and eight months’ imprisonment, and only five officers found guilty in one case (of ill-treatment during the 2014 Pride Parade in Belgrade) lost their jobs. In all other analysed cases, the convicted officers did not suffer any work-related consequences, except for one officer whose salary was cut by 20%. In all cases ending with a final decision, the courts instructed the victims of ill-treatment to claim damages in civil proceedings.

Not one of the scores of proceedings initiated in response to police brutality during last year’s protests have been completed. The prosecution offices and the Interior Ministry’s Internal Control Sector claim that they cannot establish the identity of the uniformed officers not wearing visible ID who ill-treated people on Belgrade and Novi Sad streets in July 2020.

The survey showed that members of the public are insufficiently aware of their rights in case they are deprived of liberty.

The research was conducted with a project funded by the European Centre for Not-for-Profit Law.

The analysis is available in Serbian and English.

Right to Asylum in the Republic of Serbia – Periodic Report for July–September 2021

November 22, 2021 by Radomir Bojic

November 22, 2021

The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) team has compiled the report on the right to asylum in the Republic of Serbia, covering the July-September 2021 period.

The report analyses the treatment of the asylum seekers and refugees based on the information the BCHR team obtained during their legal representation in the asylum procedure and provision of support in their integration, and during its field work. In addition to reviewing the relevant decisions by the asylum authorities, the report also describes the BCHR’s activities geared at facilitating the integration of refugees and asylum seekers, and their access to their right to education.

It also comprises data the BCHR collected through regular cooperation and communication with the state authorities and UNHCR. The statistical data cover the 1 July – 30 September 2021 period.

The report is primarily designated for the state authorities charged with ensuring the realisation of the rights of asylum seekers and foreigners granted international protection, as well as other professionals and organisations monitoring the situation in the field of asylum.

The report is available HERE.

We condemn the arrest of peace activists Aida Ćorović and Jelena Jaćimović

November 9, 2021 by Radomir Bojic

November 9, 2021

Organizations gathered around the Three Freedoms Platform strongly condemn the arrest of peace activists Aida Ćorović and Jelena Jaćimović, who were brutally detained by plainclothes police while protesting against the mural of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić. On International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism, the arrest of human rights activists and taking the side of convicted war criminals shows the true political orientation of the authorities in Serbia.

We remind you that a gathering organized by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights in order to remove the mural of Ratko Mladić was illegally banned by the Ministry of Internal Affairs due to alleged danger to the safety of people and property. Minister Aleksandar Vulin then issued a statement in which he characterized the planned removal as “hypocritical, vile and driven by evil intentions”. On the day of the originally scheduled protest, and according to eyewitnesses, members of the Ministry of the Interior stopped and identified citizens who found themselves in the immediate vicinity of the mural.

We remind you that the arrest of Maja Stojanović, now the executive director of Civic Initiatives, which took place 14 years ago after a similar action against Ratko Mladić, ended with her being declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, and the President of Serbia paying the then imposed misdemeanor fine. The repetition of such catastrophic mistakes by Serbian authorities represents a step backwards, and shows that Serbia is moving in the direction of celebrating crimes, not democratization.

In its statement, the Ministry of the Interior stated that “there are many who would like to see pictures of broken Serb heads coming from Belgrade.” Instead, tonight in Belgrade, we are witnessing a brutal demonstration of force against peace activists by non-uniformed persons, in order to defend the politics of war-mongering.

Civic Initiatives
Youth Initiative for Human Rights
Center for Cultural Decontamination
Initiative for Social and Economic Rights – A11
Belgrade Center for Security Policy
Trag Foundation
Slavko Curuvija Foundation
Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
Belgrade Center for Human Rights
Partners Serbia
Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights – YUCOM
Women in Black
Autonomous Women’s Center
New Optimism
Policy Center
Serbia on the Move
Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability – CRTA
Our Endowment (Naša zadužbina)
Catalyst Balkans
National Coalition for Decentralization
Transparency Serbia

BCHR Webinar on Statelessness and the Refugee Law

November 8, 2021 by Radomir Bojic

November 8, 2021

On 2 November 2021, the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, with the support of the UNHCR Office in Belgrade, held an online panel discussion on Statelessness and the Refugee Law. The BCHR traditionally organizes events on issues of importance for the inclusion of refugees in the society of the Republic of Serbia.

The reason for organizing the event was our initiative to analyze the position of stateless persons who are also refugees, with reference to the general legal status of stateless persons, then the main challenges faced by refugees who are also stateless persons, as well as the presentation of individual examples from practice.

The panelists were Nina Murray and Patricia Cabral from the European Network on Statelessness (ENS) and Milan Radojev from NGO Praxis Serbia. The event was opened by Sonja Tošković, the Executive Director of the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights and the moderator was Vuk Raičević, legal advisor of the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights.

The first part of the panel discussion was devoted to general issues related to statelessness. Milan Radojev spoke about the concept of statelessness and its causes, international instruments related to statelessness, the position and rights of stateless persons. He then explained the procedures for determining the status of stateless persons, prevention of statelessness and the position of stateless persons in Serbian legislation.

Nina Murray and Patricia Cabral presented an overview of the relationship between the refugee law and statelessness and why statelessness is relevant in the refugee context. The usual profiles of stateless refugees were analyzed, as well as the main challenges for stateless refugees in Europe and the analysis of international standards for their protection. Examples of good practice from other countries were presented, and Vuk Raičević also presented examples from practice and challenges in the context of Serbia. Representatives of the European Network for Statelessness presented to the participants of the panel discussion the tools and resources to support the work of lawyers, decision makers and communities.

An open discussion was held at the end of the panel. Among the 42 participants in this event were representatives of several state institutions, then the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees in Belgrade, as well as representatives of international organizations and colleagues from the civil sector.

We also saw this event as an opportunity to consider the possibilities of joint multisectoral action to improve the current situation in this area in our country, exchange experiences, as well as future cooperation.

The panel discussion is part of the project “Support to Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Serbia”, which the Belgrade Center for Human Rights is implementing with the support of the UNHCR.