On 26 June, International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the Belgrade Centre of Human Rights alerts the public to the fact that offences of torture and other forms of ill-treatment in Serbia still go largely unpunished, that the few perpetrators actually found guilty of these crimes – are handed down extremely lenient sentences, usually conditional prison sentences, while the courts regularly neglect the victims’ right to redress and refer them to file damage claims, resulting in their revictimisation and additional expenses. The realisation of the victims’ rights, especially to redress, is further undermined by the discontinuation of criminal prosecution for such offences due to the expiry of the statute of limitations. The victims are again merely left with the possibility of launching civil proceedings to prove they had suffered “civil law damages”, while the criminal liability of their torturers and abusers can no longer be ascertained.

The numerous cases of police brutality during the July 2020 protests illustrate the impunity of public officials for torture and other forms of ill-treatment. None of the implicated officers have been punished for their brutality during the protests; only a few, those who participated in the incident in Novi Sad, have been identified. The Belgrade Public Prosecution Office took the statements of most victims only in the spring of 2021. The only procedure in which the police were found guilty of ill-treatment and violating civil rights was the one concerning eight cases that was conducted by the Protector of Citizens, who, however, missed the opportunity to require of the state to afford redress to the victims of police abuse without delay.

The BCHR also draws attention to this year’s messages of UN experts, that torture victims are entitled to rehabilitation and that individuals, experts and civil society organisations assisting them in the process have the right to carry out their work unfettered of restrictions and reprisals. The UN human rights experts expressed concern that torture survivors continued to face challenges in accessing redress and reparations, including the fullest rehabilitation possible. They urged States to “enable a conducive environment for redress and rehabilitation for victims of torture, and for civil society to operate freely.”

In their joint statement, UN human rights experts said that the trend of reprisals, through restrictive and retaliatory measures against civil society and torture survivors seeking redress through the UN mechanisms remained prevalent and that impunity was widespread across the world. “Governments continue to systematically deny the existence of such abhorrent practices, refuse to prosecute perpetrators and use intimidation and reprisals against civil society organizations, human rights defenders, whistleblowers and journalists in order to deter them from speaking out and obtaining redress for victims.”

The BCHR has for over a decade now been analysing court and prosecutorial cases concerning torture and ill-treatment at the hands of public officials. Our experience and direct work with the victims demonstrates that victims of torture in Serbia face obstacles at all levels as they attempt to obtain justice and rehabilitation.

On World Refugee Day, marked on 20 June, the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights alerts to the plight of refugees, exacerbated by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Fleeing from conflict and persecution, refugees have been facing substantial limitations of their fundamental rights as numerous states introduced a number of restrictive anti-COVID-19 measures. According to UNHCR data, nearly 80 million people, almost half of them children, are displaced globally due to persecution or conflict.

Over the past year, refugees living in Serbia have had difficulty accessing the asylum procedure. Their freedom of movement has been restricted and they had difficulty exercising some of their integration-related rights. Refugees living in Serbia largely depend on support extended by civil society organizations, while systemic solutions and efficient coordination among state authorities are lacking. Some headway has, however, been made: the state has recognised refugees and asylum seekers as a vulnerable category and included them in the COVID-19 vaccination process.

In 2020, 144 people applied for asylum in Serbia, almost half as many as in 2019. The difference can be ascribed to the decline in the number of newly-arrived refugees, migrants and asylum seekers, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. The Asylum Office upheld 29 asylum claims in 2020, bringing the number of successful asylees to 194 since the asylum system was established in 2008.

At the same time, the problems of refugees and IDPs, who fled the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, have not been resolved. Assessments are that over 26,500 of them still have the status of refugees.

The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights has been extending free legal aid to refugees and asylum seekers since 2012. It has been representing them before domestic and international bodies, supporting their integration in Serbian society and lobbying for the improvement of the status of all refugees in Serbia. Through its activities and its ongoing online campaign #MiLjudiZajednoMožemoViše (We People Can Do More Together), the BCHR has been endeavouring to raise public awareness of the importance of refugee integration, and the significance of social cohesion and multiculturalism for bridging the gap between communities and creating a more tolerant society in which everyone has the chance to live their life in dignity.