The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) has the pleasure to present its first Youth Programme Newsletter on Isolated Youth. The first issue focuses above all on information about and promotion of the human rights of young people in this time of crisis.

The Newsletter is part of the Youth Programme campaign launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, which you can follow on social networks, Facebook and Instagram, and on BCHR’s website.  Please feel free to fill the questionnaire and help us map what else needs to be done to uphold youth rights.

The “On Isolated Youth” Newsletter is available in Serbian here.

The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights has developed educational leaflets “Let’s Stop the Pandemic Together”, providing user-friendly information on how we can all prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thanks to UNHCR’s support, the leaflets are available in both Serbian and in Arabic, English and Persian, allowing migrants and asylum seekers to familiarise themselves with ways to protect themselves and each other from the virus.

The instructions in the leaflets are universal and are based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The Youth Program of Belgrade Centre for Human Rights has has launched a new campaign targeting young people in Serbia in the light of COVID-19 pandemic.

Dear friends!
This world has changed so much in the past few weeks.
We’re all witnessing major changes dictating joint efforts, new circumstances, new learning, new ways of doing things and opening new questions.
Our isolation in our safe (or unfortunately, not so safe) spaces brings up associations of deserted islands, islands of hope for some of us and islands of loneliness for others.

How do we feel on our deserted islands? And what will happen to us when we leave them? How different will we be?

Some of the values every crisis reminds us of will always be there. Solidarity. Equality. The need to do big things and help those in need. The need to see others and embrace fear and sorrow. The need to hope.

We will often reach out to you through social networks and share with you accurate and clear information about the coronavirus, the emergency and its social aspects. We will try to keep in close touch and communicate with you much as possible in the circumstances.

We will contemplate together the global changes affecting our lives. We will be asking: What is happening to the world? What are the key challenges we young people face in the 21 st century? Where are we, what will our priorities be from now on? What with human rights in times of crisis? Which values and principles do we hold dear now?

Let’s all think together about what we can do and how we can behave to turn this crisis into our contribution to our joint transformation into a more responsible, aware and empathetic world.

What can you do now for yourself and the world around you? Apparently, the time has come when we can all save the world together.

We hope you can spare several minutes to fill this questionnaire and tell us how well informed you are about the pandemic, how you feel, whether you have a skill or interest you would like to share with other young people.

Stay well, stay safe and write to us from your islands of hope!

You can always contact us by e-mail [email protected]. Or, if you prefer Instagram, follow us on @mladibgcentar and message us directly. 

We hereby thank the UN Human Rights Team for supporting our initiative.

Your BCHR Youth Programme

The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) today filed an initiative with the Constitutional Court of Serbia to review the constitutionality of Articles 2 and 3 of the Decree on State Emergency Measures and the Order Restricting and Prohibiting Movement of Individuals in the Territory of the Republic of Serbia. Rather than itself laying down the specific measures derogating from human and minority rights in the Decree, the Serbian Government authorised the Ministry of Interior to adopt a decision thereof, with the consent of the Health Ministry.

In the BCHR’s view, the Serbian Government’s power to prescribe measures derogating from human and minority rights in the event the National Assembly cannot convene (with the Serbian President co-signing the decree enacting them), cannot be delegated to the ministries by any Government or presidential enactment. Therefore, Articles 2 and 3 of the Decree on State Emergency Measures and the Order Restricting and Prohibiting Movement of Individuals in the Territory of the Republic of Serbia enacted by the Ministry of the Interior with the Health Ministry’s consent are incompatible with the Constitution. The Interior Ministry’s Order does not constitute valid grounds for derogations from human and minority rights enshrined in the Serbian Constitution, especially given that some of the measures restricting the freedom of movement set out in the Order (most notably the measure prohibiting people over 65 and 70 from leaving their homes 24 hours a day) amount to deprivation of liberty under international human rights standards.

To recall, under the Serbian Constitution, measures derogating from human and minority rights in a state of emergency shall be prescribed by the National Assembly by a majority of votes. In the event the Assembly is not in a position to convene, such measures may be prescribed by a Government Decree, co-signed by the Serbian President. In such cases, the Government is under the duty to submit the Decree to the National Assembly for verification within 48 hours from adoption, i.e. as soon as the National Assembly is able to convene. 

The BCHR alerted the Serbian Government to the problem last week, but no-one has reacted to it yet. Given the possibility of unforeseeable legal consequences that may result in the initiation of numerous court proceedings against the state, we have no other option but to take this issue to the Constitutional Court, expecting it to react without delay. We also appeal to the Serbian Government to lay down all measures derogating for human and minority rights in the form prescribed by the Constitution and to ensure that they are proportionate to the purpose of their imposition.

The BCHR’s initiative is available in Serbian here.

The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights filed an initiative with the Serbian Constitutional Court to review the constitutionality of the Decree on the Misdemeanour of Violating the Order of the Minister of Internal Affairs on the Restriction and Prohibition of Movement of Individuals in the Territory of the Republic of Serbia (hereinafter: Decree) and its compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights. The Decree was adopted during the state of emergency introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. BCHR is disputing the possibility of dual, criminal and misdemeanour punishment of individuals who violate the prohibition of movement.

Under the Decree, anyone who violates the restriction or prohibition of movement shall be punished by a fine ranging from 50,000 to 150,000 RSD (Article 1). Article 2 of the Decree is, however, disputable given that it lays down that misdemeanour proceedings may be initiated and completed also in case criminal proceedings have been initiated or are pending against the perpetrator of the misdemeanour for a crime comprising elements of the misdemeanour, regardless of the prohibition in Article 8(3) of the Misdemeanour Act.

Although the ministerial Order specifies that non-compliance with the introduced prohibitions will be punishable as a criminal offence, in accordance with the Criminal Code, and as a misdemeanour, under the Decree, the BCHR holds that there is no justification for punishing the individuals who violate the prohibitions twice (in criminal proceedings – for the offence incriminated in Article 248 of the Criminal Code, and then in misdemeanour proceedings, for a misdemeanour under Article 1 of the Decree), which is precisely what the impugned Article of the Decree enables.

To recall, Article 34 of the Serbian Constitution and Article 4 of Protocol 7 to the European Convention on Human Rights enshrine the ne bis in idem principle, which may not be derogated from even during states of emergency.

The BCHR initiative is available here.

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