Woman and Labour Rights in Serbia

December 21, 2008

Donor: UNIFEM

Duration of the project: August 2008 – February 2009

Belgrade Centre decided to conduct this project believing that the significance of this problem does not correspond to the way in which it is being addressed by Serbian judicial institutions and public. Serbia has ratified major International Conventions important for protecting women labour right. Although domestic legislation has guaranties on gender equality on work and gives protection in the cases of violation of human rights, in 2008 Serbia still lacked Law against abuse on work and Law on gender equality. There are new state institutions such as an Ombudsman Deputy for gender equality and person with disability and Department of Gender Equality Ministry of Labor and Social Protection  that ought to help in women rights protection in the future. (more…)

EU online

Donor: British Embassy Belgrade

Duration of the project: July – September 2008

The purpose of the EU Online project was alleviating ignorance and misunderstanding of the EU, informing young people about the benefits of EU membership and potentially reducing emerging anti-European attitudes. BCHR has opened a special portal on its web page containing basic information about the EU (entitled “EU in 800 words”). Based on the evaluations from the EU related seminars and public debates held in many high schools in Serbia, Centre has chosen  to offer brief articles about the history of EU integration, institutions, way of functioning, etc. (more…)

Human Rights in Serbia 2008

Donor: Swiss Embassy

Duration of the project: January – December 2008

This Report was the eleventh one produced by the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights. The purpose of this Report is to present and assess the constitutional and legal provisions related to human rights. All international documents binding on the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro remain binding on Serbia, as its legal successor. These include treaties by which the state has committed itself to respecting and ensuring the respect for human rights. This is why the analysis focused on establishing the extent to which the local legislation is in conformity with the standards in the two most important universal international treaties adopted by the United Nations and ratified by the state – the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. When Serbia and Montenegro joined the Council of Europe, Serbia assumed the obligation to conform its legislation to the European Convention on Human and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. (more…)

Monitoring of the Activity of the Judiciary and Other State Bodies – Initiatives for the Improvement of Legislature and Practice

Donor: Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC), Belgrade  

Duration of the project: March 2008 – April 2009 

The Project was implemented in four stages from March 2008 until March 2009. The first two stages entailed the completion of the process of monitoring the work of courts and other state authorities in the fields of prohibition of discrimination, domestic violence, combating organized crime and prosecution of war crimes, started back in 2006. During the latter two stages of the project, working group of experienced experts working under BCHR auspices analysed the monitoring results and all other relevant data. The experts were Judge of the Special Chamber for Organized Crime of the Belgrade District Court Radmila Dragicevic-Dicic, lawyer Vladimir Djeric, Professor Vojin Dimitrijevic, and Dr. Vesna Petrovic. In the period of three months these experts were tasked to produce the first drafts of the future legislative proposals in relevant areas. In their work, experts relied on the data gathered and analyzed in the monitoring stage. (more…)

Human Rights as the End and Means of Involving Young People in Community Affairs

Donor: Olof Palmes Internationella Centrum

Duration of the project: January – December 2008

The project consisted of two different modules. Module I was conducted from January until July 2008. Goal of this phase of the project was to provide a specific education to the 150 high school students age 16 – 19 in three towns in Serbia, Valjevo, Sombor and Novi Sad in human rights and involvement in the decision making process in their local communities. The result of this part of project was three campaigns conducted at a local level on a topic that is of relevance for these three towns. The project team, comprising a group of lecturers from BCHR and junior BCHR associates trained and prepared high school students to take part in campaigning preparations and contests on the most relevant topics in the field of human rights in local communities. (more…)

Human Rights and Business

December 21, 2007

Donor: Neighbourhood Programme of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Duration of the project: January – June 2007   

BCHR had implemented project trough producing the document containing an overview of development of human rights and business opportunities in Serbia in cooperation with the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR). BCHR established contacts with companies and other stakeholders. Some of these companies participated in the testing of the tool (3 of them), and some of them gave BCHR useful input on the subject of Human Rights & Business in practice. BCHR actively participated in creating localized version of the Quick Check in co-operation with the DIHR, by providing necessary information of the present human rights situation in Serbia, drafting new questions and indicators, forwarding information gathered from the companies. BCHR will continue to put efforts to finding a donor for continuing of the Project.