Donor: Swedish International Agency for Development Cooperation (Sida) and Royal Netherlands Embassy
Duration of project: January – December 2001
Although former Yugoslavia ratified all major international human rights instruments, human rights issues have never attracted particular attention of the Yugoslav legal community. Human rights have been for a long time neglected in theory and practice, and the protection of individual rights versus the state was at a disturbingly low level on the whole territory of the former Yugoslavia. One of the reasons for the lamentable human rights situation lies in the lack of knowledge and understanding of human rights, not only among the general public, but also among those who are in position to deal with human rights issues in education, law enforcement, legal representation, reporting on human rights issues, etc.
Therefore, the objectives of this project were to produce and publish a manageable and accessible Manual on international procedures for the protection of human rights (the first in Serbian language) and to inform target groups about the procedures available in the field of human rights protection on the domestic and international level, about ways of providing legal assistance to the victims of human rights violations and increase the awareness of human rights and self-confidence of the citizens. The Manual consists of five chapters and an appendix, and covers general issues of international protection of human rights, European procedures, procedures before the UN and related bodies, and the role of NGOs.
The Manual was intended to reach members of the legal profession, human rights activists, students, and the general public and thus contribute to better protection of human rights. Therefore the Manual was used and tested at six seminars across Yugoslavia, and evaluated by a group of experts before publication. They consisted of two educational days with lectures, with the one afternoon provided for small and personal workshops designed in accordance with the educational and professional background of the participants. Participants were judges and prosecutors from various courts, attorneys and NGO activists.
