Occasional Publications
The atmosphere in Serbia on International Human Rights Day, 10 December, is defined by widespread unrest, including protests by students at over 30 colleges under blockade and a strike by education professionals who have been demonstrating for months, demanding better conditions for the education sector and salaries that ensure a dignified life. Lawyers and the entire Bar Association of Serbia are also protesting, farmers have announced their own protests, and every Friday at 11:52 AM, commemorative gatherings are held on streets and in public venues across Serbia to honour the victims in Novi Sad. Citizens have also been protesting for months against lithium mining and environmental destruction in the Jadar Valley and other regions of Serbia, the planned demolition of the Old Sava Bridge and Hotel Jugoslavija in Belgrade, and the proliferation of illegal landfills near urban areas. Discontent is pervasive, with protests simmering across the country.
The collapse of the Novi Sad Railway Station canopy on 1 November 2024, which claimed 15 lives and left two more individuals hospitalised with life-threatening injuries, exposed the deep-seated risks, challenges and problems facing Serbian society—corruption, incompetence, political interference in the police, prosecution, and judiciary, selective enforcement of the law, lack of accountability, and the authorities’ inadequate and wholly inappropriate response to widespread public anguish following yet another major tragedy.
Delayed, absent, or selective police responses have further fuelled social tensions, bringing the situation to the brink of conflict. While provocateurs are shielded, activists, young people, critics of government officials and opposition politicians participating in protests are detained and arrested. Meanwhile, prosecutors have failed to address multiple cases of police torture and abuse, including the death of a suspect in a Bor police station, the torture of a gay youth in an apartment in Belgrade, a police raid on an informal Roma settlement in the Belgrade municipality Palilula, the torture of a man tied to a tree in Guča, and the beating of a 74-year-old man in police custody in Novi Sad. The death of another 74-year-old man, who was serving a misdemeanour sentence in the Padinska Skela penitentiary and suffered abuse at the hands of fellow inmates while remaining unprotected by correctional staff and unnoticed by the Protector of Citizens, also remains unaddressed.
Electoral irregularities recorded in December 2023 and June 2024—including widespread abuses, election-day violence, forged support signatures, backdating of the Official Gazette of the City of Belgrade, mass voter migrations and violations of electoral rights, rules, and procedures—have gone unaddressed by judicial authorities. This failure highlights the vulnerabilities of Serbia’s democracy, as noted in reports by the European Parliament, the European Commission and ODIHR. The Constitutional Court of Serbia has remained silent on applications and initiatives alleging constitutional violations and electoral irregularities, yet it has acted on initiatives from multinational corporations concerning lithium mining and has responded to public criticism over gender-sensitive language by suspending parts of the Gender Equality Act.
The deteriorating state of human rights in Serbia is compounded by the media landscape, the atmosphere in the National Assembly, and the manner in which it operates. Amid the erosion of the rule of law, troubling pressures on the judiciary, threats to media freedoms and a challenging environment for journalists and civil society organisations, a bill proposing a special register for agents of foreign influence has been submitted to parliament. Targeting, attacks and smear campaigns against independent media outlets and NGOs by pro-government media and high-ranking officials continue unabated, as do strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP). This is the backdrop against which Serbia once again marks 10 December, International Human Rights Day.
The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights expresses solidarity and strongly supports the protests and demands of Serbia’s dissatisfied youth, particularly students, who are calling for justice, accountability, financial investigations, and the disclosure of secret contracts concerning the funds spent on the reconstruction of the Novi Sad Railway Station, which ultimately led to the tragic loss of 15 lives. Only through insistence on accountability and the non-selective application of the law can Serbia remain on the democratic path, as a country where the rule of law and human rights are respected.
