Human rights activists under threat in Serbia
Human rights defenders are under attack in Serbia and the authoritiesare failing to protect them, Amnesty International said on Monday.
Over the past year women human rights activists have faced repeatedattacks in the Serbian media including being threatened with lynching.
Such attacks are made by parliamentarians, members of ultra-rightorganizations and members of the security services indicted for warcrimes. Other defenders have had their property destroyed, theiroffices attacked or been beaten by members of neo-Nazi groups.
“Physical attacks and threats to the lives and property of human rightsactivists are seldom promptly and impartially investigated by theauthorities and few perpetrators are brought to justice,” said SianJones, Amnesty International’s Balkans expert.
“The lack of political will on the part of the authorities to fulfiltheir obligations to guarantee human rights defenders their right tofreedom of expression and assembly creates a climate of impunity whichstifles civil society.”
In the briefing Serbia: Human rights defenders at risk AmnestyInternational reviews the latest attacks against human rightsactivists, including those against leading women human rightsactivists.
These defenders include Nataša Kandi?, director of the Humanitarian LawCentre, Sonja Biserko of the Serbian Helsinki Committee for HumanRights, and Biljana Kova?evi?-Vu?o of the Lawyers’ Committee for HumanRights (YUCOM), as well as the women’s NGO Women in Black.
They have been portrayed in the media as anti-Serb for favouring theindependence of Kosovo, and for demanding accountability for war crimescommitted in the 1990s in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.
The briefing also focuses on those who defend the rights of lesbian,gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT). Since 2001 the LGBTcommunity in Serbia has been unable to hold a Pride Day parade due toserious threats by right-wing and religious organizations. Suchorganizations have already made unveiled threats against the organizersof this year’s parade, scheduled for 20 September.
“The LGBT community is marginalized even within civil society andcriminal investigations into assaults on LGBT people, even where theperpetrators have been identified, are rarely resolved,” Sian Jonessaid.
“The Serbian authorities are obliged to protect the rights of allpeople to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. They mustcondemn publicly all attacks on and threats to human rights activists,and provide protection and support during the forthcoming BelgradePride later this week.”
Amnesty International calls on the Serbian government to implement inlaw and in practice the principles of the UN Declaration of HumanRights Defenders, which provides a framework for the protection andsupport of human rights defenders. The organization also calls on theembassies of EU member states to provide protection and support todefenders in Serbia.