FM speaks about Ukraine and migrants in his OSCE role

FM speaks about Ukraine and migrants in his OSCE role

Dacic said a debate had been opened as to how to remove the structural damage that the Ukraine crisis had made to the European security system.

He voiced the hope that until the Ministerial Council that would be held in Belgrade on December 3-4, a clearer picture would be created concerning the approach to trust-building within the OSCE.

Serbia continues to be committed to further improving and raising the level of meeting obligations of the organization, Dacic said.

The OSCE has dedicated special attention to the rule of law, freedom of expression and the media, including the security of journalists, freedom of assembly, strengthening of tolerance and non-discrimination.

The OSCE annual human rights and democracy conference, which will last until October 2, is bringing together around 1,400 representatives of the government and civil society from the 57 OSCE participating states.

Dacic also "called upon Europe on Monday not to forget the human rights and humanitarian aspects of the refugee crisis," Tanjug is reporting.

The response to the crisis so far has been less than adequate, to say the least, Dacic said at the opening of the OSCE conference.

Europe is facing an extremely serious migrant crisis, but building fences, closing borders, using excessive force against people fleeing conflicts is not a response in line with the human rights commitments that OSCE states undertook to respect, nor with other international human rights norms and standards, the Serbian foreign minister stressed.

Serbia is among the countries affected by the huge wave of migrants coming from war-torn areas, said Dacic, adding that the country has put all its efforts to respond adequately to the current crisis.

“In the time when thousands of people are risking their lives leaving the countries affected by conflicts in the OSCE neighborhood, we must not forget the human rights and humanitarian aspects of the migrant crisis,” he stressed.

“We should stand for respecting human rights for all, especially having in mind that in the times of conflicts and crisis the fundamental human rights are the ones most affected,” Dacic underlined.