Washington reports on human rights in Serbia

Washington reports on human rights in Serbia

The State Department reminded that the Government failed to initiate new domestic investigations and prosecutions of war crimes from the 1990s.

“Harassment of journalists, human rights workers and others critical of the government, arbitrary arrest and selective enforcement of the law for political purposes, limitations on freedom of speech and religion, including a problematic new law on religion are among the problems persistent in Serbia according to the report.

The reports read that “the courts remained susceptible to corruption and political influence” and that the corruption in the judiciary remained a problem : “There were reports that government officials attempted to undermine politically sensitive prosecutions, including applying pressure on prosecutors and judges.The courts were highly inefficient, and cases could take years to be resolved”.

As for the corruption of the authorities, the report detected a widespread public perception of government corruption at all levels, adding that “the Government authorities were inconsistent in their approach to official corruption”

“Investigations often appeared to be politically motivated, and there were numerous examples of authorities failing to act in response to detailed reports of suspected corruption involving a wide range of officials. Media reporting of corruption was often sensationalist”, the report maintained.

However, U.S. State Department gave positive assessment of the work of the Special War Crimes Court which “advanced on several war crimes trial despite certain political pressure and criminal threats”.

The reports also welcomed governments’ efforts aimed at suppressing trafficking in people, protection of the victims of trafficking, and prosecution of the perpetrators, adding that the number of ethnically-motivated assaults significantly decreased.

As for the journalism practices, the report said that journalists sometimes practiced self-censorship due to possible libel suits and fear of offending public opinion, particularly on subjects relating to wars in the former Yugoslavia, on the Montenegrin referendum for independence, and on the UN-led negotiations on the future status of Kosovo.

You can find and download the full report in our File Cabinet pages.