Ombudsman to attend Pride Parade

The Pride Parade organizers say that Ombudsman Sasa Jankovic will be attending Sunday’s march. According to a statement from the organizers, the parade will also be attended by Belgrade Ombudsman Dusanka Gacesa and representatives from the regional ombudsman's office and the Human Rights and Sports Ministries. Ombudsman to attend Pride Parade The Pride Parade organizers say that they are encouraged by the support received from the Dutch, Swedish, British and German embassies. The statement adds that over 150 domestic and foreign reporters, photographers and cameramen have been accredited for the event, scheduled to begin at 11.00 CET in front of the Philosophy Faculty. Ahead of the upcoming Pride Parade, the government said that it was the right of every citizen to express their Constitutional freedoms. The government says it will guarantee the security of all participants. In a statement issued after yesterday’s cabinet meeting, the government said that it was duty-bound to ensure the free expression of equality and diversity, and called on citizens to respect democratic values by maintaining public order and not threatening others. Human and Minority Rights State Secretary Marko Karadzic said that the Interior Ministry would protect parade participants, and that anyone who made threats or behaved violently would treated as a criminal. “Cooperation with the Interior Ministry and statements from that ministry are positive, as the state has clearly grasped what its duty is and what all our duties are when it comes to protecting human rights,” said Karadzic. “Obviously there is a certain dose of fear, but there’s not a single state in this world that can’t handle a group of hooligans whose identities are moreover known to them,” the state secretary said. He stressed that the Constitution guaranteed freedom of peaceful assembly, which the government was obliged to enable, explaining that parade participants wanted to draw attention to discrimination and problems they faced in society. “When it comes to human rights, there’s no question of readiness. You have a Constitution, law, international conventions and obligations as people to respect rights, regardless of our personal characteristics and differences,” Karadzic said. “Society is ready provided that we in power and the authorities are prepared to protect each individual regardless of personal characteristics,” the state secretary said. In a joint statement, the OSCE mission in Serbia and the UN welcomed the cooperation between civil society and the Serbian authorities in ensuring the security of the event. “The right to freedom of assembly is a basic human right and, as such, must be protected,” said Tom Moore from the OSCE, adding that “outlawing discrimination is one of the fundamental concepts defined by the Serbian Constitution, while the recently adopted Anti-Discrimination Law builds on that Constitutional principle.” The UN’s permanent coordinator to Serbia William Infante stressed that the event was “very important for all nations to protect people from discrimination.“ He said that “human rights are universal and inalienable for everyone, and those two principles of universality and non-discrimination must be upheld.“ B92

Ombudsman to attend Pride Parade

The Pride Parade organizers say that they are encouraged by the support received from the Dutch, Swedish, British and German embassies.

The statement adds that over 150 domestic and foreign reporters, photographers and cameramen have been accredited for the event, scheduled to begin at 11.00 CET in front of the Philosophy Faculty.

Ahead of the upcoming Pride Parade, the government said that it was the right of every citizen to express their Constitutional freedoms.

The government says it will guarantee the security of all participants.

In a statement issued after yesterday’s cabinet meeting, the government said that it was duty-bound to ensure the free expression of equality and diversity, and called on citizens to respect democratic values by maintaining public order and not threatening others.

Human and Minority Rights State Secretary Marko Karadžić said that the Interior Ministry would protect parade participants, and that anyone who made threats or behaved violently would treated as a criminal.

“Cooperation with the Interior Ministry and statements from that ministry are positive, as the state has clearly grasped what its duty is and what all our duties are when it comes to protecting human rights,” said Karadžić.

“Obviously there is a certain dose of fear, but there’s not a single state in this world that can’t handle a group of hooligans whose identities are moreover known to them,” the state secretary said.

He stressed that the Constitution guaranteed freedom of peaceful assembly, which the government was obliged to enable, explaining that parade participants wanted to draw attention to discrimination and problems they faced in society.

“When it comes to human rights, there’s no question of readiness. You have a Constitution, law, international conventions and obligations as people to respect rights, regardless of our personal characteristics and differences,” Karadžić said.

“Society is ready provided that we in power and the authorities are prepared to protect each individual regardless of personal characteristics,” the state secretary said.

In a joint statement, the OSCE mission in Serbia and the UN welcomed the cooperation between civil society and the Serbian authorities in ensuring the security of the event.

“The right to freedom of assembly is a basic human right and, as such, must be protected,” said Tom Moore from the OSCE, adding that “outlawing discrimination is one of the fundamental concepts defined by the Serbian Constitution, while the recently adopted Anti-Discrimination Law builds on that Constitutional principle.”

The UN’s permanent coordinator to Serbia William Infante stressed that the event was “very important for all nations to protect people from discrimination.“

He said that “human rights are universal and inalienable for everyone, and those two principles of universality and non-discrimination must be upheld.“