Every child, without any exception and regardless of the circumstances of the birth, shall be registered immediately upon birth. This right is guaranteed both by the ratified international conventions and the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Serbia¹. When it is said that a child has to be registered immediately upon birth, it implies a defined period of days rather then months².

However, children of undocumented mothers in Serbia are denied this right. Two bylaws regulating the procedure of birth registration stipulate that data on parents shall be registered based on their ID cards and birth certificates. In practice, it means that data on parents and personal names of children cannot be registered to children whose mothers do not possess personal documents ³. In other words, children are then left without being registered in birth registries and it is not possible to obtain birth certificates for them.

In order for those children to be registered, it is necessary to conduct separate procedures, which ideally last for several weeks, but most often several months. It is not uncommon that procedures last for more than a year, and sometimes can take few years ⁴. In all those cases, the right of a child to be registered immediately upon birth has been violated.

But this is not the only right denied to these children. Because they do not have birth certificates, these children cannot obtain health booklets, they cannot register their permanent residence or exercise the right to social protection, and their families are left without parental and child allowance.

This problem almost exclusively affects the members of Roma national minority, given that certain number of Roma women still give birth to children without possessing an ID card. The position of this social group, which is the most vulnerable and most discriminated, is thus even more aggravated. The research conducted by UNHCR in Roma settlements showed that 8% of children under 4 years of age are not registered in birth registries5.

The seriousness of this problem is confirmed by reports and recommendations of a large number of international organizations and contracting bodies which call on Serbia to solve this problem and enable each child to register in birth registries immediately upon birth regardless of whether their parents have personal documents or not. Such recommendations have been given to Serbia by United Nations Human Rights Council, the UN Human Rights Committee, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the European Parliament, the European Commission. Serbia has also committed itself to fulfilling the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which includes the goal of enabling everyone to get registered in birth registries.

In spite of all above stated, the competent authorities refuse to take measures that would enable timely registration of every child. Praxis has repeatedly addressed the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government and Ministry of Health, the authorities responsible for issuing bylaws that regulate a birth registration procedure, with an appeal to solve this issue. However, no response has been received from the Ministry of Health, while the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government denied the presence of the problem by stating that existing regulations enable everyone to get registered in birth registries. But, the Ministry neglected the fact that children whose mothers do not possess personal documents cannot be registered immediately upon birth but only upon they conduct procedures lasting rarely less than a few months.

If Serbia wants to become a society free of institutional violation of human rights where the best interest of the child is always the paramount goal and where all citizens have equal opportunities, then it shall face this problem and start solving it devotedly.

1 See Article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 24, Paragraph 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Article 64, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and Article 13 of the Family Law

2 UNICEF, Implementation Handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 2007, p. 100; available at: https://uni.cf/36vQ2NI

3 If the father does not have documents, and the mother does, it is possible to register the birth of a child only without recording the father’s

4 For more details about problems relating to birth registration, see Praxis reports available at: https://bit.ly/2sh70QW

5 See: S. Cvejić, Persons at Risk of Statelessness in Serbia, progress report 2010-2015, UNHCR, 2016; available at: https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/57bd436b4.pdf

Danas se širom sveta obeležava Međunarodni dan ljudskih prava. Na današnji dan pre 71 godinu Generalna skupština Ujedinjenih nacija usvojila je Univerzalnu deklaraciju o ljudskiim pravima. U prvom članu Univerzalne deklaracije istaknuto je načelo da se sva ljudska bića rađaju slobodna i jednaka u dostojanstvu i pravima. Deklaracijom je propisano i da svako ima pravo da svuda bude priznat kao pravni subjekt.

Nažalost, u Srbiji se i dalje rađaju deca koja ne mogu da budu upisna u matičnu knjigu rođenih odmah nakon rođenja i koja zbog toga ne mogu biti prepoznata kao subjekti prava. Ova deca u prvim mesecima, a ponekad i godinama života ostaju bez ličnih dokumenata, zbog čega im pristup mnogim pravima ostaje uskraćen ili znatno otežan. Najčešće je reč o deci romske nacionalnosti, a u matične knjige ne mogu da se upišu zato što njihove majke ne poseduju lična dokumenta. 

U želji da prikažemo sa kojim se svakodnevnim problemima suočavaju ta deca i njihove porodice, razgovarali smo sa roditeljima neke od te dece. Njihovi slučajevi još jednom potvrđuju da je neophodno da se za ovaj problem napokon nađe trajno rešenje. 

Neravnopravna već od rođenja

Nađija ima 19 godina i nikada nije posedovala nijedan lični dokument. Njena porodica poreklom je sa Kosova, gde je živela do 1999. godine, kada je bila prinuđena da napusti svoj dom. Nedugo potom, u neformalnom romskom naselju u Beogradu u kome su se nastanili njeni roditelji, rođena je Nađija. Njeni roditelji nisu mogli da je upišu u matične knjige odmah nakon rođenja, jer nisu posedovali lične karte. Lične karte nisu mogli da pribave jer su matične evidencije u kojima su bili upisani nakon sukoba na Kosovu ostale nedostupne organima Republike Srbije, tako da roditelji godinama nisu mogli da pribave svoje izvode iz matičnih knjiga i uverenja o državaljanstvu. Samim tim nisu mogli ni da Nađiju upišu u matičnu knjigu rođenih. Trenutno se pred sudom u Beogradu vodi postupak za utvrđivanje Nađijinog vremena i mesta rođenja i tek nakon eventualnog uspešnog okončanja tog postupka Nađija može da očekuje da će dobiti svoje lične isprave.

Kao što roditelji nisu mogli bez ličnih dokumenata da Nađiju upišu u matičnu knjigu rođenih, tako ni ona nije mogla da svoje četvoro dece nakon rođenja upiše u matične knjige. Najmlađe Nađijino  dete, ćerka Samanta, rođeno je početkom ove godine u jednom beogradskom porodilištu. Nađija kaže da nije imala probleme prilikom prijema u porodilište, kao i da niko tada nije uslovljavao prijem u bolnicu posedovanjem zdravstvene knjižice i lične karte.  

Negativne posledice neposedovanja ličnih dokumenata javile su se nakon porođaja, kada je Nađija  trebalo da ovlašćenom licu u bolnici da izjavu o imenu deteta i da pruži druge podatke koji su potrebni za prijavu rođenja. Tada joj je rečeno da zbog toga što ne poseduje lične dokumente prijava rođenja i upis deteta neće moći da se sprovedu, a da će za dete moći da dobije izvod iz matične knjige rođenih tek kada bude pribavila ličnu kartu. 

Tako se Samanta samo nekoliko dana nakon rođenja našla u znatno nepovoljnijem položaju u odnosu na ostalu decu. Jer, dok su druga novorođena deca bez problema upisana u matične knjige pošto njihove majke nisu imale problema sa ličnim dokumentima, Samanta se na samom početku života našla u neravnopravnom položaju i u riziku da joj pristup mnogim pravima bude otežan ili sasvim onemogućen. Kako su Nađija i Samanta Romkinje, njihov primer još jednom je potvrdio činjenicu da Romi predstavljaju jednu od najdiskriminisanijih društvenih grupa u Srbiji, pošto problem neposedovanja dokumenata i nemogućnosti upisa dece u matične knjige gotovo isključivo pogađa pripadnike ove nacionalne manjine.

Nađija se u izvesnom smislu čak može smatrati srećnom, jer prilikom izlaska iz bolnice od nje  nije traženo da plati bolničke troškova, što se često dešava porodiljama koje ne poseduju zdravstvenu knjižicu i ličnu kartu, uprkos tome što je propisano da se u takvim slučajevima troškovi nadoknađuju iz budžeta. Nisu retki čak ni slučajevi da službenici zdravstvenih ustanova prete da decu neće pustiti iz porodilišta dok ne budu plaćeni troškovi. Nađijinu i Samantinu situaciju donekle je olakšala okolnost da je Nađijin otac u međuvremenu uspeo da pribavi svoju ličnu kartu, tako da je prilikom otpusta iz porodilišta makar on mogao da se identifikuje i prihvaćeno je da on potpiše potrebne dokumente.

Nađija objašnjava da se i kasnije lična karta njenog oca pokazala kao koristan dokument, jer je u nekoliko navrata kada ni ona ni ćerka nisu mogle da se identifikuju, sa njima išao i Nađijin otac, pa su zahvaljujući tome Samanti pružene potrebne usluge. Između ostalog, Samanta je u domu zdravlja obavila redovne zdravstvene preglede i primila je sve potrebne vakcine. Nađiju i Samantuje nakon porođaja posetila i patronažna sestra, ali to je učinila samo jednom, iako se inače organizuje pet poseta.

Uopšte, mali je broj prava koja su Nađija i njena ćerka uspele da ostvare. Tačno je da se do sada nije dogodilo da lekari u domu zdravlja odbiju da pregledaju Samantu kada se razboli, ali u slučaju kada je trebalo uraditi analizu krvi, to je učinjeno tek nakon upornih Nađijinih molbi. Prethodno joj je rečeno da ili ona ili ćerka moraju da poseduju zdravstvene knjižice, a da za osobe bez tog dokumenta postoji „poseban put“. 

Osim toga, lekove su roditelji uvek morali sami da plate. A njima iznosi od dve, tri ili čak pet hiljada dinara, koliko su u nekim slučajevima morali da plate, predstavljaju ogroman izdatak. 

Nađija i njena porodica izrazito su siromašni, a izdržavaju se od novca koje uspe da zaradi njen vanbračni muž i otac zajedničke dece. On je nezaposlen, a samo povremeno uspeva da pronađe honorarne poslove, koji najčešće traju tek dan ili dva i slabo su plaćeni. Stoga mu uglavnom preostaje da se bavi još manje isplativim sakupljanjem i prodajom sekundarnih sirovina.

Iako je nesumnjivo da se članovi Nađijine porodice mogu uvrstiti među socijalno najugroženije građane, kojima bi svaka pomoć bila ne samo dobrodošla, nego i preko potrebna, te da ispunjavaju uslove za razne vidove socijalnih davanja – oni ne primaju ni jedno, samo zato što Nađija i njena deca ne poseduju lične dokumente. Tako se samo produbljuje nejednakost i povećava socijalni jaz, jer neke oblike socijalne podrške, poput roditeljskog dodatka, dobijaju i porodice koje nisu finansijski ugrožene, dok oni kojima je pomoć najpotrebnija – kao što su Nađija i njena deca - ostaju bez ičega. I sve dok ne budu uspeli da se upišu u matične knjige i da pribave lične dokumente neće moći da očekuju da će im se položaj iole poboljšati.

Iako Ustav, zakoni  i međunarodne konvencije nalažu da se svakom detetu, bez izuzetka, mora omogućiti upis u matičnu knjigu rođenih odmah nakon rođenja, to fundamentalno pravo u Srbiji se uskraćuje mnogoj deci. Uprkos brojnim preporukama međunarodnih tela Srbiji da otkloni prepreke koje sprečavaju upis, kao i dugogodišnjeg ukazivanja nevladinog sektora na ozbiljnost i na razmere ovog problema, nadležni organi su se oglušili na sve dosadašnje apele za izmenu podzakonskih akata koji  sprečavaju upis dece čije majke ne poseduju dokumente.

Within the project #StatelessJourneys supported by the European Network on Statelessness, we talked to a woman from Eritrea:

"I grew up and lived all my life in Tesseney. I have two sisters and four brothers. We are a big family. I also have two sons. They are 8 and 13 years old. My husband is in jail. So I need to raise our children alone. My parents helped me a lot. But my family is poor, and my parents cannot support us all. I never worked before since I was not able to find a job in our city. The only way for me to find money to provide for my sons and family is to try to reach Europe and find a job. 

In Tesseney I found a man who helped me get a fake passport. It was the first time I had any kind of document. In my family no one ever had one. I never tried to obtain it since I did not need it in my everyday life. I was born at home. I also gave birth to my sons at home. They do not have any documents either. In Eritrea for example, you do not need health insurance, you just need to pay to visit a doctor. The only time when I needed an ID card was when I finished primary school. I did not get a certificate because I had no documents. Now it is like I never went to school.

When I got my fake passport, I flew from Eritrea to Turkey. I stayed with a group of people in Istanbul only one day and then continued to Greece. In Greece I stayed around one month in the smuggler’s house. No one noticed I was there. I reached Serbia via Macedonia. In the Serbian town of Vranje the police caught me with a group I was travelling with. We were taken to the police station. The police officers asked for my name, nationality, date of birth and some other personal data, and also took my fingerprints. They gave us each a document written in Serbian and let us go.

Now I am thinking what my next step will be. I wish to go to Germany. I do not know anyone living in that country. My friends and family have told me that life is good there. Let’s see. It is hard for me to be separated from my children but coming to Europe was the only way I can support them in the future."

Within the project #StatelessJourneys supported by the European Network on Statelessness, we talked to a woman from Somalia:

"I have just arrived in Serbia and my plan is to stay here for a short period in one of the refugee reception centres. After that, I will continue my journey to one of the EU countries where I have relatives.

In Somalia I lived with my parents and three brothers in our family house. I also have two sisters who are married and left home. Life in Somalia is not easy. War is never ending; people are poor and starving. This is the reason why I left my country. I used to sell some things at the market and was very poor. It was impossible for me, being an uneducated woman, to find a better job. I finished primary school, but I never obtained a certificate. The reason for this is that I never had an ID card. I was born at home, like all my brothers and sisters. Even when you get ill, you just need to pay for a doctor. There is no need for you to have a document. I did not travel outside my village. Most people from my village are without documents. I have never tried to obtain one. There was no need for it. 

In Somalia I entered in a boat. The smuggler told me that we were going towards Turkey. I do not know how long I was on that boat. After that we walked through some lands. I did not know where I was. When we finally reached Istanbul, I stayed in a friend’s place. I did not have problems while I was staying there. No one knew that I was in the house. After two months, I continued my journey with a group of other refugees. From Turkey we went to Greece, where we were hiding for four days and then we passed through Macedonia and finally I reached Serbia, where I am now. I did not encounter any problems on my way. The police did not catch us. When we arrived in Belgrade, for the first time I spoke with people from humanitarian organisations who gave me the information I needed for staying here in Belgrade. Before that my source of information was the people with whom I travelled."

Within the project #StatelessJourneys supported by the European Network on Statelessness, we talked to a girl from Somalia:

"I am from Somalia, from a village near Mogadishu. I lived there with my parents. I am their only child. I finished four years of primary school in my village, but I had to leave school after fourth year, since my family decided that it was better for me to stay at home and help my mother with the housework. We are a poor family and my parents could not afford to buy my school books. My parents had the intention to marry me to an older man from our village. I did not like that man and did not want to get married, so I escaped from home.

That is why I decided to go to Europe. I do not have family or friends in Europe. I have just heard stories about Europe from people I was traveling with. I had to get a false passport to be able to travel from Mogadishu to Istanbul. I had never had a personal document before. Once I tried to obtain an ID card in our local municipality, I gave some money, but never got that document. In my village a lot of people are without documents, because you do not really need one. If you want to visit a doctor, you just need to pay for the doctor’s services. You can also attend primary school without a personal document. My family was poor and I never travelled outside of my village.

At the airport in Mogadishu I met with a smuggler who gave me my passport. I was scared that the border control would notice that it was a fake one. Luckily that did not happen and I flew to Istanbul. From Turkey we went through Greece, Albania, Kosovo and now I am in Serbia. In all these countries on my way to Serbia I stayed in the smugglers’ houses, hiding from the police. In total, I travelled around five weeks from Somalia. Now I am staying in a hostel in Belgrade, but in a few days I will continue my journey. I am still not sure where I want to go, but I must make a decision soon." 

Photo by Bosko Djordjevic.

Within the project #StatelessJourneys supported by the European Network on Statelessness, we talked to a Tibetan girl from India:

"I was born in the city of Dharamshala in India where I have lived all my life with my parents and my sister and brother. We are originally from Tibet. My parents fled from Tibet to India when they were young. There is a large Tibetan community in Dharamshala and our government in exile is situated there. We do not have Indian citizenship. We only have an identity certificate that we call a yellow book. We also hold a Tibetan green book that is issued by the Central Tibetan Administration. That document, the green book, is like a passport, but we cannot travel with it and it is not useful outside of our community. We do not have any other documents and we have never tried to obtain Indian citizenship. 

My life in the city was peaceful. Our community is very strong, and I had everything that I needed in Dharamshala. I did not go outside of the city often. My father is a Tibetan language teacher and my mother is a housewife. I finished high school and wanted to find a decent job, but it was not possible. Since I am Tibetan, I am not allowed to work in any government service of India, and it would be difficult for me to find a job outside of Dharamshala.

When I decided to flee from India, my parents supported me. My father bought a false passport for me. It was a Thai passport. From India I flew to Turkey. I was lucky not to get discovered by the border police. I stayed around 15 days in Istanbul, preparing for the next move. I knew that I would need to cross illegally other borders. Sometimes during the journey I travelled by car with other refugees, but most of the journey we walked. From Turkey, together with a group of refugees from different countries, I continued to Greece. We crossed the border unnoticed. I stayed in a smuggler’s house in Greece around one month. After Greece I went through Albania and Kosovo and in a couple of days I ended up in Serbia. But I do not plan to stay long here. I will continue my journey in two or three days. 

Once we entered Serbia, in the small town Prokuplje, the police caught the group I was travelling with. They took us to the police station. The police officers did not speak English well, but we somehow managed to communicate. They took our fingerprints and photographed us. They asked me where I was from. I told them that I was Tibetan. They were confused. One of the police officers opened the Google maps on his phone and I guessed from his gestures that he wanted me to show my place, so I pointed to Purang in Tibet where my parents were born. They were looking at the map for a while. They also asked me about my age. I remembered that my smuggler had told me that it was always better to tell that you were underage if you wanted to get a better treatment. So I lied. The police gave me a document that was written in Serbian and I was not able to read it. Later I was told that I could request accommodation in a refugee reception centre in Serbia. When we left the police station, we continued towards Belgrade.

In Belgrade, while I was sitting in a park where a lot of refugees gathered, I met someone from Praxis. She gave me the information about Serbia, the services I could get and explained the meaning of the police document that I had received after entering Serbia (it was a certificate on the expressed intention to seek asylum). That document contained my personal data and the information that I had Chinese nationality. With this document I can sleep legally in a hostel for two nights, which I am planning to do. 

I do not know exactly which border I will try to cross next. My aim is to reach Germany. I have a lot of friends there. I will get all the relevant information about legal residence in Germany from my friends and on Google. I left India to be able to do more with my life. I love music and I play the drums. I hope that in Germany I will reach my dream and play music."

In October 2019, Praxis continued providing assistance to refugees/migrants, through information, psychosocial support, referrals to the targeted assistance provided by various organisations/institutions or covering the costs of transport to the asylum and reception centres.

A total of 1995 newly arrived refugees/migrants were informed about current situation in Serbia and the region, legal status and available legal options (seeking asylum in Serbia, assisted voluntary return to the country of origin, possibilities of family reunification abroad or resettlement to a third country when possible), accommodation in asylum centres (AC) or transit-reception centres in Serbia, means of transportation to the assigned centres, other rights and available services (medical care, psychosocial support, food, NFIs, various workshops for refugees/ migrants etc).

Download the whole Protection Monitoring Report for October 2019 here.

The Annual Assembly Meeting of the Network of Organisations for Children of Serbia (MODS) was held in Kragujevac on 9 and 10 November 2019.

The Assembly Meeting was chaired by Iva Eraković, Executive Director of the organisation Friends of Children of Serbia. In the working session, the Assembly first considered the MODS Activity Report for 2018, presented by Director Saša Stefanović, and then Jasmina Miković from Praxis, President of the MODS Steering Committee, presented the Steering Committee Report and reported on the participation of MODS in governmental bodies, first of all in the Children’s Rights Council and the working groups established by the competent ministries: the Working Group on Early Development and the Working Group on the Development of Child Rights Strategy. The Supervisory Board Report 2018 and 2019 and the 2020 Financial Plan were presented by Radomir Jevtić, President of Supervisory Board. After a brief discussion, the Assembly members unanimously adopted these reports.

The MODS Assembly then unanimously re-elected Iva Eraković as a member of the Steering Committee.

In the continuation of its work, the Assembly also unanimously adopted a proposal for MODS to join the regional network in the Danube region - Danube Civil Society Forum, and the global network for ending sexual exploitation ECPAT.

Iva Eraković then presented the initiative of the Protector of Citizens to sign the Cooperation Agreement with MODS, which was unanimously adopted by the Assembly.

On the afternoon of the first working day, Bojana Selaković, Programme Director of Civic Initiatives, presented support for civil society development provided by Civic Initiatives within their Resource Centre. After the introductory part, the members had the opportunity to share their experiences from the local level, as well as the challenges and problems they most often faced.

A novelty at this year's Assembly Meeting was the Market of Ideas - a session in which the members had the opportunity to exchange ideas on the projects and programmes they were implementing, as well as to propose topics and activities for MODS in the coming year.

The second working day was reserved for the presentation of new organisations for admission to MODS membership. The organisation Na pola puta (Halfway) from Pančevo and the Association for Cerebral and Child Palsy, Kosjerić, were unanimously admitted to MODS membership, currently consisting of 103 members.

The last part of the session was used for proposals for improving MODS work and discussing future MODS activities and advocacy plans.

In Belgrade on 16 October 2019, in cooperation with the Network of Organisations for Children of Serbia – MODS, the Child Rights Centre held a consultative workshop on the implementation of recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. The aim of the workshop was to jointly and continuously collect and monitor the implementation of recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child in the coming period. 

As representatives of Praxis, Jasmina Miković and Jelena Petrović particularly pointed out that registration at birth had not been ensured for each child, regardless of whether mothers had personal documents. They also drew attention to the fact that the role of the Children’s Rights Council of the Government of the Republic of Serbia had not been improved in terms of providing additional human, technical and financial resources for its efficient functioning. Concrete results were not visible in the field of prevention and elimination of child marriages, except that the National Coalition to End Child Marriages had been established, at the initiative of UNICEF, and that the competent ministry sent to social welfare centres an instruction on how to act in case of child marriages. Regarding the implementation of relevant anti-discrimination regulations, the state had not taken concrete measures to end segregation of Roma pupils in education, while the recent amendments to educational laws re-introduced the possibility of setting up special classes for children with disabilities within regular schools. 

The workshop was organised as part of the project "Monitoring the Implementation of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child Recommendations with a Special Focus on Improving Child Participation", implemented by the Child Rights Centre with the support of UNICEF and in cooperation with the Office for Human and Minority Rights of the Republic of Serbia. The project aims to contribute to the improved monitoring of the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child through the partnership of the state, the non-governmental sector and the participation of children.

In February 2017, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child reviewed the Second and Third Periodic Reports on the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the Republic of Serbia and adopted the Concluding Observations and recommendations for further improvement of the situation of children and the fulfillment of obligations undertaken by ratification of the Convention and its optional protocols.

Although the measures stemming from the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child are primarily the responsibility of the state, the role of the civil sector is to encourage and cooperate with the state in this regard. Therefore, the indicators have been developed to show the level of success in the implementation of the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the impact of policies and laws at national and local levels with respect to the exercise of the child rights from the aspect of civil society.