Within the Project “Contribution to Social Inclusion and Combat against Discrimination of Marginalized Population in Serbia”, funded by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Praxis issued the report Analysis of the Main Obstacles and Problems in Access of Roma to the Rights to Health and Health Care in July 2011.

The right to health represents a necessary precondition for exercise of a range of other rights including the right to life. At the same time, the right to health itself is conditioned by exercise of numerous other rights, including the right to food, housing, employment, education, human dignity, absence of discrimination, equality, prohibition of torture, privacy and access to information. The close correlation and inter-dependence of these rights are reflected in the fact that a violation of one right prevents access to a range of other rights. Deep differences with respect to health status of the vulnerable groups and deprivation of their right to health care are most often a consequence of an earlier violation of some other right. This is confirmed also by the position of the Roma ethnic minority in the Republic of Serbia (RS). The Roma represent one of the most vulnerable groups in the society. It is the members of this group who are most often deprived of access to the basic health care and numerous other determinants of the right to health.

The right of each person to health is contained in the most relevant international and regional instruments. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulates that “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care (...)“. Guarantees of the right to health, as a fundamental human right are enshrined also in the (revised) European Social Charter, The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Roma have not arrived to the position they are in by themselves – much of the responsibility for this lies with the society. Stipulating “equal conditions” and letting them “find their way by themselves” will not do. Exclusion and isolation of Roma were largely caused by the society, so it is impermissible that the society should not take part in resolving these problems. Drastic inequalities in health of Roma and the shorter life expectancy of the members of this population are not the consequences of genetic predispositions, but a testimony to their exclusion that the State must put an end to.

Download: Analysis of the Main Obstacles and Problems in Access of Roma to Rights to Health and Health Care

Everyone must be protected from privation and must be able to enjoy minimum rights necessary for survival. Without protection from poverty and social exclusion there can neither be human dignity nor respect for human rights. Poverty and privation infallibly point to the existing violation of human rights and reduce opportunities of an individual to enjoy the rights he/she is entitled to. Inability to satisfy the main existential needs is almost always accompanied by social exclusion, illiteracy, malnourishment, poor health and discrimination. And these very consequences require that poverty be approached as an issue of human rights violations and not as an exclusively economic phenomenon.

The social protection system is inseparable from the phenomenon of poverty and from prevention of consequences brought on by privation. Although social protection itself cannot eradicate the causes of poverty and the phenomenon itself, it may still alleviate its consequences, the recurrence and spreading thereof. Therefore, the states have an obligation to assist the persons in need of social protection by use of the social protection mechanisms.

The group most severely affected by poverty and at greatest risk of staying in poverty in Serbia are the members of the Roma ethnic community. Their deeply rooted poverty cannot be observed as an economic problem solely, but as a reflection and a consequence of their long-standing marginalization and inequality in all the other spheres – in education, on the labour market, in access to health care and social housing.

Through this report Praxis first invested efforts in making an analysis of obligations of the State to set up a system ensuring social protection, meeting the social needs and enabling exercise of the right to social protection of one of the most disadvantaged groups living on its territory. The report also focuses on problems related to deficiencies of the legal framework and, accordingly, problems which Praxis and its clients have faced in practice, through describing examples of individual cases, which refer to establishing territorial jurisdiction of the social welfare centres and obstacles in exercising the right to social assistance for inhabitants of informal settlements and the “legally invisible” persons, as well as complicated administrative procedure. Finally, the report shows the consequences of derivation of the right to social protection.

Download: Analysis of the Main Obstacles and Problems in Access of Roma to the Right to Social Protection

Through publications issued in 2008 (Legally Invisible Persons in Seven Stories - why should the Law on the Procedure for Recognition of Persons before the law be adopted) and 2009 (Legally Invisible Persons in Serbia - the State Must Take over the Responsibility), Praxis strived to point to the difficult position of persons who legally do not exist and to make visible the problems of those who are themselves invisible before the law. At the same time, Praxis pointed to the obligation of the State to take over the responsibility for solving the problems of persons who are not registered in birth registry book – “legally invisible” persons – and to regulate with precision the procedure of subsequent registration in birth registry book while bearing in mind the specific characteristics of the Roma community whose members face difficulties when registering in birth registry book.

Numerous UN agencies, primarily UNHCR and UNICEF, as well as the European Commission, OSCE and the bodies monitoring the implementation of international treaties ratified by Serbia have also been pointing to the necessity of resolving the status of “legally invisible” persons. In this respect, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the UN Human Rights Committee have recently expressed their concern about the problems of the “legally invisible” and, at the same time, made recommendations to undertake necessary measures, including amendments of relevant regulations, with the aim of finding solutions for the problems of these persons.

Some progress has been made by recognizing the existence of the problem and the necessity of its resolution, which has been stressed in the Strategy for Improvement of the Status of Roma in the Republic of Serbia and the Action Plan for implementation of the Strategy. However, real changes and the more precise regulation of the procedure of subsequent registration have failed to take place.

The report “Legally Invisible Persons in Serbia - Still without a Solution” represents Praxis’ latest efforts to once again point to the problem of “legally invisible” persons through actual cases from practice.
 
The report was prepared by within the projects “Contributions to Social Inclusion and Combat against Discrimination of Marginalized Population in Serbia”, funded by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and “Social Inclusion: Regional Support to Marginalised Communities” funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Serbia. The report is a result of Praxis’ many years of experience in working in this field and its efforts aimed at overcoming problems of persons who are not recognized before the law.

The views presented in this report are exclusively those of the author and do not necessarily represent official standpoints of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the UNHCR Representation in Serbia.

Download: Legally Invisible Persons in Serbia - Still without a Solution

As a part of the project directed at reduction and prevention of statelessness in Serbia, funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in December 2010 Praxis issued a report entitled “Persons at Risk of Statelessness in Serbia”. Purpose of this report is to make visible persons who are facing obstacles in the Republic of Serbia in exercising right to citizenship and to point to necessity of solving their problems which have been left aside for too long.

The report deals with the right to a nationality, first as prescribed by the international law and then as prescribed by the legal system of Serbia, stating more precisely basic ways of acquiring citizenship of the Republic of Serbia and introducing the situation of persons who are between statelessness and nationality.

Main part of the report is focused on identified obstacles in exercise of right to nationality in Serbia, as well as the categories of persons who are most affected by these obstacles and thus left at risk of statelessness. Supported by a number of individual case studies, the report illustrates the consequences of lack of citizenship, that is, deprivation of rights which such persons are facing.

Finally, the report contains recommendations for overcoming identified obstacles that would contribute to preventing and reducing statelessness in Serbia.

Download: Persons at Risk of Statelessness in Serbia 

The right to peaceful enjoyment of property is one of the basic human rights, particularly significant to internally displaced persons (IDPs), since exercise of that right is an important precondition for sustainable return of displaced persons to places of their permanent residence or, on the other hand, for taking up permanent residence in places in which they sought refuge.

Internally displaced persons cannot be illegally deprived of their property rights and their property left behind in the place of permanent residence should be protected against destruction and arbitrary and illegal appropriation, occupation or use1.

An independent and impartial body should decide about the requests of internally displaced persons for repossession of property (housing, commercial property and land) which they have been deprived of arbitrarily and illegally. In addition, internally displaced persons have the right to return voluntarily to their former homes, lands or places of habitual residence, in safety and dignity2.

Ten years after the conflict in Kosovo, many internally displaced persons are still facing problems in exercising their property rights, despite the above-mentioned international principles and the fact that the international community had established independent bodies and a separate legal framework for protection of property rights in Kosovo.

In November 1999, under the auspices of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), the Housing an Property Directorate and the Housing and Property Claims Commission were established and given the mandate to resolve property claims in Kosovo, until the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General considers that the local authority institutions are able to perform duties assigned to the above-mentioned bodies. The Housing and Property Claims Commission, as an independent quasi-judicial body, had the jurisdiction to resolve property disputes relating to possession right over the housing property.

In March 2006, the Kosovo Property Agency (KPA)  continued the work of the Housing and Property Directorate. The mandate of KPA and the Kosovo Property Claims Commission (KPCC) was extended to resolving disputes relating to ownership right over immovable property, including not only housing property, but also the commercial property and land.

The majority of property claims were submitted to the Housing and Property Directorate (HPA) and the KPA by non-Albanians, internally displaced persons temporarily residing in Serbia.

Through seven cases described in this publication, in which Praxis was providing legal assistance to its clients, we would like to show the shortcomings of the property restitution mechanism and difficulties and obstacles in IDPs’ accessing property rights in Kosovo.
 
1. Principle 21 of the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement
2. The Pinheiro Principles, Principle 2 and Principle 10
 

Download: Problems of IDPs in Accessing Property Rights in Kosovo in 7 Stories


 

The report "Protection of Rights of Internally Displaced Persons - in Anticipation of a Durable Solution" was prepared by the non-governmental organisation Praxis, based on the research conducted within the OSCE Mission to Serbia project, as well as on the experience and long-standing joint work with the UNHCR Representation in Serbia and close cooperation with the OSCE Mission on protection, improvement and promotion of rights of internally displaced persons from Kosovo.
 
With the aim to gain a comprehensive insight into the situation and position of internally displaced persons in Serbia, representatives of associations of internally displaced persons, Roma associations, relevant state agencies, non-governmental and international agencies in Serbia and in Kosovo all contributed to making this report with their experience and knowledge.
 
Publication of this report was supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway and UNHCR Representation in Serbia.

Download: Protection of Rights of Internally Displaced Persons - in Anticipation of a Durable Solution

August 2011

Non-governmental organisation Praxis was established in June 2004 by taking over the Civil Rights Project from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). NRC had previously conducted the Project in the region as of 1996 and in Serbia as of 1997. With financial support of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Praxis continued to protect the rights of its target groups - refugees and internally displaced persons in Serbia - through legal remedies and advocacy activities, by promoting values of civil society and raising public awareness about the problems its target group face.

The aim of the Civil Rights Project (CRP) was legal protection of refugees from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and internally displaced persons from Kosovo in order to enable their enjoyment of human rights on an equal and non-discriminatory basis and assist them in making a decision regarding a durable solution for themselves and their families.

During the past seven years, Praxis activities within the CRP primarily referred to provision of free legal assistance, information and counselling to refugees and internally displaced persons in relation to access to rights in the country/place of origin or exile/displacement, mainly with regard to access to documents, property and other socio-economic rights. At the same time, inseparable from legal assistance, Praxis also performed the advocacy activities aimed at removing systematic obstacles in accessing rights, changing and harmonizing the practice of competent bodies and preventing further violation of rights of the target groups. 

Film on Praxis’ activities can be seen HERE

The visitors to the Croatian island of Brac had the opportunity to watch the latest European documentaries shown at Supetar Super Film Festival in the period 10 - 14 July 2012. The festival selection included a number of documentaries from Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Great Britain, the Czech Republic and Croatia; after the screenings the audience exchanged impressions with the authors and voted for their favorites.

Based on the votes of the audience, the film (The Importance of) Hair of the Swedish director Christina Höglund won first place, the second place went to the film Bye bye c’est fini of the author Tora Mårtens, while Here I Am, the work of Irene Fabri, won third place.

The film Here I Am, produced by Praxis in cooperation with Dokukino and with financial support from the European Union, examines the existential problems of the residents of informal Roma settlements in Serbia and introduces viewers to the very much alive, parallel world of the marginalised whose faith and hope are their basic tools of survival. In the spirit of the marginalised and from the subjective point of view, the leading actor presents to the audience his friends whose fate often depends only on one paper or somebody's good will.

Let us be reminded that the residents of informal Roma settlements in Serbia do not have identity documents, because they are not allowed to have their permanent residence registered. The lack of identity documents prevents them from finding jobs, educating children and enjoying other socio-economic rights. Some of them are also "legally invisible" persons, i. e. the persons who are not registered in birth registry books and therefore live outside the system of health care, social welfare and employment; they are socially excluded and exposed to various forms of discrimination.

In order to draw attention to the most marginalised minority group in Serbia, Praxis plans to continue to promote the film at other festivals in the country and abroad. The promotional video clips of the documentary can be viewed on YouTube through the links entitled Here I Am -Legally Invisible and Here I Am - Forced Evictions.

We hope that the recognition of the documentary Here I Am will remind the government that the problems of the residents of informal Roma settlements in Serbia should be resolved as soon as possible.

See also the blog posted on the website of the European Network on Statelessness: Giving a Face to the Invisible

The non-governmental organisation Praxis strongly condemns today's action of the City Administration of Leskovac, which cancelled alternative accommodation to the Roma, who had previously been evicted from the informal settlement Belvil. Twenty-three Roma men and women, of whom eleven children, have been evicted today from the hostel Mimi in Leskovac, where they had temporarily lived since the eviction from the informal settlement Belvil. They do not know where to sleep tonight and plan to find temporary accommodation with relatives in Leskovac and its surroundings.
 
There were no incidents during the eviction; the families evicted from the hostel were given a one-off allowance in the amount of 20,000.00 to 30,000.00 dinars with the obligation to find accommodation on their own until the end of the week when the City Administration of Leskovac is supposed to secure permanent housing for them. The representatives of the City Administration of Leskovac have failed to provide alternative accommodation and switched the burden of finding accommodation to the former Belvil residents who are unemployed, mainly engaged in the collection of secondary raw material and on a daily basis face marginalisation and hindered access to the rights that are taken for granted by other citizens of the Republic of Serbia. In addition to violating the dignity and human rights of the former residents of Belvil by this latest eviction, the City Administration of Leskovac also inefficiently and irrationally spent over two million dinars, according to the rough estimate, for accommodation of the families evicted from the informal settlement Belvil. That money could have been spent on a durable solution to the housing problems of these families, thus paving their way out of poverty and social exclusion.
 
In addition to the foregoing, by conducting this eviction, the City Administration of Leskovac has acted contrary to the recommendation of the Protector of Citizens and revealed both the lack of plan for the integration of Roma and the lack of its interest to act on the recommendations aimed at improving the work of administration authorities and exercising the human rights of the most vulnerable and marginalised social group in Serbia.

We therefore urge the authorities to:

• Immediately find permanent accommodation for the families that have been evicted today;
• Establish responsibility for the irrational use of money for temporary accommodation, which could have been spent on securing permanent housing for those families;
• Urgently develop a plan for the integration of the former residents of the informal settlement Belvil, who were relocated to Leskovac, and begin with its  implementation in order to achieve full respect for human rights of all the citizens who have been evicted today.

The non-governmental organisation Praxis informs the public that the City of Leskovac intends to cancel the alternative accommodation provided to the Roma evicted from the informal settlement Belvil. The four Roma families with eleven children that had been accommodated in the hostel Mimi in Leskovac since 26 April 2012, received yesterday from the Deputy Mayor a notification saying that the City Administration would cover the costs of their accommodation only until 31 July, after which they would have to find accommodation by themselves, and for that purpose they would be granted a one-off allowance in the amount of 20,000.00 dinars from the town budget, through the Social Welfare Centre.

The accommodation of Roma families in Leskovac was accompanied with numerous problems including the lack of accurate information about the number of families, as well as the obstacles in finding alternative accommodation during the eviction, since the Ministry of Defence withdrew its approval for accommodating the Roma from Belvil in the abandoned military barracks in Leskovac. According to the rough estimate, the City Administration of Leskovac has paid so far over 2 million dinars for accommodating four families with eleven children in the hostel during a three-month period. With the existence of a clear plan and coordination between the central and city authorities, that money could have been spent on finding a durable housing solution for the Roma relocated from Belgrade.

According to international human rights standards, the public authorities are obliged to find alternative accommodation and not the residents themselves who have suffered forced eviction. Therefore, we invite the competent central and city authorities to abandon their intention of cancelling tomorrow the payment of accommodation for the former residents of the informal settlement Belvil, and also to develop a plan of their permanent integration and provide them with an alternative accommodation in compliance with international human rights standards.

Download (Serbian only): Letter Sent by the Deputy Mayor of the City of Leskovac
Download (Serbian only): The Protector of Citizens’ Report on Eviction from the Informal Settlement Belvil