News on combating discrimination
Council of Europe HELP Course on Access to Justice for Women launched to empower Judges and Prosecutors from the Western Balkans
In a significant step towards enhancing gender-sensitive legal practices and strengthening the capacity of judges and prosecutors in addressing gender bias in the judiciary in the Western Balkans, the regional HELP course on Access to Justice for Women was launched with the support of the EU...
Improving detection of child trafficking instances in schools in Serbia
Child trafficking is a widespread and underreported phenomenon. According to official data from the Serbian Centre for Human Trafficking Victims’ Protection, the percentage of children among the identified victims of trafficking in Serbia has significantly increased in 2023 and amounts to 62%...
The regional platform of Equality bodies continues the work to address hate speech in Eastern Partnership and Western Balkans
An online event was held focusing on fostering collaboration and exchange knowledge, common challenges and good practices between Equality bodies from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership regions, to address hate speech. This event, is a continuation to the equality bodies platform...
Curricula working group of the State Institute for Education Improvement continues connecting Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture with national curricula in Serbia
In order to enhance the quality education for all and further align the formal education system of Serbia with democratic values, a dedicated task force successfully continued the process initiated with the national Guidelines, developed with the support of the European Union and the Council of...
Discrimination patterns in Serbia – discussion on the results of the discrimination surveys
A discussion on discrimination patterns in Serbia, by observing the latest trends presented in the national discrimination surveys’ reports took place in Belgrade. The event brought together representatives of public institutions, equality bodies, as well as civil society representatives, media,...
Support to the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina in combating hate speech
During its last online consultative working meeting organised by the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with 55 representatives from state institutions from both entities and the Brčko District, the Ombudsperson, media, international organisations and civil society...
Addressing hate speech in Montenegro: findings from second round of group interviews with civil society organisations, media, and government representative
An open discussion and group interviews involving various stakeholders among which civil society organisations, media, and government representative, took place in Podgorica on 15 March. As a follow up of the first round held in October 2023, this round of interviews has expanded the number of...
Lawyers and legal professionals complete the HELP course on Combating Hate Speech and Hate Crime in Macedonian Language
20 lawyers from the İstanbul Bar Association completed a two-day training on “Detention in the Context of Migration”, organised by the joint European Union/Council of Europe action on “Strengthening the human rights protection in the context of migration in Türkiye”, in co-operation with the...
Schools and pedagogical institutions working together on establishing resource centers for democratic school culture
The final joint capacity building session for representatives of pedagogical institutions and pilot schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) who are part of the first cycle of the development of resource centers for democratic school culture took place on 29 February 2024 in Banja Luka. The...
MEDIA ADVISORY: Attitudes of citizens and of representatives of public authorities towards discrimination in Serbia in focus of an event on Wednesday in Belgrade
Presentation of the reports “Attitudes of citizens towards discrimination in Serbia” and “Attitudes of the representatives of public authorities towards discrimination in Serbia”, prepared with the support of the joint European Union and the Council of Europe action "Combating discrimination and...
Advancing regional co-operation to bring forward equality reforms for the protection of LGBTI community
A regional peer exchange on tackling equality reforms and focusing on the protection of LGBTI persons, took place in Podgorica, Montenegro. Following the regional LGBTI conference on “Addressing the rising anti-gender movement” organised in Pristina“ in November 2023, the two-day event organised...
Call for applications for grants to support activities on combating hate speech in North Macedonia
Within the framework of the joint European Union/Council of Europe Horizontal Facility programme and its action on “Combating Hatred and Intolerance in North Macedonia”, the Council of Europe is launching a call for applications for grants scheme “Support to local self-governments and/or CSOs...
Assisting the Government of Montenegro in assessing the effectiveness of the 2019-2023 LGBTI Strategy
The report on the Montenegro's LGBTI National Strategy 2019-2023 was presented at the Europe House in Podgorica on 5 March 2024. The presentation took place at the presence of representatives from national authorities, including the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, the Ombudsperson, the...
Strengthening ties with the LGBTI community in Serbia: facilitating cohesion among civil society organisations
The preliminary findings of surveys on the attitudes of citizens and representatives of public authorities towards LGBTI persons, run in co-operation of the European Union and the Council of Europe with the Commissioner for the protection of equality (CPE), were presented to representatives of...
Dünya Kadınlar Gününde toplumsal cinsiyete ilişkin farkındalık artırıldı
“Kadınların Adalete Erişiminin Desteklenmesi” Avrupa Birliği – Avrupa Konseyi ortak projesi, pek çok üniversitenin iş birliğiyle Ankara Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesinde düzenlenen “Haklar Kurultayı”na katkı sunmuştur. Dünya Kadınlar Günü vesilesiyle 7 – 8 Mart 2024 tarihlerinde düzenlenen...
Towards better identification of victims of human trafficking: workshop on conducting forensic interviews held in Serbia
A workshop on conducting forensic interviews with presumed victims of trafficking in human beings for the staff of the Centre for Human Trafficking Victims’ Protection (Centre) was organised on 5-6 March 2024 in Vrdnik, Serbia. The participants upgraded their knowledge on how to better...
Schools are a driving force for democracy, concluded educators from the Western Balkans region
In an effort to foster democratic education across the region, educators from Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia gathered at the conference "Schools as driving force for democracy" held under the joint European Union and Council of Europe action “Quality education for...
The State Commission on Compensation for Victims of Violent Crimes constituted in North Macedonia
The State Commission on Compensation for Victims of Violent Crimes was established in North Macedonia aiming to support victims of violent crimes including victims of trafficking in human beings by awarding a state compensation of up to 5,000 euro for the injustice suffered. This constitutes an...
MEDIA ADVISORY: Schools as driving force for democracy: conference in Herceg Novi on Tuesday
The regional conference „Schools as a driving force for democracy” organised as part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe action "Quality education for all", will be held on 5 and 6 March 2024, starting from 09:30 in Herceg Novi. The opening remarks will be given by: Anđela Jakšić-...
Supporting inclusive education, combating hate speech, and ensuring improved health and social services for Roma community in North Macedonia
A workshop for community facilitators from 15 municipalities in North Macedonia was organised in Skopje with the objective to increase their skills and capacities in their daily work with the vulnerable communities. This initiative supported by the EU and Council of Europe transferred valuable...