News on combating discrimination
Priručnik za obuku policije na temu ravnopravnosti i nediskriminacije: novi resurs za policijske trenere na Zapadnom Balkanu
Priručnik za obuku policije na temu ravnopravnosti i nediskriminacije na bosanskom jeziku je konačno objavljen i dostupan je za preuzimanje. Organi za provođenje zakona igraju ključnu ulogu u borbi protiv rasizma i rasne diskriminacije, kao i u promociji ljudskih prava, demokratije i vladavine...
Assisting the Government of Montenegro in preparing new national 2024-2029 LGBTI Strategy
The first session of the working group in charge of drafting a new National LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex) Strategy for the period 2024-2029, took place on 26 March in municipality of Bar, Montenegro. This activity, aimed at devising a new national strategy tailored to the...
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,...
Podrška institucijama Bosne i Hercegovine u borbi protiv govora mržnje
Tokom posljednjeg online konsultativnog radnog sastanka koje je organizovalo Ministarstvo za ljudska prava i izbjeglice Bosne i Hercegovine koji je okupio 55 predstavnika/ca državnih institucija, iz oba entiteta i Brčko Distrikta, institucije Ombudsmana, medija, međunarodnih organizacija i...
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...
Škole i pedagoške institucije rade skupa na uspostavljanju resursnih centara za demokratsku školsku kulturu
Završna zajednička sesija izgradnje kapaciteta za predstavnike/ce pedagoških institucija i pilot škola u Bosni i Hercegovini (BiH) koji su dio prvog ciklusa razvoja resursnih centara za demokratsku školsku kulturu održana je 29. februara 2024. godine u Banjoj Luci. Aktivnost je organizovana u...
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...
Increasing awareness on gender equality on International Women’s Day
The joint European Union and Council of Europe action “Fostering women's access to justice in Türkiye” contributed to the “Conference on Women’s Human Rights” organised at the Ankara University Faculty of Law in co-operation with several universities. Women in family law, women’s physical...
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...