On 16 June, the action “Strengthening human rights protection in Serbia” organised a hybrid meeting to discuss the current status and identify further steps towards the execution of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgment in the case of Negovanović and Others v. Serbia. The case concerns the discriminatory denial of financial awards to blind chess players, who were excluded from the recognition granted to their sighted peers for comparable international achievements.

The meeting brought together representatives of key Serbian institutions—the Government Agent before the ECtHR, the Ministry of Sports, and the Ministry of Finance—alongside representatives of the Council of Europe, including the Department for the Execution of ECtHR Judgments, and the EU Delegation in Serbia. It served as a platform for dialogue and coordination among relevant stakeholders.

The opportunity for in-person and open dialogue allowed participants to identify key challenges and discuss the steps needed to implement the general measures required by the judgment, the execution of which has been pending for three years, indiciating the need for a more intensive institutional cooperaiton.

This event is a part of the ongoing efforts of the actions "Strengthening human rights protection in Serbia" to provide assistance to the state institutions in executing judgments of the ECtHR in relation to Serbia by enabling a platform for exchange of information and co-ordination.

The action is a part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.