Natrag Strengthening ties with the LGBTI community in Serbia: facilitating cohesion among civil society organisations

Ruma 28 February 2024
  • Diminuer la taille du texte
  • Augmenter la taille du texte
  • Imprimer la page
  • Imprimer en PDF
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 LGBTI+ and human rights organisations across Serbia, gathered on the occasion of the Belgrade Pride Annual Conference, in Ruma on 28th February 2024.  

The Belgrade Pride coalition organised their general annual conference to foster a more inclusive and resilient future for the LGBTI+ community. The meeting brought together 30 participants coming from more than 12 organisations, with an aim to collaboratively shape the strategic direction of the Belgrade Pride for the year of 2024. The General annual conference wished to contribute to the advancement of LGBTI+ rights in Serbia, creating opportunities for coalition to build a stronger team behind Belgrade Pride, working on strategizing better and amplifying voices of civil society organisations (CSOs). The event ultimately represented a proactive step towards fostering a more inclusive society.

It was also an occasion to present the recent ECRI General Policy Recommendation N°17 on preventing and combating intolerance and discrimination against LGBTI persons to CSO partners. The recommendations take due account of the findings emerging from ECRI’s country monitoring work, are intended as guidance to assist member States in preventing and combating intolerance and discrimination against LGBTI people, in close co-operation with the communities concerned.

Jelena Kotević from the Commissioner’s Office shared that preliminary results are showing that 48% of citizens believe that LGBTI people should not enjoy the same rights as heterosexual people. Only 26% of citizens support the legalization of same-sex partnerships, while 45% are strongly against it. Kotević also announced that results will be presented on a joint EU/CoE and CPE event on March 18, 2024.

The event was supported by the European Union and the Council of Europe, through the joint action “Combating discrimination and promoting diversity in Serbia”,  implemented within the joint European Union/Council of Europe programme "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.