The Draft Law on same-sex unions is a big step forward for Serbia’s compliance with European standards and if adopted, towards equal rights for LGBTI+ persons in Serbia. This was highlighted during the panel debate on the Draft Law, organised by the Belgrade Pride and supported by the joint European Union/Council of Europe action “Promotion of diversity and equality in Serbia”.

The panel debate offered space for an exchange of opinions among the relevant institutions, civil society organisations dealing with LGBTI+ issues, members of international community and members of LGBTI+ community in Serbia.

Gordana Čomić, Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue of Serbia presented the state of play with regards to the Draft Law on same-sex unions and stated that the expert opinion prepared by the Council of Europe expert proved to be very useful.

Robert Wintemute, Council of Europe expert who prepared the opinion on the Draft Law on same-sex unions noted that the main aim of this law is to allow loving, committed, same-sex couples to register their relationships and enjoy most of the same rights and obligations as married opposite-sex couples. “As a member state of the Council of Europe, and a candidate to join the EU, Serbia must defend human rights, democracy, and the rule of law”, he added.

Nadia Ćuk, Deputy Head of Council of Europe Office in Belgrade and Joao Alvim, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Portugal in Belgrade also participated in the discussion, highlighting the importance of the adoption of this Law seen through the lenses of European values.

Bojan Klačar, executive director of the Center for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID), presented findings of the research done with the support of the joint European Union/Council of Europe action “Promotion of diversity and equality in Serbia”. According to the research, 41% of respondents state that homosexuality is a disease for them, which is 26 percentage points less than in 2010. Respondents who generally consumed news online were less likely to develop negative attitudes towards LGBTI people and same-sex unions. 43% of those who used news portals and web sites and 33% of those who primarily used social media had positive views of LGBTI people, as opposed to 16% of television viewers, the research concluded.