World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples

31 January 2008

State Secretary at the Serbian Ministry of Labour and Social Policy Snezana Lakicevic-Stojacic presented a Draft national strategy for improving women’s position. Prevention of violence against women, providing protection to victims, countering gender stereotypes in the media and promoting gender equality in general are the goals of this strategy. Special attention was paid to the needs of women with disabilities, women who head families; belong to the Roma minority and those living in rural areas.

http://www.srbija.sr.gov.yu/vesti/vest.php?id=42809&q=roma

26 December 2007

Serbian parliament adopted the Law on the 2008 budget which envisages budgetary revenues of RSD 639.6 billion, expenditures of RSD 654.4 billion and a deficit of RSD 14.8 billion.

RSD 40 million will be used for rural development, that is, for supporting agricultural development of the Roma, and another RSD 60 million will go to agriculture and rural development for the poor, the displaced and refugees. This amendment also envisages that RSD 6.5 million be set aside as support to the implementation of action plans of the Decade of the Roma campaign.

http://www.srbija.sr.gov.yu/vesti/vest.php?id=42009&q=roma

December 2007 – decision to set up a coordinating body for improvement of position of Roma by the end of the year, and by June 2008 to adopt a strategy for integration and giving new powers to Roma; other priorities will be to solve the issue of personal identification papers of Roma and the preparations for Serbia's chairmanship over "Decade of Roma Inclusion" from June 2008 to June 2009.

http://www.srbija.sr.gov.yu/vesti/vest.php?id=41923&q=roma

27 Nov 2007

Serbian Ministry of Health launched a project to stop further spreading of HIV infection and to provide care and support to people living with HIV or AIDS; the project is to be completed by May 2012. The project is focused on risk groups determined by poverty, marginalisation and practice of risky behaviour.

The groups include intravenous drug addicts, men having sex with men, sex workers, young Roma and other marginalised groups, including prisoners, children and youth in institutions of social care, underage children having problems with law, children without parental care and persons living with HIV/AIDS.

http://www.srbija.sr.gov.yu/vesti/vest.php?id=41170&q=roma

24 October 2006

Starting with the 2nd semester schools will employ assistants to support the education of Roma children, as part of activities related to the decade of the Roma 2005–2015. The pilot project themed “Roma Assistant" is the result of cooperation between the OSCE mission in Serbia, European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR) and the Ministry of Education and Sport. The first stage of the project will include training of 54 candidates in schools in around 20 towns. Assistants will work in schools chosen on criteria such as the number of Roma students, problems in their educational progress and the proximity of non-urban Roma settlements.

Assistants will provide support to Roma children in learning school subjects as well as in overcoming problems with teachers and other children, and will be in touch with the children's parents with the aim of stimulating parent-teacher cooperation and try to talk students into continuing their education.

http://www.srbija.sr.gov.yu/vesti/vest.php?id=28099&q=roma

25-27 September 2007

The OSCE Mission to Serbia and the Serbian Interior Ministry organized two discussions on how to improve relations between the police and the Roma communities in Nis and Kragujevac. The two meetings, on 25 September in Nis and on 27 September in Kragujevac, aimed to increase communication between the Roma and the police and to address issues of mutual concern in central and south Serbia. Representatives from Roma civil society, the Interior Ministry and experts from Hungary and Romania were invited to the meetings.

http://www.osce.org/item/26422.html

19 Sept 2007

Serbian Minister of Labour and Social Policy Rasim Ljajic and Director of the “Save the Children” organisation for Southeast Europe Tim Bainbridge signed the Memorandum of Cooperation on implementing the programme themed “Joint Work on Protecting Children”. The programme is in line with the National Action Plan for Children, adopted by the government in 2004, and aims at improving the position of children in destitute families in Serbia. It will be implemented in the upcoming three years with the financial support of the “Save the Children” organisation.

The programme envisages the advancement of the social care system and the protection of the rights of the child, as well as an increase in the capacities of social care centres in Serbia.

The project mostly aims at helping destitute children, children from minority groups, primarily the Roma, as well as parentless children.

http://www.srbija.sr.gov.yu/vesti/vest.php?id=38559&q=roma

21 June 2007

The Serbian government consented to the programme of the Serbian Red Cross for giving support to Roma families with pre-school age and school going children.

http://www.srbija.sr.gov.yu/vesti/vest.php?id=35484&q=roma

9 May 2007

MP of the Roma Party Srdjan Sajin, who is not member of any caucus, was appointed member of the poverty reduction strategy. SRS gave Sajin this seat and he will also be member of the committee for interethnic relations.

http://www.srbija.sr.gov.yu/vesti/vest.php?id=33815&q=roma

13 April 2007

The Serbian Statistical Office stated that it would conduct a living standards measurement survey during May and June, on the territory of Serbia, with the aim to collect statistics which will be used for monitoring and measuring economic and social changes in Serbia. The living standards measurement survey was to be conducted with a national sample of more than 7,000 households, and with a sample of approximately 2,000 households consisting of internally displaced persons and 300 households of displaced Roma. By the end of 2007 and beginning of 2008, preliminary results will be announced, as well as the technical report on the website of the Serbian Statistical Office, according to the statement.

http://www.srbija.sr.gov.yu/vesti/vest.php?id=33198&q=roma

13 March 2007

Serbian Minister of Justice Zoran Stojkovic met the Head of the Secretariat for the Roma National Minority of the Human and Minority Rights Service Ljuan Koka and members of the OSCE delegation in charge of the project titled “Roma Support Programme". Participants in the meeting agreed to organise a seminar for the training of candidates for Roma court interpreters so that members of the Roma national minority could enjoy the right of using their language in proceedings before state organs.

http://www.srbija.sr.gov.yu/vesti/vest.php?id=32357&q=roma

26 January 2007

The Serbian Electoral Committee stated the final results of parliamentary elections held the previous day in Serbia, according to which out of 6,653,851 registered voters a total of 4,029,286 voters, or 60.56%, cast their votes.

The Roma Union of Serbia got 16,995 votes or 0.42%, the Albanian Coalition from Presevo Valley won 16,972 votes or 0.42% and the Roma Party got 14,568 votes or 0.36%. Each of these three parties will have one seat in parliament.

http://www.srbija.sr.gov.yu/vesti/vest.php?id=31349&q=roma

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