Reports

A 11 Initiative, along with 12 CSOs and trade unions, submitted a joint report to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the occasion of the adoption of the List of Issues for the 3^rd reporting cycle of the Republic of Serbia under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The report covered issues such as the discriminatory exclusion of Roma children from the right to parental allowance; equal rights of men and women; the position of women in the informal economy, textile industry, and those involved in seasonal jobs; access to health care for undocumented children and uninsured pregnant women and legal amendments introduced by the new Law on Health Insurance (related to mandatory cancer screening) that might disproportionately affect women and Serbia’s rural population.

This publication is primarily aimed at activists and all those engaged in the protection of human rights through work in non-governmental organizations, local initiatives and other activist groups. The goal of the publication is to offer new ideas for the improvement of the work of human rights organizations, particularly their monitoring and advocacy work, as well as their efforts to empower vulnerable individuals and communities.

Through this report, A 11 Initiative highlights the main challenges that internally displaced persons (IDPs) face in their access to social rights and offers recommendations for the promotion of local integration of IDPs in Serbia. In addition to the difficulties and recommendations in the field of housing and social and health protection, the report pays special attention to obstacles related to access to personal documents and residence registration.

In cooperation with the FemPlatz, Initiative A 11 submitted an alternative report to the CEDAW Committee for the 72nd Pre-sessional Working group reviewing of the Republic of Serbia, covering issues such as the impact of austerity measures on women’s human rights; stereotyping and patriarchal labeling of women/girls by the governmental officials; inequality before the law of women with disabilities who are placed under guardianship (deprived of legal capacity), which, inter alia, leads to a risk of inhuman and degrading treatment; access to prenatal and maternal health care for undocumented Roma women; participation of women in creation, implementation and assessment of public policies, and participation in public and political life.

This joint submission to the Independent expert on foreign debt and human rights focuses on the impact of economic reform measures on the implementation of economic and social rights, lack of ex-ante gender impact assessment, lack of dialogue and transparency of economic reform policies, and lack of free legal aid.  The submission emphasizes the importance of human rights impact assessment and reiterates that this assessment should be introduced as a part of the procedure for passing laws or adopting public policies, particularly in cases when these policies could have a disproportionately negative effect on vulnerable groups.

A 11 Initiative made a submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, on the occasion of the preparation of her report to the General Assembly on the issue of informal settlements and human rights. The report is focused on the ongoing housing crisis in Serbia and the challenges Roma face in enjoying the right to adequate housing.