Enhancing human rights protection for detained and sentenced persons in Serbia

As a part of the co-operation framework co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, known as the Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey (Horizontal Facility), the Council of Europe will implement, as one of the Actions in Serbia, the Action Enhancing human rights protection for detained and sentenced persons, in close partnership with the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, Ombudsman and Serbian European Integration Office. The Action will also include a wide spectrum of other national stakeholders, as well as civil society organizations active in the field of protection and promotion of human rights.

The key Conventions for this Action are the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), as well as the recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). These commitments are part of the Serbia's EU accession negotiations and accomplishment of goals defined in strategic documents and in particular Chapters 23 and 24.

The Action, which started on 1 January 2017 and will be completed by the end of May 2019, has an overall budget of 780,000 euros.

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Back National Mental Health Policy dialogue

A two-day intense dialogue “Towards a New Mental Health Policy and Human Rights based treatment” took place in Belgrade, on 08-09 June 2018. More than fifty psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, lawyers, patients and their family members, gathered to discuss intricacies of mental health policy through democratic debate which touched upon legislative solutions, best practices and operational issues.

The conference was organised jointly by the Council of Europe (CoE), within the project "Enhancing Human Rights Protection for Detained and Sentenced Persons in Serbia”, implemented within the joint CoE and EU programme "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey” and the International Aid Network (IAN) Belgrade office and the Trieste Health Centre within the EQUAL project - funded by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region - L.R. 19/2000 – Italy.

The event is was one of several actions of the Council of Europe and European Union within the Horizontal Facility programme supporting Serbian authorities on their path towards EU accession. Public debate is an essential prerequisite for democracy and thus strongly supported by the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia, and the Council of Europe. The conference contributed to policy dialogue and a choice of strategic options in the wake of the Ministry of Health's decision to draft the new Mental Health Strategy. Thanks to its overarching, tailor-made support and reliance on benchmark national priorities reflected in national policy papers (Chapters 23 and 24 APs and as of recently Chapters 19 and 28) the joint European Union, Council of Europe Action generated greater beneficiaries’ responsiveness and led to changes at different levels.

This is one of many added values of EU financial support to Serbia.

For more details on this event, please see the link below:

News-Belgrade conference on Mental health policy 08-09 June 2018.docx

Belgrade 8-9 June