Twenty young lawyers took part in the program Minority Rights Defenders in Serbia during last week. The program is organized by Institute for European Affairs with the support of United States Embassy in Serbia. During the training participants had an opportunity to learn more about different aspects of minority right protection, both in theory and practice.
Professor PhD Nevena Petrušić of Niš Faculty of Law, former Equality Officer, opened the program with lecture about human rights and mechanism that citizens can use to protect them. Her colleague from University of Kragujevac, professor PhD Srđan Đorđević, dedicated his lecture to domestic and international human rights protection.
Beside academic and legal approach to human rights protection, participants had an opportunity to talk and learn about practice and challenges that civil society organizations, activists and human rights defenders face with. Dragoslava Barzut presented different initiatives of civil society dealing with LGBT rights. She also talked in detail about specific cases of LGBT rights protection in courts our independent institutions such as Ombudsman or Equality Officer. Marija Demić discussed the topic of Roma population and effects of affirmative action and measurements that state implemented to improve Roma position in society. Nemanja Stjepanović from Humanitarian Law Centre conducted a lecture about mass violation of human rights in armed conflicts in former Yugoslavia.
Trainers Tamara Tomašević and Demir Mekić during the program worked on developing empathy of participants towards human rights violations victims. Their workshops on empathy and forum theatre they transfered part of emotions and situation that marginalized groups are facing with.
During the stay in Niš, participants of program visited institutions that work on and influence to minority rights. They talked with current situation, problems and how to improve situation. From local Ombudsman they heard a lot of examples of her work on human rights protection, administrative issues she is dealing with and specific cases that describe the work of this institution in the best way. In Parliament of City of Niš group met decision makers and presidents of parliamentary commissions and councils dealing with human and minority rights, gender equality, national minorities and persons with disability. They had a chance to learn more about the role of local Parliament in human rights protection and decision making in local level. Finally, the meeting in Higher Court with two judges was an opportunity to meet the judicial practice and judge who presented the work of court in the field of interest to participants. This part of study visit was especially interesting to participant and provoked a debate about different issues.
The program Minority Rights Defenders contains a part dedicated to participant’s activities. In the near future, they will organize peer to peer education for more than 300 young people in their home towns. We expect that participants present program and discuss minority rights issues in twenty different media appearances in local and national media. Eventually, they will create twenty policy proposals that should provide practical solutions of problems related to minority rights in local level.
Institute for European Affairs is grateful to United States Embassy in Serbia for supporting Minority Rights Defenders. We are also grateful to all the lecturers and trainers that contributed to implementation of program. Third generation of participants is clear sign that young people in Serbia are willing to deal with important topics that are not part of formal education curriculums. Therefore, Institute for European Affairs is going to continue with Minority Rights Defenders program and start a
