20/02/2025 Monitoring
The PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Serbia, Axel Schäfer (Germany, SOC) and Victoria Tiblom (Sweden, ECPA), have today made the following statement concerning the situation in the country:
"We are very concerned about the political climate in Serbia, which has recently been marked by a new wave of massive protests. The latter began in November 2024 after the collapse of the Novi Sad railway station canopy, which resulted in 15 deaths. Initially led by students, these protests have spread across the country and include various social groups demanding accountability, transparency and justice. Protesters denounce deep-rooted corruption in public institutions, which undermines the rule of law, public confidence and the proper functioning of democracy.
In this unstable political context, we stress that constructive and inclusive dialogue is the only appropriate solution to defuse tensions in a democratic country. We urge the Serbian government, political leaders and public institutions to take all necessary measures to address the legitimate demands of the protesters and to avoid the use of violence.
We are in particular concerned about cases of violence against demonstrators by the police or private actors, and incidents caused as a result of lack of sufficient protection of public assemblies by the law enforcement authorities. We condemn these acts of violence and call for effective and prompt investigations into such incidents. We also support the offer of the OSCE/ODIHR to deploy a monitoring mission to assess compliance with the framework for the right to freedom of assembly and with relevant international democratic standards and hope that an invitation on the part of the authorities for such a mission will be forthcoming.
We regret the deteriorating conditions for the work of NGOs and human rights defenders and reports of harassment, smear campaigns and intimidation by the authorities against them. Many civil society organisations have in fact now formally withdrawn from co-operation with various government working groups and other government bodies, citing a lack of good faith on the part of the authorities.
Emphasising the role of civil society as a ‘watchdog’ in a democratic society, we call on the Serbian authorities to put an end to derogatory rhetoric and restrictive and arbitrary practices and to respect their international human rights obligations, including the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly.
We also reiterate our concerns expressed in the statement of 23 December 2024 regarding the revelations concerning surveillance of Serbian journalists and activists, once more urging the authorities to end this practice, conduct effective investigations into abuses, and hold those responsible to account.”