UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report Annex:
Based on the Rulebook on incentives to improve economic activities in rural areas through support for non-agricultural activities, between 2014 and 2016 the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection disbursed approximately RSD 60 million in subsidies for 144 women, who held priority because they submitted call documents as bearers of an agricultural estate.
The Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia for 2014-2020 provides an overview of gender equality in rural areas, namely in the domain of economic participation among the rural population.
Within the draft National Rural Development Programme of the Republic of Serbia for 2015-2020, under the measures envisaged for the selection criteria, priority is given to female entrepreneurs, and/or women bearers of an agricultural estate.
The ministry competent for labour and employment issued a Call for support to projects for the economic empowerment of women in November 2016, selecting 12 projects including projects intended for organic food production. The total value of these projects was RSD 3 million, implemented during the first half of 2017.
In 2017, for the first time, measures of credit support are being applied with a more favourable interest rate of 1% issued to women, owners of agricultural estates. Likewise, women members of agricultural estates will, for the first time during this year, have paid maternity leave. The cadastre reform continues to enable monitoring the registration of the property of owners of both sexes into the cadastre.
An additional measure for the economic empowerment of women is being implemented through the option of providing spouses, when jointly purchasing real estate, with the option of registering their rights to the real estate at the lowest fee. The goal of the measure is to increase the number of women registered in the cadastre, to protect the property rights of women over common property and thus contribute to their equality and economic empowerment.
Activities aimed at implementing the recommendation are being continuously implemented.

UN Compilation:
Para 59) The UN country team stated that deep-rooted stereotypes persisted in Serbia and that there was a recent trend of re-establishing traditional roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and society, which undermined women’s social status, participation in public life and professional careers.

National Report Annex:
The fact of birth is entered into registries regardless of whether it is a child whose parents are known or not, a child without parental care, adopted child or child whose parents have no documents.
In addition to the improved normative framework (Law on Registries, amendments to the Law on Republic Administrative Fees and amendments to the Law on Extrajudicial Proceedings) systematically providing for the exercise of rights in this field of personal status, the resolution of this issue was significantly contributed to by activities under the implementation of an Agreement between the Ombudsman and line ministries with the support of the UN High Commissariat for Refugees. These agreements served to establish a mechanism for the cooperation of state bodies, the non-government sector and international organizations, providing positive results and ensuring improved exercise of rights of members of the Roma national minority for entry into the registry of births and exercise of rights based on the personal status of citizens.
The amendments to the Law on Extrajudicial Proceedings and the implementation of the agreement made it possible to resolve the issue of personal documents within the period relevant for this report for more than 25, 000 persons of Roma nationality.
The highest number of requests for subsequent entry of the fact of birth into the registry of births was received in 2009 - 9,573 and 2010 - 7,996 requests. During 2011 the number of requests was 774, in 2012 it was 1,552, in 2013 there were 784 requests, in 2014 there were 419 requests for subsequent entry of the fact of birth into the registry, in 2105 there were 1,072 requests for subsequent entry of the fact of birth into the registry resolved, and in 2016 there were 1,330 requests under the procedure of subsequent entry of the fact of birth into the registry of births, as well as 2,807 requests on the procedure of renewing the entry of the fact of birth into the registry of births. Other entries into the registry of births during the above years were conducted within the legal deadline for registering this fact.
Likewise, a certain number of persons unable to prove the fact of birth under an administrative procedure have made use of the right of entry into the registry of births in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Extrajudicial proceedings (establishing the time and place of birth). According to data obtained from the Ministry of Justice, in 2014 there were 149 proposals for establishing the time and place of birth resolved, in 2015 - 264, in 2016 - 291 proposal for establishing the time and place of birth.
Regarding the above number of resolved requests, it is impossible to disaggregate the cases related to Roma national minority members, since the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia guarantees the freedom of expression of national affiliation, as well as the lack of obligation to do so, therefore the registry of births does not contain data on national affiliation.
Likewise, in addition to the improved normative framework providing a systematic way for exercising rights in this area of personal status, a significant contribution to resolving this issue was provided by activities under the implementation of the Agreement on Understanding concluded in 2012 between the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, the Ombudsman and United Nations High Commissariat for Refugees - Office in Serbia, serving as a basis for the cooperation of all competent state bodies, the non-government sector and international organizations, resulting in a significant improvement of the exercise of the right of entry into the registry of births, as well as other rights from the area of personal status (such as the right to citizenship, the right to personal name, ID card, registration of residence, etc.)
This agreement was implemented on 31 December 2016, with all participants in the process assessing that all the measures and activities achieved to date under the cooperation of all relevant bodies have contributed to fully overcoming the problems in exercising the right to entry into the registry of births, as well as other rights under the personal status of citizens.
The introduction of the “Welcome, baby, to the world” service in April 2016 simplified the procedure of entering babies in the birth registry, the registration of citizenship and residence, as well as electronic registration for health insurance, while the baby is still at the birth centre.
Activities aimed at implementing the recommendation are being continuously implemented.

UN Compilation:
Para 36) CRC was concerned that there were currently approximately 8,500 persons who had not been registered at birth, with the vast majority declaring themselves as Roma. It was concerned that those people had limited access to the enjoyment of basic rights, including to health care, education and social protection.
Para 88) The UN country team stated that there were about 2,400 persons at risk of statelessness in Serbia, of whom several hundred lacked birth registration. An overwhelming proportion of those were Roma.
Para 89) The Special Rapporteur on internally displaced persons indicated that a considerable proportion of Roma internally displaced persons did not have birth certificates. UNHCR stated that Serbia had adopted new legislation that simplified subsequent birth registration and procedures related to registration of residence. It welcomed efforts to find solutions to problems relating to access to late birth registration, which had resulted in a significant decrease in the number of Roma at risk of statelessness in the country.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 87) JS2 stated that the groups most at risk of statelessness were those who were not registered in the birth registry, … ERRC highlighted the lack of birth registration documents for many Roma in Serbia, stemming from social exclusion, discrimination and forced movement in the 1990s and recommended that Serbia amend the Law on Registries to ensure that all births are registered immediately.
Para 88) JS3 affirmed there was still no legally binding instrument that would provide Roma children born from undocumented mother to be registered in birth registry books immediately after birth.