19 Oct 2015 by Ludwig Boltzmann

Kick-off event of Twinning project “Support to the advancement of human rights and zero tolerance to discrimination” in Serbia

On the eve of the approval of Serbia’s Action Plan for Chapter 23, the EU and Serbia launched a new Twinning project to support the advancement of human rights and to increase tolerance in Serbia. The launching event took place on 19 October 2015 at Klub Poslanika in Belgrade.

Audiences were addressed by Acting Director of the Office for Human and Minority Rights, Suzana Paunović, Commissioner for Protection of Equality, Brankica Janković, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Oskar Benedikt, the Ambassador of Austria, Johannes Eigner, Chargé d’Affaires of the Slovenian embassy, Mateja Norčič Štamcar, and Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Finance, Nataša Šimšić.

The Office for Human and Minority Rights expects the project to support the implementation and the monitoring of the implementation of various action plans – including the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Strategy for Prevention and Protection against Discrimination 2014-2018 already in place. The Commissioner for Protection of Equality wants to make use of the project activities as an opportunity for increasing her visibility at the regional and local level to ensure equal access to justice for persons who have experienced discrimination.

Further presentations were held by the Head of Anti-Discrimination Group at the OHMR, Jasna Plavšić, Assistant Commissioner Ljiljana Lončar, Project Leader and Scientific Director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights, Hannes Tretter, Junior Project Leader and Head of the Slovenian Office for National Minorities, Stanko Baluh, and Resident Twinning Adviser Barbara Liegl.

More than 80 attendants were present at the launching event, consisting of representatives of a number of embassies, of the Council of Europe and UN agencies present in Serbia as well as Serbian actors including representatives of line ministries, National Councils of National Minorities, and Civil Society Organizations involved in the protection of human and minority rights.

The event was held in Serbian and English with simultaneous interpretation. Please find the event programme, two flyers in English and Serbian and the speech of Resident Twinning Adviser Barbara Liegl attached.

For more information about the project, please visit this page.

a. f.l.t.r. Nataša Šimšić, Brankica Janković, Suzana Paunović, Oskar Benedikt, Johannes Eigner, Mateja Norčič Štamcar
b. f.l.t.r. Project Leader Hannes Tretter, Junior Project Leader Stanko Baluh, Resident Twinning Adviser Barbara Liegl
c. f.l.t.r. Jasna Plavšić, Ljiljana Lončar, Hannes Tretter
d. f.l.t.r. Brankica Janković, Suzana Paunović, Oskar Benedikt, Johannes Eigner