OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities welcomes efforts to promote integration on first visit to Serbia
OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Kairat Abdrakhmanov visited Serbia from 14 to 17 June 2021. This was his first official visit since taking up his mandate at the OSCE.
In meetings with President Aleksandar Vučić, President of the National Assembly Ivica Dačić, Foreign Minister Nikola Selaković and other Ministers, the High Commissioner welcomed the authorities’ efforts to promote the integration of Serbia’s diverse society, including through updated legislation and institutional mechanisms, such as the National Minority Councils, which represent the interests of different ethnic communities.
In Belgrade, he also welcomed the establishment of the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue. Commending Gordana Čomić, Minister of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, on the creation of the Ministry, Abdrakhmanov recognized its role as a vehicle for effective consultations with national minorities.
“Establishing a dedicated institutional framework to deal with matters of national minorities is a good example of how a State can allocate attention and resources to diversity governance,” said Abdrakhmanov.
The High Commissioner also met with the presidents of several National Minority Councils to hear their concerns, priorities and views.
The High Commissioner travelled to Vojvodina to assess how several arrangements and practices contribute to maintaining inter-ethnic peace in the province.
In Bujanovac, Abdrakhmanov met with local officials and visited the Bujanovac Department of the Subotica Faculty of Economics of the University of Novi Sad, which has been supported by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities for ten years.
“The availability of quality, bilingual higher education in southern Serbia is an encouraging example of what can be achieved when the central government, academic institutions, minority representatives, local authorities and the international community work together towards strengthening social cohesion,” he said.