OSCE Mission to Serbia and EU Delegation mark European Day for Victims of Crime by contributing to Serbia’s better treatment of victims

BELGRADE, 22 February 2022 – On the occasion of the European Day for Victims of Crime marked today, an expert panel discussion organized by the OSCE Mission to Serbia noted a positive trend in improving the support to victims and protecting their rights by Serbia’s judiciary and the police.

As part of a larger 1.5 million euro project financed by the European Union, today’s event has been organized to support the Host Country’s reform of criminal justice system and alignment with international standards on victims’ rights. The event focused on assessing the implementation of Serbia’s National Strategy on the Rights of Victims and Witnesses of Crime for the period 2020-2025. Through the European Union funding, the OSCE Mission has been assisting the Ministry of Justice in the Strategy’s implementation, within the multi-year project Support for Victims and Witnesses of Crime in Serbia.

“Many victims do not know their rights and are often too scared to report a crime. As result, the victims are left unheard and crimes unpunished. This is why we all must join forces and work together towards empowering victims, especially the most vulnerable ones, providing them with  adequate support. Serbia has already made several positive reforms including the adoption of a victims’ rights strategy. We further encourage Serbia to speed up its planned reforms in order to ensure that all victims of crime in Serbia are granted their full rights and protection," stated in a video message the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Emanuele Giaufret.

“We have worked closely with judges, public prosecutors and the Ministry of Interior, to foster a victim-cantered approach in criminal justice. While change in this complex area requires time, the reforms are evidently underway,” said Ambassador Jan Braathu, Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia.

While agreeing that the process in underway, the panellists representing High Courts in Belgrade and Novi Sad, the Republic Public Prosecutor's Office, as well as the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior, agreed on the need to establish a comprehensive victim support system along with effective referral mechanisms.  Some steps in this direction include the use of videoconferencing in interviewing particularly vulnerable witnesses, compensation to victims in judgments confirming plea agreements, and reforms in police procedures aimed at informing victims of their rights and assessing risks to their vulnerability.

Serbian judiciary and the police will continue receiving support in such endeavours through this project, as part of the European Union and OSCE's larger efforts to increase respect for human rights as well as procedural guarantees in criminal justice.