A/HRC/10/29
initiatives and steps had been taken with all parties concerned. Also, large-scale
demonstrations had been held. The representative added that, to date, MINUK had provided
only promises without a follow-up. Consequently, in the follow-up of review
recommendations and the commitments of Serbia to improve human rights, it called upon
the international community and the Council to set up a commission which would be tasked
with taking measures in cooperation with the Governments and institutions responsible for
the recovery and payment of pension to those retirees, facilitating administrative procedures
for them.
530. The representative of Cercle de recherche sur les droits et les devoirs de la personne
humaine stated that it had emerged from their reading of the universal periodic report on
Serbia that peaceful coexistence among various national entities, which appear to have
different aspirations in the area of human rights, remained a major challenge for this
multinational State. In this regard, it welcomed the recommendation made regarding the
promotion of equality and non-discrimination against national minorities in the country. It
also referred to the recommendation on combating neo-Nazi and other groups that
promoted racial hate and violence within the framework of Serbia’s legislation. It felt that
the current measures were insufficient to ensure internal stability, and requested Serbia to
provide the Council with data on the composition of national ethnic groups in political,
administrative and legal bodies. The experience of countries in similar situations showed
that unity within diversity was possible if all social groups were represented at the national
level. It hoped that Serbia would be able to achieve the commitments enshrined in its
Constitution of November 2006.
531. Amnesty International welcomed many of the recommendations made by States to
Serbia, including calls to ensure full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia. It also welcomed calls to ensure that allegations of human rights
violations were investigated, prosecuted and the perpetrators brought to justice. Amnesty
International noted that, since the establishment of the special war crimes chamber at
Belgrade District Court, Serbia had made real progress in addressing impunity for the war
crimes perpetrated during the wars in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Kosovo.
However, the number of trials completed remained low, and the current capacity and
resources of the Court were inadequate. It urged that additional resources be allocated to the
Court and the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor. Measures should be taken to strengthen
the authority and capacity of the war crimes investigative services, or it should be reestablished as an independent agency or as a unit of the Prosecutor’s Office. Amnesty
International also called upon Serbia to carry out effective, independent and impartial
investigations into incidents where the actions of the State agents, including police and
prison officers, may have led to violations of human rights. While acknowledging the
decline in the number of reported incidents, it expressed its concerns at the long-standing
failure of Serbia to address impunity in cases of torture and other ill-treatment, and at the
continued inclusion in the criminal code of a statute of limitations on prosecutions for such
human rights violations. It urged the Government of Serbia to establish a genuinely
independent and transparent mechanism to investigate all allegations of torture and other
ill-treatment.
(d)
Concluding remarks of the State under review
532. Serbia reiterated its commitment to the universal periodic review process and its
dedication to the promotion and protection of human rights. It would intensify its efforts for
the fulfilment of the commitment made in the course of this important process for the
improvement of human rights and freedoms in its society. Serbia expressed its thanks for all
the comments and recommendations made from different sides, but also mentioned that the
intervention of the representative of the United States of America regarding the status of the
Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija was not in accordance with the basic
GE.09-17451
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