A/HRC/38/17 Introduction 1. The Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, established in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 5/1, held its twenty-ninth session from 15 to 26 January 2018. The review of Serbia was held at the 16th meeting, on 24 January 2018. The delegation of Serbia was headed by the Acting Director of the Office for Human and Minority Rights, Suzana Paunović. At its 18th meeting, held on 26 January 2018, the Working Group adopted the report on Serbia. 2. On 10 January 2018, the Human Rights Council selected the following group of rapporteurs (troika) to facilitate the review of Serbia: Belgium, Philippines and Togo. 3. In accordance with paragraph 15 of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 and paragraph 5 of the annex to Council resolution 16/21, the following documents were issued for the review of Serbia: (a) A national report submitted/written presentation made in accordance with paragraph 15 (a) (A/HRC/WG.6/29/SRB/1); (b) A compilation prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in accordance with paragraph 15 (b) (A/HRC/WG.6/29/SRB/2); (c) A summary prepared by OHCHR in accordance with paragraph 15 (c) (A/HRC/WG.6/29/SRB/3). 4. A list of questions prepared in advance by Belgium, Brazil, Czechia, Germany, Liechtenstein, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America and was transmitted to Serbia through the troika. These questions are available on the website of the universal periodic review. I. Summary of the proceedings of the review process A. Presentation by the State under review 5. Since the second cycle of the universal periodic review, Serbia had submitted reports to eight United Nations treaty bodies and, in the period under review, had submitted more than 300 reports under the special procedures of the Human Rights Council. It had received visits from the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. 6. Serbia was a candidate country for European Union membership and special attention was being paid to promoting the rule of law and protecting human rights. Serbia cooperated actively with the Council of Europe and with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in the field of the protection and promotion of human and minority rights. It had ratified multiple Council of Europe conventions in the field of human and minority rights, including the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. 7. The United Nations Office in Belgrade and the OSCE Mission to Serbia had provided significant support in the process of drafting the national report for the third review cycle. 8. Serbia had not had the capacity to monitor the implementation of international human rights treaties in the autonomous province of Kosovo and Metohija since the administration of that province had been entrusted to the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo. 2