Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2001
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
March 4, 2002

(The report on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is discussed in three separate sections on Serbia, Kosovo, and Montenegro and addresses human rights situations in each of these entities. Since federal authority was exercised effectively only over the Republic of Serbia throughout the year, the human rights situations in Kosovo and Montenegro are dealt with in separate sections following this report.)

The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Yugoslavia), a constitutional republic consisting of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro, has a president and a parliamentary system of government based on multiparty elections. Vojislav Kostunica was elected President of the Federation in elections held on September 24, 2000 that were closely contested; President Slobodan Milosevic ultimately was unable to manipulate the elections. Massive public protests forced Milosevic to recognize his defeat and cede power on October 6, 2000. Under the constitutional framework, the Federation encompasses the Republics of Serbia and Montenegro; however, the Montenegrin Government has refused to participate in many of the functions of the Federal Government and has acted unilaterally in several areas. The Federal Government presides over a weakened structure, with responsibilities essentially limited to the Foreign Ministry, the Yugoslav Army (VJ), the Customs Administration, civil aviation control, and foreign economic and commercial relations. Although President Kostunica enjoyed wide popular support, significant power was concentrated at the republic level where, in Serbia, Prime Minister Djindjic exercises significant executive authority. Djindjic also has represented Serbia in discussions and negotiations with the international community. In Montenegro President Milo Djukanovic leads a coalition that exercises executive authority (see Montenegro annex). The judiciary remained subject to some political influence.

The Yugoslav military (the VJ) is formally under the control of the Supreme Defense Council, made up of the Presidents of Yugoslavia, Serbia, and Montenegro; however, in practice the military Chief of Staff reports directly to the President of Yugoslavia, and is subject to little other civilian oversight. The Federal Government also controls a small police detachment for security of federal buildings and officials. The Interior Minister of the Republic of Serbia controls the powerful Serbian police, a force of approximately 80,000 officers, many of whom also served under former President Milosevic. The Serbian police are responsible for internal security and border checkpoints. In March the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) approved a program, drafted by Deputy Prime Minister Nebosja Covic, to allow the gradual reentry of the Yugoslav Joint Security Forces--VJ and Serbian police--into the ground safety zone (GSZ), which began in March and was completed on May 31. The GSZ had been created in June 1999 when NATO and Yugoslav officials signed the Kumanovo Agreement, ending NATO action against the country. Under the agreement, the GSZ was created around Kosovo as a buffer zone to minimize the potential for accidental conflict; Yugoslav and Serbian security forces were excluded from the GSZ. The GSZ unintentionally became a safe haven for armed ethnic-Albanian groups, including the insurgency group known as the Liberation Army of Presevo, Bujanovac, and Medvedje (UCPMB). The security forces committed some human rights abuses.

Economic performance remained weak due to general inefficiency in the economy and corruption. Lack of purchasing power, high unemployment and underemployment, and high inflation sharply restricted the consumer base. While damage to infrastructure and to the refineries from NATO's bombing in 1999 gradually was being repaired, transportation within and through Serbia remained a problem. Overall unemployment was estimated at approximately 30 percent. The country's population was approximately 10,662,000 and per capita GDP was approximately $988. The general level of corruption in society remained high. Although the agricultural sector was undercapitalized, Serbia was self-sufficient in food. The private sector was widely evident throughout the country. A significant reform of the tax system was implemented during the year and the Serbian Government assessed a special "extra profit tax" on numerous companies and individuals who allegedly made excess profits under the Milosevic regime. Foreign aid is an important source of Government revenue, and the Government uses it to repair infrastructure and to care for a large population of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDP's).

The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens in many areas and its overall human rights record improved significantly over that of the Milosevic regime; however, some serious problems remained. Police at times beat detainees and abused and harassed citizens, particularly Roma. Arbitrary arrest and detention were problems. The Government continued to hold numerous Kosovar Albanian political prisoners incarcerated under Milosevic; however, it released over 1,700 of these prisoners since 2000. The judiciary remained subject to political influence, although to a lesser extent than it had been under the former Milosevic Government. The Government at times infringed on privacy rights and monitored telephone, mail, and e-mail communications. Police at times intimidated journalists, and the Government continued to exert influence over the media. Many journalists continued to practice self-censorship. During the year, the Serbian Government transferred indicted war criminal Slobodan Milosevic and several other indictees to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and provided access to some archives; however, the Government was at times unresponsive to the ICTY's requests for arrests and for information. Violence and discrimination against women were problems. There were several incidents of societal violence or discrimination against religious minorities. Violence and discrimination against Roma and other ethnic minorities were problems. Relations between Serbs and Albanians in southern Serbia improved following the successful resolution of the conflict in that region. Trafficking in persons was a problem.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:

a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life

There were no reports during the year of political killings committed by the Government or its agents.

Government forces killed some combatants as a result of tensions that escalated during the year in the region of southern Serbia that borders Kosovo and encompasses the municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac, and Medvedja. The majority of the population in the region is ethnic Albanian. In November 2000, four Serbian policemen were shot and killed outside the village of Lucane (5 kilometers outside the town of Bujanovac), which precipitated a crisis in the region early in the year between the Government and the UCPMB. During the conflict, Federal and Serbian authorities killed less than 35 combatants. For example, on March 24, Serb authorities killed an ethnic Albanian UCPMB member near Konculj. On May 24, VJ troops killed UCPMB leader Ridvan Qazimi, known as Commander Leshi, in an exchange of fire in the GSZ; the VJ stated that Leshi's killing was accidental.

UCPMB forces killed approximately 10 ethnic-Albanian civilians during the conflict. In May UCPMB landmine explosions killed several Serb children. UCPMB forces killed approximately 30 VJ soldiers and police officers during the conflict. For example, on January 28, UCPMB forces killed a VJ soldier. On February 18, a landmine planted by the UCPMB killed three Serbian police officers near Lucane. In late February an unknown assailant believed to be a member of the UCPMB killed two policemen in the GSZ. On March 7, a landmine allegedly planted by the UCPMB killed two VJ soldiers. On August 3, an unknown assailant believed to be a member of the UCPMB killed two policemen in the GSZ and wounded two others.

In the autumn, the court began hearings on the October 1999 attempted killing of opposition leader Vuk Draskovic that resulted in the deaths of four persons, and which many believe was staged by the Serbian Security Service (RDB). Rade Markovic, former head of the RDB, former Belgrade Serbian Security Service chief Milan Radojnic, and two minor security service officials were charged for involvement in the crime. Their trial was ongoing at year's end.

At the end of May, Federal and Serbian Government authorities began exhuming five mass grave sites discovered near the towns of Batajnica, a suburb of Belgrade, and Petrovo Selo, in eastern Serbia. More than 300 bodies were recovered during the year; an estimated 700 bodies are expected to be found. The victims were assumed to be ethnic Albanian men, women, and children, most likely victims of 1999 massacres by the Yugoslav police and army in and around Pec in Kosovo. The process of identifying these bodies has been delayed by administrative issues; however, observers noted that some members of the security forces may be encouraging delays due to their involvement in the original crimes. It is speculated that there are additional bodies located at the bottom of Lake Perucac in western Serbia, as well as a number of bodies believed to be buried under a highway near Vranje. In July during the Serbian Government's exhumation at Petrovo Selo, police discovered three bodies preliminarily identified as Agron, Ylli, and Mehimet Bytyci. In August Serbian authorities requested and received help from the international community in establishing the positive DNA identification of the remains. The Bytyci brothers disappeared in 1999 after being delivered from a Serbian prison into the hands of unidentified Serbian police officers. The investigation into their killings remained ongoing at year's end.

In 1999 as a result of their actions in Kosovo, the ICTY formally indicted as war criminals former President Milosevic and four other senior officials (see Section 4). During the year, the indictment against Milosevic was broadened to include crimes committed during the mid-1990's in Bosnia and Croatia.

During the year, the Serbian government arrested several former officials from the Milosevic regime, including the former head of Milosevic's RDB Radomir Markovic in February. Approximately 200 members of the VJ and 100 police officers have been suspended or detained pending investigation of crimes committed in Kosovo. The charges against them included killings, bodily harm, and endangering lives, dignity, morale, and property. Despite these arrests, there are a number of officials in the military and police, some in high positions, who served in Kosovo, Bosnia, and Croatia and who reportedly were involved in criminal activity, including killings, during those campaigns. Their continued presence in such positions raises questions about the Governments' willingness to confront the issue of impunity.

In addition to the UCPMB, other armed extremist ethnic-Albanian groups with unknown ties were responsible for killings in southern Serbia. In August in Muhovac, a town on the boundary line with Kosovo, an extremist ethnic Albanian group known as the Albanian Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the killing of two Serbian policemen. In early November, unknown persons believed to be ethnic Albanian extremists shot and killed the 4-year old son and wife of an ethnic Albanian police candidate while he was driving in his car. Police were investigating the killing at year's end, but the victim has declined to provide information.

On August 13, unknown assailants killed former State Security officer Momir Gavrilovic. The media alleged that Gavrilovic's death was in some way connected to a number of visits he made to President Kostunica or his staff immediately prior to his death. The police investigation into the killing had made no progress by year's end.

Police investigations remained pending in numerous cases of political killings from previous years, including the November 2000 killing of Nebojsa Simeunovic, a former criminal judge; the April 2000 killing of Zivorad Zika Petrovic, the former Director of Yugoslav Airlines; the February 2000 killing of Pavle Bulatovic, the former Yugoslav Minister of Defense; the April 1999 killing of independent journalist and publisher Slavko Curuvija; and the 1997 killing of Radovan Stojicic, former head of Serbian public security.

On October 26, a Belgrade Court sentenced former policeman Dobrosav Gavric to 20 years in prison and two of his associates to 15 years each for the January 2000 killing of indicted war criminal Zeljko Raznatovic, also known as "Arkan."

b. Disappearance

There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances during the year.

In August 2000, former Serbian President Ivan Stambolic disappeared while on a daily jog in a park near his home in Belgrade. Many observers noted that the timing of Stambolic's disappearance (only a few weeks ahead of scheduled elections), and the fact that the state-run media remained largely silent on the incident, suggested complicity by the Milosevic regime and the Serbian security service. The Serbian State Prosecutor's office began an investigation of Stambolic's disappearance in November 2000; however, it had not yielded any results by year's end.

Federal and Serbian government authorities began to cooperate with international organizations investigating disappearances and mass graves; however, progress was slow.

c. Torture, and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Yugoslav and Serbian law prohibit torture and other cruel forms of punishment and there were no reports of systematic abuse; however, police at times beat citizens and detainees, particularly Roma. The Serbian Republic has amended its criminal law to strengthen provisions prohibiting acts of torture.

On May 7, in Ravno Selo, police arrested two Roma men and beat them with clubs in an attempt to force them to confess to stealing. The Humanitarian Law Center filed a complaint with the Municipal Prosecutor's Office in Backa Topola, Vojvodina; however, on May 25, the prosecutor's office dismissed the complaint. On May 11, in Backa Palanka, three police officers beat a Roma man. On May 25, unidentified police officers beat Nenad Filipovic in Kragujevac, first in the presence of his children and then at the local police station. Filipovic, an asthmatic, was detained for 5 hours and suffered an intense asthma attack but was forbidden to use his inhaler. In July police arrested an 11-year-old Romani boy and beat him on the palms and struck him with a nightstick during questioning; he later was released. On August 23, a police officer struck and threatened a 17-year-old Gorani boy in the open air market in central Belgrade. In late August, police beat a Rom, Dusan Jovanovic, reportedly because he touched their police car. In September police in Novi Sad broke the arm of a 14-year-old Roma boy and beat some of his friends. On October 2, Ljubomir Djurkovic, a diabetic, suffered violent blows while in police detention. On October 23, police abused three ethnic Albanians who were attempting to cross the Macedonian border, apparently smuggling cattle; they subsequently were released. In none of these cases has any reported legal action been taken against the police.

Incidents of police harassment against the ethnic Albanian population in southern Serbia, a serious problem in the past, decreased during the year; however, occasional incidents continued to occur. During the re-entry of the GSZ (see Section 1.a.), there were incidents of police abuse. On May 25, police vandalized ethnic Albanian homes in the village of Kurbalija. The Humanitarian Law Center reported that on October 26, a group of 20 policemen beat, kicked, and harassed three ethnic Albanians from Presovo. In both cases, the Government disciplined the police officers involved, and several dozen Serb police officers were dismissed. Nevertheless according to ethnic-Albanian groups, since May Albanians have felt increasingly safe from police interference. There is a conspicuous police and military presence on the streets of the major towns, in large part because of credible threats of violent acts by ethnic-Albanian separatists.

Defense lawyers and human rights workers complained of excessive delays by Serbian authorities in filing formal charges and opening investigations into incidents of police brutality. Investigations into many past abuses were slow and often not transparent. There were occasional reports of cases of assault by police officers that did not go to court due to intimidation of the victims by police. However, in one instance, in May the County Court in Nis found two Serbian policemen guilty of incitement to racial hatred for attacking Dragisa Ajdarevic, a Roma boy, and the policemen were sentenced to 6 months' imprisonment.

Local border guards facilitated trafficking in persons (see Section 6.f.).

Ethnic Albanian extremists also committed abuses. In March the UCPMB detained and allegedly abused four Serb civilians from Vranje and two VJ soldiers. The civilians were detained for 45 days.

On January 28, an unknown assailant shot and wounded the driver for State Security Chief Goran Petrovic. On February 16, unidentified assailants shot at the vehicle of Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic. Both shootings were interpreted as warnings from organized crime groups against police reform.

Prison conditions generally meet international standards; however, overcrowding remained a serious problem. The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, which visited prisons during the year, reported that, while conditions were not ideal, there has been an overall improvement since the prison riots that occurred in November 2000. The Government has improved living conditions and provides adequate food, medical care, and heating. Unlike in previous years, there were no reports of physical abuse, torture, or beatings of prisoners. Ethnic-Albanian political prisoners were housed in conditions similar to those of Serb prisoners; however, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) reported that there was at least one ethnic-Albanian prisoner who suffers from a medical problem not treatable in prison and that prison authorities have not been cooperative in arranging adequate medical care for him. Men and women are held separately, and conditions in women's prisons are the same as in men's prisons. Juveniles are held separately from adults. Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports of ethnic-Albanian minors being held in the country's prisons. Political prisoners are held in sections of regular prisons; for example, Albanian political prisoners were held in jails in Nis, Smederevo, Zrenjanin and other localities. Pretrial detainees are held separately from convicted prisoners.

The Government permitted visits by independent human rights monitors. In the beginning of the year, the Humanitarian Law Center obtained permission to visit all of the prisons in Serbia; in June the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia also obtained permission for such visits. By year's end, the Helsinki Committee had visited three prisons: the Belgrade Prison, the Krusevac facility for youthful offenders, and the penitentiary at Sremska Mitrovica. Helsinki Committee representatives were allowed to speak with prisoners without the presence of a prison warden.

d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

The Constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention; however, police at times arbitrarily arrested and detained citizens. Defense lawyers and human rights activists complained of excessive delays by authorities in filing formal charges against suspects and in opening investigations.

Federal statutes permit the police to detain criminal suspects without a warrant and to hold them incommunicado for up to 3 days without charging them or granting them access to an attorney. Serbian law separately provides for a 24-hour detention period. After this period, police must turn over a suspect to an investigative judge who may order a 30-day extension of detention and, under certain legal procedures, subsequent extensions of investigative detention for up to 6 months. Lawyers were able to visit detainees, and unlike in previous years under the Milosevic regime, judges allowed defense attorneys to read court files.

The police continued the practice of detaining citizens at times for "informative talks." For example, on May 29, state security agents detained and questioned NGO activist Milos Cvorovic about his contacts with Kosovo Albanians. On July 12, police detained Predrag Radojevic, a reporter from Valjevo for the newspaper Blic, and subjected him to an "informative talk" about his work as a journalist. Radojevic had written articles about the presence of the mafia in Valjevo in previous months. On August 14, police detained the editor-in-chief of Blic, Veselin Simonovic, following the publication of an article about the killing of Momir Gavrilovic, a state security agent (see Section 1.a.).

The Constitution prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use it during the year.

e. Denial of Fair Public Trial

The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary, and the independence of the judiciary improved during the year; however, Government officials and politicians exercised influence on the judiciary and judicial corruption remained a problem, although to a lesser extent than it had been under the former Milosevic government. In November the Government of the Republic of Serbia passed new laws reorganizing the Serbian judiciary to separate the judicial branch from undue executive branch influence.

The court system is made up of local, district, and Supreme Courts at the republic level, as well as a Federal Court and Federal Constitutional Court to which Republic Supreme Court decisions, depending on the subject, may be appealed. There also is a military court system. According to the Federal Constitution, the Federal Constitutional Court rules on the constitutionality of laws and regulations and relies on the republics' authorities to enforce its rulings. The Constitutional Court remained staffed by some judges appointed by Milosevic.

Since 1998, republic-level judges have not served for life and have been required to seek office periodically through elections. This process involves obtaining Justice Ministry approval for each judge's candidacy. In the past, local observers feared that this system in effect made judges functionaries of the Government, which easily could remove judges from the bench by refusing to approve judicial candidacies. However, the new laws on the judiciary establish an independent body to appoint judges and give the judicial branch decisive control over hiring assignments and discipline.

Many of the judges appointed under Milosevic remained in place. In the beginning of the year, Justice Minister Vladan Batic announced the "cleansing of the judiciary," which included dismissals of the Presidents of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts of Serbia and other senior judicial figures. On November 2, Minister Batic announced the dismissal of 128 judges and 69 magistrates on the grounds of general incompetence; of these, 58 were accused of involvement in electoral fraud, political trials, and the illegal expropriation of real estate. On November 15, the Government dismissed 21 magistrates, most of them from Belgrade, who had fined and convicted media representatives under the Milosevic regime, using the Public Information Act, which has since been repealed (see Section 2.a.).

Many legal scholars have expressed concern about the 1998 Act on Lawyers, which they believe restricts the freedom of lawyers and interferes with the independence of lawyers in their dealings with clients. This law remained in effect at year's end.

Under Federal law, defendants have the right to be present at their trials and to have an attorney represent them, at public expense if needed. The courts also must provide interpreters. Both the defense and the prosecution have the right to appeal a verdict. Defendants are presumed innocent.

The Federal Criminal Code of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia remained in force. Considerable confusion and room for potential abuse remained in the legal system because the 1990 Constitution of Serbia has not yet been brought into conformity with the 1992 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The Serbian Constitution, which is considered to be weak in human rights protections, remained in force.

Under Milosevic, the Government convicted in flawed trials and imprisoned approximately 1,900 ethnic Albanians, pursuing cases brought against them under the Yugoslav Criminal Code for jeopardizing the territorial integrity of the country or for conspiring or forming a group with intent to commit subversive activities (undermining the "constitutional order"). Most of the cases involved alleged violations under Article 136 of the Federal Penal Code related to "association to conduct enemy activity," or Article 125 concerning "terrorism." In February the Government passed an amnesty law that released most prisoners convicted under Article 136; however, the amnesty did not cover those imprisoned under Article 125. In December 173 persons remained in prison; of these, 90 were ethnic Albanian political prisoners. The remaining 83 were convicted of common crimes. During the year, most prisoners, including the 143-person Djakovica group, who were convicted in a mass trial in 1999, were released, either through appeal, amnesty, or, in some cases, completion of sentence. The 90 remaining alleged political prisoners from Kosovo were convicted in unfair trials under Article 125 and Article 136 during the Kosovo war. All of these cases require review, as the court procedures used in their trials and the charges brought against them under the Milosevic regime were highly suspect. One of the prisoners is severely mentally handicapped. According to the HLC, the remainder of the prisoners transferred to Serbian jails were common criminals convicted of crimes such as murder, rape, and armed robbery. In November the Governments of Yugoslavia and Serbia signed an agreement (Common Document) with the U.N. Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) that, among other things, made provisions for the review of all of these cases and for the transfer of Kosovar Albanian prisoners to Kosovo, where they would continue to serve their sentences if the evidence supports the original convictions. At the end of the year, the Serbian Government and UNMIK were in the process of finalizing the implementation of that agreement.

Ukshin Hoti, leader of UNIKOMB, a political party that advocated Kosovo's unification with Albania, was released from prison in May 1999 but reportedly disappeared after his release.

In May the Government granted amnesty to former members of the UCPMB on the condition that they not take up arms against the Government; by year's end many former UCPMB members had disarmed and had begun reintegrating into society.

f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence

The Constitution prohibits these practices; however, the Government at times infringed upon these rights. Federal law gives the Federal Ministry of the Interior control over the decision to monitor potential criminal activities; Republic-level laws give the Republic Ministries of the Interior the same control. Although there is no direct evidence, some observers believed that the authorities selectively monitored communications and eavesdropped on conversations, read mail and e-mail, and wiretapped telephones. Although illegal under provisions of Federal and Serbian law, the Federal post office also was believed to register and track suspicious mail from abroad.

The Federal Constitution includes restrictions on searches of persons and of premises; similarly under the Serbian Constitution, police must enter a premise with a warrant, or if no warrant is obtained, they may enter in order to "save people and property." Both the Federal and Republic Governments respected these provisions in practice.

In April the Government announced that it planned to open all secret files on persons to the public, but 1 week later a new decree declared that only files not marked "secret" would be released. Ivan Jankovic, a well-known human rights lawyer, managed to gain access to his file and found that it included no documents less than 10 years old.

A government law requiring military service was enforced only sporadically, and there were no forced conscriptions during the year. An amnesty law passed on February 26, has permitted the return of many persons who left the country to avoid military service during the recent conflicts.

Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

a. Freedom of Speech and the Press

Federal law provides for freedom of speech and of the press; however, police at times harassed journalists and the Government, in particular various political factions, continued to exercise influence over the media.

In October 2000, the Government abolished the Law on Public Information, which former President Milosevic used to silence the independent media during the Kosovo war. However, no law to replace it had been enacted by year's end. In August draft legislation was prepared by a team of experts (with international assistance), covering the media, frequencies and privatization, but the legislation remained under government consideration at year's end. The continuing lack of clear guidelines is perceived by some observers to constitute an inhibition on free expression. Media independence remained a problem. Political parties continued to compete for position and influence in the media. The media practiced self-censorship and was reluctant to report on crimes perpetrated during the wars in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo.

Libel remained a criminal offense. On March 2, Belgrade's First Municipal Court sentenced Politika reporter Radovan Pavlovic to 3 months imprisonment for libel against former VJ general Vlada Trifunovic; the sentence subsequently was suspended. On November 23, police investigators visited the editors-in-chief of Reporter and Blic and interrogated them about an article published by Reporter listing the names of Yugoslav and Serbian police officials that the ICTY was investigating. The police allegedly invoked two Milosevic-era laws in an attempt to pressure the journalists into divulging their sources.

Media outlets lack professionalism. After more than 1 year in power, the new Government still has no policy for dealing with media outlets that flourished during the Milosevic era, and these outlets have taken the views of various competing political parties.

Tanjug is the state-owned news agency. The Government also owns Borba, which controls one of the most important printing houses in the country, and publishes the dailies Borba, Sport, and Vecernje Novosti. The oldest nationwide daily, Politika, is run by several state-run companies and is influenced by the Government. The independent daily Danas and the weeklies Vreme and Nin supplement the high-circulation tabloids Blic and Glas Javnosti for readership.

Two major independent television stations, BK and TV Pink, which flourished during the Milosevic era, have regional coverage; their content is considered to be objective. These stations were given advantageous frequencies during the Milosevic era. The new Government has frozen allocation of frequencies, pending the adoption of a new law on frequency allocation that remained in draft form at year's end. As a result, the status quo continued and independent stations such as B92 were at a competitive disadvantage.

State-controlled Serbian Television and Radio (RTS) dominates television and radio. Aside from the three RTS channels, the state has considerable influence, although not formal control, of the major television stations: TV Politika, TV Novi Sad, and YU INFO, as well as Radio Belgrade's three stations. In 2000, immediately after the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition took control of RTS, coverage on the station has been biased in favor of selected politicians and their political parties. During the year, the station's coverage generally was objective, with some biases in favor of certain political parties. Management personnel can be politically influenced. These stations continued to dominate the electronic media because their broadcasting range is much greater than that of independent stations. Under the previous regime, some private media was controlled by Milosevic sympathizers, and during the Milosevic era the stations BK and TV Pink were aligned with the Socialist Left. These stations have some editorial biases, but BK is considered to be a respected news source. The independent media, ANEM (B92), MREZA and VIN networks provided reliable information for viewers. In April an Albanian-language radio station in Presevo began broadcasting; only music and pre-approved broadcasting were allowed under its license. The Government funds a Hungarian language newspaper and RTS provides some Hungarian language programming.

Police at times arbitrarily detained journalists for "informative talks" (see Section 1.d.).

On November 16, the Government confiscated the videotape that TV B92 journalists had shot of protests by the Red Berets, a special operations police unit who were protesting the extradition of 2 indicted war criminals (see Section 4). The authorities returned the tape undamaged to B92 later the same day. On November 16, the management of TV Novi Sad "strongly advised" an independent production house (and a regular contributor to its program) against running a program featuring the Red Beret strike; the production house did not run the program. On December 14, 13 policemen filed criminal libel charges against the editors-in-chief of Blic and Reporter because they had published a list of "suspects" who might be sought by the ICTY. In Pozarevac--the hometown of the Milosevic family--and Valjevo, local police chiefs have interfered with local reporters by calling them in for "informative talks" (see Section 1.d.).

In June unknown assailants killed journalist Milan Pantic. On February 22, unknown assailants attacked Glas Javnosti journalist Radovan Delibasic in Kursumlija. In December unknown assailants attacked Radio Belgrade 202 journalist Vojin Vojinovic, seriously injuring him. Vojinovic is a journalist on an entertainment program and not a member of a political party; Radio Belgrade 202 stated that it had received a threat prior to the attack on Vojinovic.

The Government did not restrict access to the Internet; however, there were reports that it selectively monitored e-mail correspondence (see Section 1.f.).

Academic freedom was respected; however, although it was not enforced, the 1998 Universities Law, which curtailed academic freedom under the Milosevic regime by allowing the Government to appoint rectors and governing boards and hire and fire deans of faculties, who could in turn hire and fire professors, remained in effect.

b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

Federal and republic level Constitutions provide for the freedoms of peaceful assembly and association, the Government generally respects these rights in practice. The Government requires private organizations to register; however, no problems with registration were reported.

In July groups of young men disrupted a gay rights parade in Belgrade and attacked gay activists, injuring dozens of persons. Some observers alleged that the police delayed their response to the incident; the Belgrade police chief claimed that he had not expected such violent antigay protesters.

c. Freedom of Religion

Federal and republic law provide for freedom of religion; and the Federal and Serbian Governments generally respected this right in practice. There is no state religion; however, the Serbian Orthodox Church received special treatment.

Religious groups are required to apply to the Federal Ministry for Religious Affairs in order to be recognized in the country. The Federal Ministry has denied recognition to the Montenegrin Orthodox Church as a religion on the basis that no Orthodox body has granted recognition to the organization. There were no other reports of applications that were denied during the year.

In April the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs banned the import of Jehovah's Witnesses' religious literature, stating that the literature would have a negative impact on children and youth.

In March the VJ announced its intention to introduce Serbian Orthodox chaplains into its military units. By year's end, the VJ had not yet decided whether Catholic priests and Muslim imams also would be represented in the Army Chaplaincy. According to the Keston Institute, some representatives of minority religious groups and NGO's expressed concern that by favoring the majority religion the VJ was not protecting equal religious rights for all soldiers.

Under a November 2000 government decree, religious instruction was introduced as an elective subject in primary and secondary schools during the 2001-02 school year. Students also were given the option of a secular course in "Values in a Civil Society." This decree had the support of the Serbian Orthodox, Muslim, Catholic, and Jewish religious communities, although some Protestant groups and human rights NGO's expressed concern over these plans, fearing that non-Orthodox children would be stigmatized. However, the vast majority of students have opted either to enroll in the secular course or not to sign up for either elective.

The Government has made no progress in the restitution of property that belonged to the Jewish community prior to World War II. The Orthodox and Catholic Churches have had similar difficulties with the restitution of their property confiscated by the Communist regime (1944-89).

The Government was preparing a new religion law during the year, and observers have expressed concern that the law is being drafted without public comment and consultation. However, government officials claim that the law still is in its early stages and that religious communities and the public will be consulted prior to its adoption.

d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

The Constitution provides for these rights, and the Government generally respects them in practice. Ethnic-Albanian residents of the former GSZ were free to travel with the same rights as other Yugoslav citizens. There were occasional complaints by Sandzak Muslims and ethnic Albanians of harassment at borders when re-entering the country, but to a much lesser degree than in the past.

Unlike in the previous year, conscientious objectors and persons who evaded the draft from April 27, 1992 to October 7, 2000 were able to travel freely without fear of arrest under a February amnesty law. Many have returned to the country.

The conflicts that have occurred in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo led to widespread displacement of persons. There were approximately 229,000 internally displaced persons (IDP's) from Kosovo, mainly Serbs, Roma, and Bosnians. Most Serb displaced persons from Kosovo are housed with host families or relatives; however, some remained in collective centers. A report by the U.S. Committee for Refugees describes collective centers for refugees as varying widely in quality and population density, ranging from "decent" to "dismal, drafty, and crowded." It is impossible to estimate unemployment figures among IDP's. Most families have moved three times or more in search of better schooling or employment opportunities. It is probable that many of them are employed either fully or part-time in informal sector enterprises, such as working in one of the many firms manufacturing clothes, furniture and other products.

During the year, several thousand ethnic Albanians fled villages in the GSZ in southern Serbia into Kosovo. Approximately 10,000 IDP's from Southern Serbia remained in Kosovo at year's end.

There are an estimated 40,000 to 45,000 displaced Roma living in the country. Roma faced a dilemma during the Kosovo conflict, as many Kosovo Roma were perceived as Serb collaborators. Living conditions for Roma in Serbia were, on the whole, extremely poor. Local municipalities often were reluctant to accommodate them, hoping that if they failed to provide shelter, the Roma would not remain in the community (see Section 5). If they did settle, it was most often in official collective centers with a minimum of amenities or, more often, in makeshift camps on the periphery of major cities or towns. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was in the process of identifying municipalities willing to cooperate in a program for resettling the Roma in more adequate living quarters.

The Constitution provides for the granting of asylee or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. The Government cooperates with the UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations assisting refugees; however, there were bureaucratic problems, including lack of competence, poor procedures, and the need to engage extremely senior officials to resolve relatively routine issues.

The Government provides first asylum. The UNHCR reported that at year's end there was a total of 376,834 refugees from the former Yugoslav republics of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, and Macedonia living in the country. During the year, several thousand ethnic-Albanian refugees crossed into Serbia, the fleeing conflict in Macedonia. Many were taken in by relatives.

There were no reports of the forced return of persons to a country where they feared persecution.

Under the previous government, many persons living in Serbia and Montenegro who were born in other parts of the former Yugoslavia were unable to establish citizenship in Yugoslavia. Refugees who applied for Yugoslav citizenship were forced to give up their Bosnian or Croatian citizenship to become eligible for Yugoslav citizenship. To address this problem, in February the Government amended the 1997 Citizenship Law to allow dual citizenship. Under the 1997 Citizenship Law, 123,000 persons classified as refugees under the 1992 Law on Refugees have been granted Yugoslav citizenship. However, many of those granted citizenship have retained their refugee cards instead of turning them in for Yugoslav identity cards, presumably in the belief that that the benefits of refugee status are greater than those they would receive as citizens.

The Government also signed a bilateral agreement with Bosnia and Herzegovina that permits Bosnian citizens to have dual nationality.

Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government

The Constitution provides citizens with the right to change their government peacefully; however, under the previous regime citizens could not exercise this right and they have not yet had an opportunity to exercise this right fully at the Federal level under the new Government, although elections took place at the Republic and municipal levels.

President Vojislav Kostunica came to power as President of Yugoslavia after mass demonstrations in early October by citizens protesting Slobodan Milosevic's attempts to manipulate the Federal Election Commission and Constitutional Court to force a second round of elections. Kostunica ran against Milosevic in the September 24, 2000 elections under the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition, an 18-party alliance. Milosevic banned international observers from monitoring the elections; the opposition reported election fraud in some areas, particularly in southern Serbia and the voting in Kosovo. Although the DOS claimed victory for Kostunica, the Yugoslav Federal Election Commission claimed that neither candidate had won an outright majority and called for a second ballot. This sparked citizen protests in Belgrade and a general strike in favor of the opposition beginning on October 2, 2000 which culminated in a mass demonstration on October 5, 2000 by half a million citizens calling for Milosevic to give up power. Kostunica declared himself President of Yugoslavia that night and 2 days later Milosevic conceded electoral defeat.

Following the elections of October 2000, the DOS formed a coalition government at the Federal level with Montenegro's Socialist People's Party (the SNP, formerly a pro-Milosevic party). The DOS coalition, under Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, also was elected in Serbia in December 2000 republic elections. Indicted war criminal Milan Milutinovic remained President of the Republic of Serbia. In August the Federal President Kostunica's political party (the Democratic Party of Serbia--DSS) announced the formation of a separate deputy group in the Serbian parliament. In practice this split the DOS coalition into two factions--the DSS and the remaining 17-party DOS alliance, dominated by Djindjic's Democratic Party--which, depending on the issue, at times voted differently in the Serbian Assembly.

On November 4, municipal elections were held in a number of municipalities in Serbia; the elections were judged by international observers to be free and fair. More than 80,000 Serbian IDP's from Kosovo cast absentee ballots in Serbia for the Kosovo election on November 17 that were judged by international monitors to be free and fair (see Kosovo annex).

The percentage of women in government and politics does not correspond to their percentage of the population, although there are no legal restrictions that hinder their participation. Women are active in political organizations; however, they only hold approximately 10 percent of ministerial-level and Parliamentary positions in the Serbian and Federal Governments.

The percentage of minorities in government and politics does not correspond to their percentage of the population, although there are no legal restrictions on their participation in political life. Ethnic Serbs and, to a certain extent, Montenegrins, dominate the country's political leadership. In Vojvodina, where the Hungarian minority constitutes about 15 percent of the population, many regional political offices are held by Hungarians. Jozsef Kasza, a Hungarian minority party leader, is Serbian Deputy Prime Minister. Few members of other ethnic groups are involved at the top levels of government or the state-run economy; however, Rasim Ljajic, a Sandzak Muslim leader, was appointed the Federal Minister for Minority Affairs in November 2000. Roma have the right to vote and there are two small Roma parties in Serbia. One of the four deputy mayors in Kragujevac is a Rom. Ethnic Albanians, who constitute a majority in certain southern Serbian border areas, are underrepresented at nearly every level of government.

Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights

A number of domestic and international human rights groups in general operate without government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases; however, there was one case of police intimidation of an NGO activist. Government officials were somewhat cooperative and responsive to their views; however, with the exception of the transfer of Slobodan Milosevic and a few other war criminals, the Government's cooperation with the ICTY decreased significantly during the year.

The Belgrade-based Humanitarian Law Center and the Center for Antiwar Action research human rights abuses throughout the country and, on occasion, elsewhere in the former Yugoslavia. The Belgrade-based Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia publishes studies on human rights issues and cooperates with the Pristina-based Helsinki Committee in monitoring human rights abuses in Kosovo. The Belgrade Center for Human Rights, the Yugoslav Lawyer's Committee for Human Rights, and the Leskovac Council for Human Rights were among the leading human rights groups in the country. In the Sandzak region, two committees monitor abuses against the local Muslim population and produce comprehensive reports. Most of these organizations offer advice and help to victims of abuse.

On May 29, in an "informative talk" (see Section 1.d.), the Serbian police interrogated Milos Cvorovic, an NGO activist, about his contacts with Kosovo Albanians.

Legislation that governed NGO's under Milosevic remained in effect. A draft law was circulating for comment which, if passed, would subject NGO's to greater scrutiny and some form of taxation; but it had not yet been introduced by year's end.

Along with Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, President Kostunica acts as an interlocutor with the ICTY in the Hague on issues of indictees and evidence located in Serbia that are related to crimes perpetrated during the wars of 1991-1999. In 1999 as a result of their actions in Kosovo, the ICTY formally indicted as war criminals former President Milosevic and four other senior officials, including Serbian President Milan Milutinovic, former Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic, former Chief of Staff of the Yugoslav Army Dragoljub Ojdanic, and former Serbian Minister of Internal Affairs Vlajko Stojiljkovic. On April 1, the Serbian Government arrested Slobodan Milosevic on corruption charges and detained him in Belgrade. Early in the year, President Kostunica argued that transfers of indictees to the Hague, including Milosevic, required the adoption of a law on cooperation with the ICTY; however, a draft law was blocked by the SNP, formerly a pro-Milosevic party. On June 23, the Federal Government adopted a cooperation decree; however, the Federal Constitutional Court, most of whose members were appointed by Milosevic, blocked the adoption of the decree and eventually ruled it unconstitutional in November. No law on cooperation with the ICTY had been signed by year's end. On June 27, the Government of the Republic of Serbia invoked a statute in the Serbian Constitution allowing it to act independently in the face of Federal rulings deemed harmful to Serbia. On June 28, the Serbian Government transferred Milosevic to the Netherlands and delivered him into ICTY custody. Yugoslav President Kostunica called the transfer "unconstitutional." At year's end, Milosevic remained in the Hague awaiting trial. Serbian authorities also have transferred three other indictees to ICTY custody, including Bosnian Serb Milomir Stakic on March 23, and Bosnian Serb brothers Nenad and Predrag Banovic on November 9. Serbian authorities also assisted in the voluntary surrender of two other indictees, Bosnian Serb Blagoje Simic, and former naval commander Miodrag Jokic, who was indicted for war crimes committed in Dubrovnik in 1991. However, at year's end, several indictees remained at liberty, and, in at least one case, still in an official position in Serbia. Indictees at liberty in Serbia included at least four senior Yugoslav and Serb officials charged with crimes against humanity for actions committed by troops under their command in Kosovo; three VJ officials indicted on charges relating to the destruction of Vukovar, and two military officers indicted for crimes committed in Dubrovnik.

In November the ICTY's chief prosecutor, Carla del Ponte, alleged that the VJ was protecting indicted war criminal Ratko Mladic, and claimed that indicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic lives in Serbia. The Government denied these claims. In June the Government turned over approximately 6,500 military and police documents to the ICTY documenting crimes against Serbs, mostly by ethnic Albanians during the Kosovo war; however, the Government has been uncooperative in requests for documents regarding crimes committed by Serbs against other ethnic groups, and in arranging interviews with official and nongovernmental witnesses. Del Ponte has stated that cooperation on access to documents and archives by the Government was "unacceptably slow."

In November a special operations unit of the Serbian Secret Police established under Milosevic known as the "Red Berets" protested the extradition of the Banovic brothers to the ICTY. Heavily armed members of the unit blocked the main road near Novi Sad, and another group blocked traffic in Belgrade for 10 hours. As a result of the protests, Prime Minister Djindjic announced that the unit will be moved from the secret police and will become an antiterrorism unit placed directly under Ministry of Interior control, and he accepted the resignations of two senior secret police officials, Goran Petrovic, and Zoran Mijatovic, for failing to intervene during the protests. Yugoslav President Kostunica made public statements supporting the Red Beret's demands for a special law on cooperation with the ICTY.

In May a 2-day international conference was held in Belgrade to address the issues of truth and reconciliation. Concurrently, President Kostunica appointed a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, along the lines of similar initiatives planned in Bosnia and in Croatia. One of its members, Professor Vojin Dimitrijevic, a prominent human rights activist, resigned from the Commission, expressing doubts that it will ever be a functioning body. Since the conference, the Commission has failed to establish a staff or a budget. It has not yet made any contribution to "truth and reconciliation."

Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Disability, Language, or Social Status

While Federal and Republic-level laws provide for equal rights for all citizens, regardless of ethnic group, religion, language, or social status, and prohibit discrimination against women; however, in practice the legal system provides little protection for such groups.

Women

Violence against women was a problem and traditionally high levels of domestic violence persisted. The few official agencies dedicated to coping with family violence have inadequate resources and were limited in their activity by social pressure to keep families together at all costs. The Criminal Code does not recognize spousal rape as a criminal offense; rape is defined as forced sexual intercourse between a man and a woman who are not married. Few victims of spousal abuse file complaints with the authorities. There is no trained police unit to provide protection or assistance to female victims of sexual or other violence. The Center for Autonomous Women's Rights in Belgrade offered a rape and spousal abuse hot line, and sponsored a number of self-help groups. The Center also offered assistance to refugee women (mostly Serb), many of whom experienced extreme abuse or rape during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.

The country served as a transit country, and to a lesser extent a country of origin and a destination country, for trafficking in women for the purpose of sexual exploitation (see Section 6.f.).

Women do not enjoy social status equal to that of men, and relatively few women have obtained upper level management positions in commerce. Traditional patriarchal ideas of gender roles, especially in rural areas, hold that women should be subservient to the male members of their family, and subject women to discrimination in many homes. In some more remote rural areas, particularly among minority communities, women effectively lack the ability to exercise their right to control property and have custody of their children. Women legally are entitled to equal pay for equal work; however, according to the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, women's average wage is 11 percent lower than the average wage of men. Women are granted maternity leave for 1 year, with an additional 6 months available. In urban areas such as Belgrade and Novi Sad, women are represented widely in many professions including law and medicine. Women are also active in political and human rights organizations.

Children

The Government attempts to meet the health and educational needs of children. The educational system provides 8 years of free, mandatory schooling. However, economic distress has affected children adversely in both the education and health care systems, particularly Romani children, who rarely attend kindergartens. Few Romani children attend primary schools, either for family reasons, because they are judged to be unqualified, or because of societal prejudice. Due to this lack of primary schooling, many Romani children do not learn to speak Serbian, and there is no instruction available in the Romani language. Some Romani children with learning problems or poor language skills reportedly are placed in schools for children with learning disabilities.

Traditionally there has been no societal pattern of abuse of children; reportedly there has been an increase in the incidence of child abuse.

The country was a transit country and, to a lesser extent, a country of origin and destination country for trafficking in girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation (see Section 6.f.).

Persons with Disabilities

The law prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, education, or in the provision of other state services; however, in practice facilities for persons with disabilities--mental and physical--were inadequate and the Government did not make any efforts during the year to address the problem. The law mandates access for persons with disabilities to new official buildings, and the Government enforced these provisions in practice.

Religious Minorities

The attitudes of ethnic groups in the region historically have been influenced strongly by religion, and most instances of ethnic discrimination have at least some religious roots. There were some instances of societal discrimination against, harassment of, and, to a lesser extent, violence towards religious minorities, including Jews, members of Jehovah's Witnesses, and some Protestant groups. Members of the Jewish community charged that the "Palma" television station has aired programs with guests who openly expressed anti-Semitic ideas. For example, Dragos Kalajic, a Serb nationalist, spoke of the "Jewish conspiracy" on one program. Incidents of societal harassment of the Catholic minority in Vojvodina, largely consisting of ethnic Hungarians and Croats, continued to be reported.

Early in the year, there were reports of anti-Semitic leaflets circulated in Kikinda. On February 1, Muslim and Jewish cemeteries in Zrenjanin and in Belgrade were vandalized and a synagogue was painted with Nazi swastikas. The incident was reported to the police but the perpetrators were not found. On February 13 and 14, stickers with swastikas and anti-Semitic messages were placed on the entrance of the Jewish Community Center of Belgrade, on the gate of the synagogue, and on the fence of the Jewish cemetery. Jewish community members believe that the perpetrators were members of a radical nationalist group. On April 1, unknown vandals broke the windows of an evangelical church in Subotica, Vojvodina. On April 9, unknown assailants stoned the Jehovah's Witnesses' church in Vrbas. On April 18, unknown vandals stoned the Baptist Church in Novi Sad.

On May 8, in Subotica, Vojvodina, unknown assailants attacked and beat a Jewish community leader for the second time (a similar attack had occurred 3 weeks earlier). The victim was a lawyer who represented opposition members under the Milosevic government.

On October 19, unknown persons threw stones at the home of an Adventist pastor in Cacak. On October 22, three youths vandalized the home of and threatened a Pentecostal pastor in Backa Palanka, Vojvodina. Also in October, a group of youths vandalized with graffiti an Adventist church in Backa Palanka.

National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Ethnic-Albanian leaders in the cities of Presevo, Bujanovac, and Medvedja in southeastern Serbia complained of discrimination by Serbian authorities. Very few ethnic Albanians are employed by municipal governments in the region. However, during the year, the Serbian authorities began to accept credentials issued in Kosovo for ethnic-Albanians who completed their education in the previously unrecognized parallel education system, but the process was very time-consuming. There are relatively few ethnic Albanians employed by municipal governments, although their numbers were increasing.

There was some societal violence against the ethnic-Albanian community. For example, in Sremska Mitrovica, a group of seven local youths beat ethnic Albanians Asan Darti and his son Bekim. On March 19, three men from Beocin beat an ethnic-Albanian man and damaged property in his pastry shop.

Relations between Serb and ethnic-Albanian communities, particularly in southern Serbia, are marked by mutual suspicion and mistrust; however, communication and cooperation were improving by year's end. A new multiethnic police force, made up of ethnic Albanians and Serbs began to be trained during the year, and the first of three groups of officers, composed of 63 Albanians and 37 Serbs, entered into service in southern Serbia in the fall. This multiethnic police force has wide approval in the Albanian community. Ethnic Albanians continued to express concerns about 163 policemen in the area who they claim served in Kosovo during the war; however, there were no reports of abuses by these officers.

There were incidents of official discrimination against the Romani population, and skinheads and police occasionally violently attacked Roma (see Section 1.c.). There also was societal violence against Roma. The European Roma Rights Center reported that on January 6, a Serb attacked and shot at a group of boys, believing that they were Roma. On February 2, unknown assailants beat a Roma boy, Cuci Nikolic, and put him in a makeshift jail. On March 1, a group of skinheads attacked a group of Roma in Belgrade with baseball bats, sticks and rocks. In June a Roma judge in Stara Pazova in Vojvodina received death threats and a swastika was drawn on the walls of his home. Also in June, two men attacked two Roma from Leskovac with a gun, hitting them in the head with it. On October 4, local youths broke into a night school in Belgrade and beat several Roma students. In November in Belgrade, local youths punched and threatened two Romani boys, aged 7 and 11. According to the HLC, police officers in the Zvezdara municipality station refused to take any action against the assailants and told the Romani family that the children had "asked for it."

Societal discrimination against Roma was widespread. For example, in Sabac, in western Serbia, Roma were barred from using a municipal swimming pool that is owned by the president of the local branch of the Serbian Radical Party. In July in Surdulica, unknown vandals wrote swastikas and slurs against Roma on buildings in the town. On October 10, a group of men threw stones at Romani houses, breaking some windows, in the Cukaricka Padina settlement in Belgrade. Local authorities often ignore or condone societal intimidation of the Romani community.

Bosniak Muslims in the Sandzak region alleged discrimination in housing, employment, health care, commerce, and education.

Unlike the previous year, there were no confirmed reports of violence against ethnic Hungarians in Vojvodina during the year; however, there were many instances of verbal abuse directed towards ethnic Hungarians in public places. For example, in March slogans such as "Out with Hungarians!" appeared in towns in Vojvodina. Hungarians enjoy considerable autonomy. In eight majority-Hungarian municipalities, all of the police chiefs are ethnic Hungarians. The Hungarian language is taught in schools. The Federal Ministry of National and Ethnic Communities has proposed a new curriculum, that would include studies on Hungarian art, history and music.

One NGO blamed the influence of a newly created nationalist group called OBRAZ for the recent increase in incidents affecting minorities, especially Roma, Jews, and Albanians.

A draft law on National Minorities, approved by the Council of Europe, was before a parliamentary committee at year's end and was scheduled to pass in 2002. The law would give significant legal protections to minorities equal to those received in other European countries.

Section 6 Worker Rights

a. The Right of Association

The law provides for the right of association and all workers except military and police personnel have the legal right to join or form unions. There were approximately 1.5 million employees in the socially-owned state sector and 300,000 persons in privately-owned companies. An additional 500,000 persons work in the unofficial economy and are not registered employees. In the socially-owned state sector, 60 to 70 percent of workers belong to unions. In the private sector, only 4 percent are unionized and in agriculture, 2 to 3 percent. The Alliance of Independent Labor Unions (Samostalni Sindikati, or SSS), formally affiliated with the Socialist Party of Serbia, whose President remained Slobodan Milosevic, claims 1.8 million members, although this number is estimated to be closer to 800,000 in practice. The largest independent union is the United Branch Independent Labor Unions (Nezavisnost), which has approximately 600,000 members. The third largest union is the Association of Free and Independent Trade Unions (AFITU), which has approximately 60,000 to 70,000 members. Most other independent unions are sector specific, and have approximately 130,000 members. Due to the poor state of the economy, one-third of union workers, or 600,000 persons, were on long-term mandatory leave from their firms pending improvement of the economy. The largely splintered approach of the independent unions has resulted in few achievements in terms of increased wages or improved working conditions.

The law provides for the right to strike; however, the Law on Strikes restricts the right for employees in "essential service production enterprises," such as education, electric power, and postal services, and these employees must announce their strikes at least 15 days ahead and must ensure that a "minimum level of work" is provided. This law covered approximately 50 percent of all employees. The independent unions, while active in recruiting new members, have not reached the size needed to mount countrywide strikes; however, unions held several strikes during the year. On May 14, workers at the Bor mine went on strike for higher wages; on October 11, the strike was settled peacefully and the workers returned to work. In June taxis blocked roads throughout the country to protest the Government's policy on taxi drivers. Agricultural workers held strikes as well. Public workers, including teachers, health workers, students, and policemen, held strikes during the year. These strikes were for job security, higher pay and the regular payment of wages. The ICN Galenika Pharmaceutical Company has also been the focus of strike activity. The Alliance of Serb Labor Unions was due to schedule a general strike if the Serbian Government refused to withdraw its draft labor bill, which gave management greater power to hire and fire employees; however, ultimately they reached a compromise and the labor bill passed with some amendments proposed by the unions. A Vojvodina political leader threatened to call strikes all over Vojvodina to prevent privatization. In general job security fears, which stem from the high rate of unemployment, limited workers' willingness to strike.

In December a Serbian Government labor law that had been approved by the International Labor Organization (ILO) entered into force. The new law significantly differed from the previous Socialist law by giving more power to employers and diminishing the rights of employees. For example, the law makes it easier for management to fire workers; collective bargaining is obligatory, but signing a collective agreement is not obligatory--employees may sign individual work contracts; and public job announcements are no longer obligatory. On October 16, the SSS held a small general strike to prevent the adoption of the labor law; as a result the Serbian government negotiated with the unions and accepted proposed amendments that were incorporated into the labor law.

Unlike in the previous year, the law governing trade union registration no longer enables employers to block registration by declining to certify that the union delegate is a full-time employee, effectively preventing unions from opening bank accounts. However, the confirmation of registration remained a slow process.

Unlike the previous year, security forces did not disrupt any strikes or arrest union leaders.

Unions can affiliate internationally; however, only Nezavisnost is recognized by the international community as completely independent from the Government. Nezavisnost is a member of the ICFTU and other international unions.

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

The labor law passed and implemented in December does not make the signing of collective agreements mandatory for employers, although it is allowed. Unions complained that without this provision, their role in the system would be diminished. A union must have 15 percent of employees as members in order to be eligible to negotiate with an employer, or 10 percent of all employees in order to negotiate with the Serbian Government or the local government.

Collective bargaining remained at a rudimentary level of development. Individual unions continued to be very narrow in their aims and were unable to join with unions in other sectors to bargain for common purposes. The history of trade unionism in the country has centered not on bargaining for the collective needs of all workers but rather for the specific needs of a given group of workers. Thus, coal workers, teachers, health workers, and electric power industry employees have been ineffective in finding common denominators (for example, job security protection, minimum safety standards, universal workers' benefits, etc.) on which to negotiate. The overall result is a highly fragmented labor structure composed of workers who relate to the needs of their individual union but rarely to those of other workers.

There are no export processing zones.

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

The law prohibits forced and bonded labor; however, trafficking in women was a problem (see Section 6.f.).

The law prohibits forced and bonded labor by children; however, trafficking in children was a problem (see Section 6.f.).

d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment

The minimum age for employment is 16 years, although in villages and farming communities it is common to find younger children at work assisting their families. Children also may be found in a variety of unofficial "retail" jobs, typically washing car windows or selling small items such as cigarettes or newspapers. In recent years, this type of labor has been less widespread because adults, lacking other options for employment, have taken many of these jobs. The unemployment rate throughout Serbia is approximately 30 percent, but there are pockets, particularly in areas with large refugee populations or where industries have closed, where unemployment is much higher.

The law prohibits forced and bonded labor by children; however, trafficking in children was a problem (see Section 6.f.).

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

Large government enterprises, including all the major banks, and industrial and trading companies generally observe minimum wage standard. The monthly minimum wage is approximately $15 (900 dinars); however, this figure is roughly comparable to unemployment benefits and (at least theoretically) is paid to workers who have been placed in a mandatory leave status. The actual minimum wage is at the low end of the range of average net salaries, which are $50 (3,000 dinars) per month. The minimum wage is insufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. For example, the cost of food and utilities for a family of four is estimated to be $120 (7,200 dinars) per month. Private enterprises use the minimum wage as a guide but tend to pay slightly higher average wages.

Reports of sweatshops operating in the country were rare, although some privately owned textile factories operated under very poor conditions. In certain areas of the country, such as the Sandzak and the town of Cacak, there were many prosperous small businesses dealing in unlicensed items for export. For example, one furniture manufacturer employs 800 workers but, aside from their salaries, the factory workers receive no other benefits. The official workweek, listed as 40 hours, is not respected because of massive underemployment and unemployment.

Neither employers nor employees tended to give high priority to the enforcement of established occupational safety and health regulations, focusing their efforts instead on economic survival. Because of the competition for employment and the high degree of government control over the economy, workers are not free to leave hazardous work situations without risking the loss of their employment.

f. Trafficking in Persons

The law does not prohibit trafficking in persons specifically, although there are other laws that could be used to prosecute traffickers and trafficking was a problem. Serbia is a transit, and to a lesser extent, a country of origin, and a destination country for women and girls trafficked to other parts of Europe for sexual exploitation. Local border officials facilitated trafficking.

The country is a transit and destination point for women trafficked from Eastern Europe, especially Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia. According to an International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights report, women often were trafficked to Belgrade, and then taken to other parts of Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, and other Western European countries, often for sexual exploitation. Yugoslavia also was a country of origin for women trafficked to Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Germany, and the Netherlands. For example, in the area around Nis in eastern Serbia, an NGO reported that some local women had been trafficked. The central point in Serbia for the transit trade is Belgrade, where organized crime is most entrenched. There were reports by the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights that Roma women and children also were trafficked to Italy, where women and girls were required to work in the sex industry and the boys were required to beg and steal.

Women often were recruited to work abroad through advertisements for escort services and waitresses, and through personal advertisements for marriage offers or "lonely hearts" columns. Many who responded to such advertisements were sexually exploited. Federal legislation allows escort agencies to be registered and to advertise; many of these agencies were involved in trafficking. Trafficking was controlled by organized crime groups.

Local border officials were complicit in trafficking, and accepted bribes routinely to permit groups of women into the country.

In Serbia no specific law prohibits trafficking; however, the criminal code prohibits the "illegal transport of others" across borders for "lucrative purposes." It also prohibits the recruiting, inducing, inciting, or luring of females into prostitution. Penalties range from 3 months to 5 years in prison and the confiscation of property, and 10 years if the victim is underage. There were no reports of individuals prosecuted for trafficking.

During the year the authorities began to take action against trafficking. Within the Federal and Serbian governments, there are four working groups on victims' protection, prevention, data collection and law enforcement (which includes a member from the Serbian Interior Ministry) that are staffed by the Government and coordinated by OSCE. An awareness program called "Open Your Eyes" sponsored by foreign governments was aired by B92 TV in December. With donor assistance, the Government established a regional program for education and awareness of the problem, targeting border guards.

The Government does not provide any services for victims. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) assisted trafficked victims, and returned approximately 100 women to their countries of origin. A very small number of local NGO's dealt with trafficking. Although the issue received some media attention during the year, public awareness of the problem was low.