Action points based on findings

• Support the efforts of the Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veteran’s and Social Affairs (MLEVSA) to lead the working group on victim assistance empowered to develop and implement a plan to improve access to assistance for mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) survivors.
• Pass and begin to implement adequate legislation on the protection of civilian war victims and veterans with disabilities.
• Simplify the bureaucratic procedures that prevent mine/ERW survivors from accessing benefits to which they are entitled.

Victim assistance commitments

The Republic of Serbia is responsible for significant numbers of landmine survivors, cluster munition victims, and survivors of other ERW who are in need. Serbia has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty.

Casualties Overview

In 2015, six ERW casualties were reported by the Ministry of Interior.[1] This represented a decrease from the 11 casualties reported in 2014, injured by ERW or victim-activated improvised explosive devices (IEDs).[2]

The last confirmed landmine casualties in Serbia were reported in 2005. Annual mine/ERW casualty figures have declined in recent years, following a peak in 1999 and 2000.[3]

The total number of mine/ERW casualties in Serbia is not known. In 2004, 1,360 casualties (24 killed; 1,336 injured) were reported between 1992 and 2000 by Serbia and Montenegro.[4]

Cluster munition casualties

On 23 August 2016, a deminer was injured in a clearance accident with an unexploded submunition on Mount Kapoanik, close to a popular ski resort. The most recent previous casualties due to unexploded submunitions occurred near the same spot in 2012, when two clearance accidents killed three deminers.[5]

At least 78 casualties occurred during NATO cluster munitions attacks on Serbia. A further 19 casualties were caused by unexploded submunitions between 1999 and 2013. Cluster munitions are estimated to have caused more than 100 unreported casualties in Serbia during strikes on Nis. In addition, unexploded submunitions are known to have caused casualties in several regions that were not reported to the authorities.[6] A survey by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) identified 191 cluster munitions casualties (31 killed; 160 injured) for the period between 1999 and 2008, but details were not provided and the report did not differentiate between casualties during strikes and those caused by unexploded submunitions.[7]

Victim Assistance

The total number of survivors in Serbia is not known, but it has been estimated to be between 1,300 and 8,000.[8] As of June 2014, Serbia reported a total of 1,316 civilian (921 men and 395 women) war victims with disabilities; it was not known how many were victims of landmines and ERW versus other conflict-related causes.[9] In 2013, Serbia had reported a total of 2,198 civilian war victims with disabilities registered with the government.[10]

Victim assistance during the Cartagena Action Plan 2010–2014

Numerous local survivor associations exist to provide peer support and advocate for members’ rights, though they have limited financial resources or none at all. For several years, the local association of survivors, Goodwill (Dobra Volja), provided psychosocial support and other services until its closure in 2009 due to a lack of both funds and state support. Since 2010, Assistance Advocacy Access Serbia (AAAS) worked with local survivor associations to strengthen their capacity to carry out national advocacy and work for improved victim assistance.

AAAS, the national survivors’ association founded in 2010, completed a national survivor needs assessment in 2012. In late 2011, Serbia announced plans to begin developing a national victim assistance plan, though work on this was stalled throughout much of 2012; efforts to coordinate resumed at the end of 2013. Also in 2013, the National Association of Veterans with Disabilities of War and Peace (URMVI) convened a cross-sectoral national meeting to discuss challenges in the area of prosthetics and orthopedics that developed a set of recommendations.[11] In 2012, Serbia changed its government focal point for victim assistance from the Special Hospital of Rehabilitation (SHROP) to the Sector for Protection of Veterans with Disabilities within the MLEVSA. This marked an important shift, from a medical focus for victim assistance to a social approach. However, attention on national elections in 2013 stalled progress in improving coordination for much of that year. In December 2013, the MLEVSA began establishing a working group on victim assistance.

Victim assistance in 2015

A working group on victim assistance officially launched in February 2015. Few changes were identified in the availability of or access to services and programs by mine/ERW survivors in 2015.

Assessing victim assistance needs

The new Working Group on Victim Assistance headed by the MLEVSA is working to consolidate information into a single database of mine/ERW survivors.[12] Data is disaggregated by sex and civilian versus military veteran status, but work had not yet been completed to disaggregate by the cause of the disability.[13] The MLEVSA also plan to establish a regularly updated database of persons with disabilities to improve regulations on assistive devices. However, the database would be limited to information on members of disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs).[14]

Victim assistance coordination

The first meeting of the working group on victim assistance was held on 29 May 2015. The working group also met during the summer of 2015 and at the end of October 2015.[15] The MLEVSA had begun the process of establishing the working group in December 2013. The group includes representatives of the MLEVSA (Department for Protection of Veterans and the Disabled; Department for Protection of Persons with Disabilities; Employment Sector; Department for Gender Equality); the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Arms Control and Military Cooperation Section; International Humanitarian Law Commission); the Ministry of Health (Public Health Institute); Ministry of Defense (Military Medical Academy); Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development (Inclusive Education); and the Mine Action Center of the Republic of Serbia.[16] The working group’s objectives include monitoring progress in providing assistance to victims within broader national plans and legal frameworks.to support the action in the areas of health, rehabilitation, social services, education, employment, and gender equality.[17]

In 2015, the working group’s tasks included enhancing legislative protections and welfare status of mine victims, mapping existing services, and monitoring progress and alignment of national legislation regarding the rights and needs of mine victims with national and international law. To assist in service provision, the working group decided to create a central database for data on mine victims and other civilians injured during armed conflict.[18] The development of a national victim assistance plan is another objective of the working group. No progress on the creation of a specific victim-assistance plan had been reported by mid-2016.[19]

During 2015, the MLEVSA, as the victim assistance focal point, consulted with associations of mine survivors to share information about working group discussions.[20]

The working group requested that the body responsible for drafting Serbia’s National Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 include support to women mine victims in the section of the national action plan for 2016–2020, entitled “Provision of Support to Victims of Armed Conflict.”[21]

Serbia reported on progress and challenges in responding to the needs of mine/ERW victims at the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings in June 2015 and at the Fourteenth Meeting of States Parties in December 2015. Serbia also requested opportunities for exchanges of experiences and best practices in this area with other states.[22] Serbia did not include an update on victim assistance in its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for calendar year 2014; the most recent Article 7 report to report on victim assistance was 2012.[23] As of 1 December 2016, Serbia had not yet submitted its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for calendar year 2015.

Survivor inclusion and participation

Survivors participated in drafting the Law on the Protection of Veterans with Disabilities and provided input on the draft law in 2014.[24] Public hearings and discussions were organized in regional centers of Belgrade, Krgujevac, Nis, and Novi Sad, with the involvement of all relevant associations, veterans’ organizations, organizations of civilian war victims, NGOs, and individuals.[25] The law was submitted to parliament, but the process of adoption was delayed when an election was called in December 2015.[26]

In 2015, survivors and survivor groups did not participate in meetings of the working group on victim assistance.[27] However, previously survivor organizations were represented in consultations with MLEVSA on the establishment of the victim assistance working group.[28]

Survivor groups worked with local authorities to promote local accessibility and other action plans, including enabling local disabled sports associations.[29]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[30]

Medical care

All civilian victims of armed conflict in Serbia, including mine/ERW survivors, are entitled to healthcare and financial benefits related to the provision of healthcare.[31] No changes were identified in the quality or availability of medical care in 2015. Survivor associations continued to report that available care was insufficient to meet the needs of survivors, citing bureaucracy as a major obstacle to accessing care, especially specialized services.[32] Only basic services were available through local health centers.[33]

Physical rehabilitation

In 2015, the government-run SHROP was open to provide services to all eligible persons, including civilian mine survivors. Previously access to SHROP by non-military beneficiaries had been limited.[34]

Prosthetics and aids were no longer produced nationally and had to be imported. Items considered non-life saving, such as orthopedic eyes, shoes, or crutches, had to be purchased through private companies, which then imports the items needed. These items had to be paid for by the survivors, who used their disability pensions to cover the costs.[35] Physical rehabilitation was designated to a specific number of days corresponding to assessed status; for example, a person assessed at 70% registered disability status would be eligible for 21 days of rehabilitation.[36]

Survivor associations were concerned that the burden of processes required for proving eligibility to receive services guaranteed by law. Upon making an application or a claim for a service such as new tires for a wheelchair, the survivor has to wait to be invited to meet with the medical commission to receive approval for the service or item.[37]

Psychological support and social inclusion

Survivor associations found professional psychological support through the public health sector to be completely insufficient, reporting several cases of untreated psychological illness that ended in suicide.[38] Several local survivor associations continued to provide psychological and peer support to mine victims and family members through home visits and group therapy.[39]

A creative space for survivors and other artists was founded by the Association of Disabled Veterans of War and Peace in 2015, but struggled to maintain funding.[40] Inclusive sports continued in 2015.

Serbia lacks clear regulating procedures to ensure that persons with disabilities were able to access inclusive education, and barriers to such access included a lack of teacher training, a lack of appropriate education materials, uncooperative school administrators, and discrimination from other parents.[41]

In 2015, the Office of the Commissioner for Protection of Equality continued to raise awareness and promote mechanisms for protection against discrimination against person with disabilities and other marginalized communities. The European Commission (EC) reported that the social inclusion of persons with disabilities required significant improvement. The EC also noted a need for community based services for persons with disabilities.[42]

Economic inclusion

All registered civilian war victims, including mine/ERW survivors are entitled to a monthly pension based on the medically assessed degree of their disability as well as subsidized transportation,[43] however, bureaucratic procedures prevented some survivors from accessing these benefits.[44]

Unemployment and discrimination in hiring remained a serious problem for persons with disabilities.[45] In early 2014, the national ombudsman found that the Minister for Labor, Employment, Veterans, and Social Affairs (MLEVSA) had failed to implement official policies to stimulate professional rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities.[46] In 2015, it was reported that persons with disabilities continued to suffer from discrimination and high levels of unemployment.[47] The EC reported that ensuring reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities remained a challenge in 2015.[48]

Laws and policies

Serbia has a Strategy for the Prevention and Protection from Discrimination (2013–2018) and an action plan including the protection of persons with disabilities (2014).[49]

Some progress in the implementation of accessibility regulations was reported. Public entities, private companies, and local administrations were reported to have shown more interest in applying the national accessibility standards.[50]

Article 12 of the Law on Public Information and Media guarantees access to information and communications, however access to information was difficult for survivors with visual impairments and other sensory impairments. A law on sign language was adopted in March 2015; however, interpretation services were not sufficient to meet the need.[51]

Serbia’s Strategy for Promoting the Equal Status of Persons with Disabilities (2007–2015) recognized the equal rights of all persons with disabilities, including all victims of armed conflict.[52] A new updated strategy was being prepared with public consultations scheduled for late 2016.[53] Throughout 2015, civilian war victims and other persons with disabilities continued to have less access to assistance as compared with military victims.

Survivors in Serbia are subject to different policies based on the policies at the time of their incident. As former policies are reviewed some survivors’ disability status may be changed. Survivor groups face difficulties in accessing information in order to make claims and to respond to status reviews. In addition, some conflicts are not recognized and therefore military victims from those conflicts are unable to obtain necessary records to receive pensions and other services.[54]

The contribution of family caregivers was not recognized by law and benefits were not transferred to the caregiver in case of the death of a survivor. Therefore, indirect victims, family members who spent years caring for war-injured persons, did not receive any pensions or benefits if their family member passed away. Widows are entitled to financial assistance with burial, but many do not know their rights.[55]

Persons with disabilities continued to face stigmatization and segregation in 2015.[56] Persons with disabilities continue to suffer from discrimination and high levels of unemployment, with the Deputy Ombudsman for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities reporting in December 2015 that the situation remains very difficult.[57]