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 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.

Victim Assistance

As of March 2017, Serbia reported a total of 1,123 survivors (790 men and 333 women) with disabilities.[1]

Victim assistance since 2015

The working group on victim assistance met two or three times since it officially launched in February 2015.[2]

No survivor needs assessments were conducted since 2012 at the national level, although organizations of veterans and civilian war victims continued to collect information on the needs of their members at the local level.[3]

Victim assistance in 2016

Numerous local survivor associations exist to provide peer support and advocate for members’ rights, though they have limited financial resources or none at all. Since 2010, Assistance Advocacy Access Serbia (AAAS) has worked with local survivor associations to strengthen their capacity to carry out national advocacy and work for improved victim assistance.

Few changes were identified in the availability of or access to services and programs by mine/ERW survivors in 2016.[4]

Assessing victim assistance needs

The new Working Group on Victim Assistance headed by the MLEVSA was working to consolidate information into a single database of mine/ERW survivors.[5] However, no progress was made with regards to the database by March 2017.[6] 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.[7] 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).[8]

Victim assistance coordination

The working group on victim assistance 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.[9]

The working group’s tasks included enhancing the legislative framework for the protection 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.[10] 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 October 2017.[11]

During 2016, the MLEVSA, as the victim assistance focal point, consulted with associations of mine survivors to share information about working group discussions.[12]

Serbia did not provide an update on progress and challenges in implementing victim assistance at the Convention on Cluster Munitions Meeting of States Parties in September 2016, at the Fifteenth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in December 2016, or at the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings in June 2017. Serbia submitted its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for calendar year 2016, which includes information on victim assistance.[13]

Survivor inclusion and participation

In 2016, survivors and survivor groups did not participate in meetings of the working group on victim assistance. The group planned to include survivors in upcoming meetings.[14] Previously, survivor organizations were represented in consultations with the MLEVSA on the establishment of the victim assistance working group.[15]

Survivor groups worked with local authorities to promote local accessibility and other action plans, including enabling local disabled sports associations.[16]

The MLEVSA launches a call for proposals for all NGOs working on the rights of survivors twice yearly. In 2016, priority was given to projects which aimed to improve the social inclusion of survivors through community-based initiatives.[17]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities

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.[18] No changes were identified in the quality or availability of medical care in 2016 and through April 2017. 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.[19] Only basic services were available through local health centers.[20]

Physical rehabilitation

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 imported the items needed. These items had to be paid for by the survivors, who used their disability pensions to cover the costs.[21] 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.[22]

Survivor associations were concerned at 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.[23]

In 2016, the MLEVSA allocated Xeno power wheelchairs, enabling an upright position, to six patients.[24]

Psychological support and social inclusion

Professional psychological support through the public health sector was insufficient.[25] Several local survivor associations continued to provide psychological and peer support to mine victims and family members.

Inclusive sports continued in 2016. AAAS and the Sports Association for Persons with Disabilities (SSOSIK) developed sports for persons with disabilities at the local level. In 2017, sports for persons with disabilities were taught in two state faculties for sports and physical education in Serbia.[26]

A creative space for survivors and other artists was founded in 2015 by the Association of Disabled Veterans of War and Peace, however it struggled to maintain funding in 2016.[27]

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,[28] however, bureaucratic procedures prevented some survivors from accessing these benefits.[29] Moreover, the national ombudsman reported that the Law on the Rights of Civilian Invalids of War sets a series of conditions that de facto exclude almost 90% of the victims.[30]

Unemployment and discrimination in hiring remained a serious problem for persons with disabilities.[31]

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).[32]

The Law on the Protection of Veterans with Disabilities was submitted to parliament, but the process of adoption remained pending due to presidential elections in April 2017, after it was initially delayed when a general election was called in December 2015.[33] Survivors had participated in drafting the law and provided input on the draft law in 2014.[34]

In 2016, 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 reported that access to services remained difficult.[35] Persons with disabilities continued to face stigmatization and segregation in 2016.[36] Persons with disabilities continued to suffer from discrimination and high levels of unemployment. They had little access to education and other basic services.[37]

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.[38] A rulebook regulates the accessibility of healthcare facilities.[39]

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.[40] A rulebook on sign language to fill this gap was adopted in 2017.[41] A decision on the standardization of the parking card for persons with disabilities was adopted on 2 March 2017, which aligns with the standards of the European Union.[42]

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.[43] The Proposal of the Strategy for Improvement of the Position of Persons with Disability in the Republic of Serbia by 2024 was drafted and awaiting the opinion of the European Commission as of March 2017.[44] Throughout 2016, civilian war victims and other persons with disabilities continued to have less access to assistance as compared with military victims.[45]

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, therefore military victims from those conflicts are unable to obtain necessary records to receive pensions and other services.[46]

Under the law on the rights of civilians disabled in war, family members are entitled to monthly cash income if, prior to the death of the survivor, they had shared the same household.[47] Widows are entitled to financial assistance with burial, but many do not know their rights.[48]