Serbia

ODIHR recognizes Serbia's efforts to regularly report hate crime data to ODIHR and build the capacity of prosecutors to address hate crime. However, based on the available information, it observes that Serbia’s recording and statistics do not sufficiently distinguish hate crimes from other crimes, and that law enforcement agencies of Serbia have not recorded the bias motivations of hate crimes. In addition, ODIHR observes that Serbia would benefit from raising awareness among and building the capacity of police to address hate crime.

ODIHR recalls that in Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, participating States have agreed to a definition of hate crime shared by all OSCE participating States, and committed to collecting reliable data and statistics on hate crimes. To that end, hate crimes need to be distinguished from hate speech, discrimination crimes throughout the recording and data collection process. To ensure that the motives of perpetrators are acknowledged, the law enforcement must, as a first step, record the bias motivation of hate crimes. Participating States have also committed to introducing or further developing professional training and capacity-building activities for law enforcement, prosecution, and judicial officials dealing with hate crimes.

ODIHR stands ready to support Serbia in meeting its relevant commitments through the provision of comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime reporting, as well as by providing further resources and tailored capacity-building assistance for police, prosecution, and judiciary.

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