MPs from the Serbian Government’s pro-Russian coalition partner – Movement of Socialists, headed by the Deputy Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vulin – submitted the Bill on the Special Registry of Agents of Foreign Influence to the Parliament on November 29, 2024. The proposal is substantially similar to the one submitted by the government of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated…
CRTA’s 2024 media monitoring highlights significant bias in how Serbian media portray foreign actors. While Russia and China are predominantly reported on with a positive tone, the EU, the US, and NATO are mainly presented in a negative light. Key events, such as the Russian presidential elections and the visit of the Chinese president to…
Without determining the accountability of the chairwoman and members of the previous REM Council for violations and circumventions of laws regulating the media sphere, it is unrealistic to expect that a new Council, whose selection is set to be announced in the coming days, will bring about the necessary changes. The REM Council consistently acted…
We demand that the authorities stop the repression against citizens, activists, and opposition figures who are seeking criminal accountability for the deaths of 15 citizens following the collapse of the roof at the railway station in Novi Sad. Repression against the people is growing increasingly brutal, and the highest state officials justify and encourage it….
During the conference, several expert groups led discussions on areas essential for implementing the electoral process: enhancing electoral administration, revising the voter registry, the role of prosecutors in protecting voter rights, and the work of media and public broadcasting services. Here we present the conclusions from these discussions, including working documents used as starting points…
Half-measures are insufficient and, given the state of institutions in Serbia, can only prolong the agony. The REM and the Public Service Broadcaster are two bodies that need a “reset”, to be rebuilt from the ground up. Integrity, knowledge, capacity and independence are the key elements needed to improve election administration, revise the voter registry,…
The election super year is marked by more fear than hope – due to the rise of the right, the strengthening of autocracies and political elites who, lacking solutions to crises and conflicts, are putting the rule of law on the back burner. A Donald Trump victory would push the issue of democracy out of…
If we choose education and culture, we’ll be able to choose everything else too – this was the message of the panel titled “Imagine there’s no…” Literary historian, anthropologist, classicist and writer Svetlana Slapšak, board member of the Center for the Defense of Human Rights “Memorial” Aleksandar Cherkasov and CRTA’s Creative Director Radovan Kupres discussed…
There are clear international standards for assessing and improving the electoral process, and key recommendations need to be implemented as quickly as possible, particularly in the period between elections. The topic of EU integration was not particularly visible during the elections in Serbia, previous ODIHR recommendations were not applied while, at the same time, the…
