CoE slams Serbia for "discrimination, racism, anti-Semitism"

29 April 2008 | 20:12 | Source: Tanjug

STRASBOURG -- There is a climate of hostility towards ethnic minorities in Serbia, according to a Council of Europe (CoE) report.

The document, published by CoE’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, states that Serbia has taken a number of measures, such as the signing of a convention for abolishing all forms of racial discrimination, adopting the new Constitution and criminal laws and the appointment of a new ombudsman, but that "much more must be done".

Several regulations of the Constitution are criticized, such as the one found in Article 1 which states that Serbia is a state of the Serb people and all other citizens that live within its borders, which according to the commission, “indirectly draws differences between Serbs and other citizens".

The report adds that the Law on Churches and Religious Communities “helps create a negative climate for the so-called untraditional religious communities, such as Jehovah’s witnesses and certain Evangelical groups.â€