Project title: Impact of the COVID-19 virus on access to justice for national minorities in the Republic of Serbia
Project duration: December 2020 – December 2021
Donor: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria

The impact of the COVID-19 virus pandemic on access to justice for national minorities and other vulnerable groups in the Republic of Serbia is the topic of a project implemented by the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria.

The main goal of the project is to improve access to justice for members of national minorities and other vulnerable groups during the crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus pandemic.

The COVID-19 virus pandemic is much more than a health crisis and poses a major challenge to respect for human rights, especially the rights of vulnerable groups. The pandemic has created an increased risk of discrimination and exclusion of marginalized individuals, groups and communities. One of the most endangered social groups during the pandemic are members of national minorities.

The project Impact of the COVID-19 virus on access to justice for national minorities in RS will focus on the impact and consequences of emergency measures and their application on the rights of national minorities in RS during the pandemic. Members of national minorities often faced discrimination during the state of emergency, as well as a lack of relevant information in minority languages, which prevented adequate information and hindered access to justice.

The project will also provide better access to justice, through testing access to legal aid for persons belonging to national minorities in local self-government units, as well as organizing a legal aid program implemented by Yucom.