NATIONAL MINORITIES RIGHTS SITUATION

Today in the Palace of Serbia, organized by the Office for Human and Minority Rights, a Conference on the minority rights situation in Serbia was held.

Gordana Stamenic, the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration, was one of the breakout speakers at the conference.

In her opening address, Gordana Stamenic introduced legislative work framework of the National Council for National Minorities and announced the need to make the appropriate amendments to the Law on National Minorities.

Among other things, she pointed out that the sovereignty of the modern state meant that the state had the right, but also duty and responsibility to ensure the exercise of human rights and freedoms, including minority rights for every citizen within its jurisdiction. "The state is obliged to protect the right to expressing national characteristics by national minorities, including through the legal framework in order to facilitate the involvement of members of national minorities in all areas of social life of the state of which they are nationals and the recognition and mutual respect for diversity. The legal framework also has to follow a nondiscriminatory policy toward ethnic minorities, "said Gordana Stamenic.