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Serbia and Montenegro: Whether the authorities in Kosovo refuse to issue identity documents to Roma (1999-2004)

According to Amnesty International's 2003 report on the human rights situation of ethnic minorities in the Serbian province of Kosovo, in general, Roma are subjected to discrimination when attempting to access basic social and economic services through government institutions (AI 29 Apr. 2003, 5). The Council of Europe adds that Roma are "confronted with a pattern of subtle discrimination on the part of both the local population and the local authorities" (31 Oct. 2003) throughout Serbia and Montenegro, and continues that according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Roma organizations, many Roma in Serbia and Montenegro not only have no identity documents (COE 31 Oct. 2003), but also encounter difficulty in securing them (ibid. 16 Oct. 2002, 45).

In November 2003, the Council of Europe recommended that Serb and Montenegrin authorities be bound by law to provide Roma with identity documents in order to prevent the condition of statelessness among Roma (COE 25 Nov. 2003). Also in 2003, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) reported that despite their assistance to Roma in Serbia and Montenegro in submitting applications for identity documents to the proper authorities, "there is a high rate of non response from the offices in charge, particularly in the case of Roma IDPs [internally displaced persons]" (NRC n.d.).

However, some Roma have been issued identity documents, as evidenced at a workshop held in Montenegro in 2002 entitled "Personal Documents and Threats to the Exercise of Fundamental Rights among Roma in the Former Yugoslavia" at which Osman Osmani, a Romani activist from Kosovo, reported instances of border guards requiring bribes from Roma to enter countries outside of Serbia and Montenegro, even though the Roma were in possession of United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) passports (ERRC 2003).

Although the following incidents of local authorities refusing to process Roma applications occurred outside of Kosovo but within Serbia and Montenegro, they may be of interest. The European Roma Rights Center reported that after waiting several hours to be permitted into the building, a group of fifty-three Roma were expelled from the Municipal Registration Office in Niskic, Montenegro on 23 September 2002, while attempting to apply for citizenship (ibid. 2002a). Additionally, according to Aca Vujicic, President of the Romani Association of Pozega, a town in western Serbia, the local social welfare centre has "refused Romani applications for social assistance for a number of arbitrary reasons" (ibid. 2002b). Although Roma are not specifically mentioned, the human rights organization Grupa Margo based in Tivat, Montenegro has stated that "the Montenegro authorities have refused to register new settlers who came from different towns within the [Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]" (COE 16 Oct. 2002, 45 N.156).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Amnesty International (AI). 29 April 2003. Serbia and Montenegro (Kosovo/Kosova). "Prisoners in our own homes": Amnesty International's Concerns for the Human Rights of Minorities in Kosovo/Kosova. (EUR 70/010/2003) <http://web.amnesty.org/aidoc/aidoc_pdf.nsf/Index/EUR700102003ENGLISH/$File/EUR7001003.pdf> [Accessed 10 May 2004]

Council of Europe (COE). 16 October 2002. Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights. Kosovo: The Human Rights Situation and the Fate of Persons Displaced from their Homes. (CommDH(2002)11) <http://www.commissioner.coe.int/docs/CommDH(2002)11_E.pdf> [Accessed 7 May 2004]

______. 25 November 2003. Parliamentary Assembly. Recommendation 1633 (2003). Forced Returns of Roma from the Former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including Kosovo, to Serbia and Montenegro from Council of Europe Member States. <http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/Adopted Text/ta03/EREC1633.htm> [Accessed 19 Apr. 2004]

______. 31 October 2003. Parliamentary Assembly. Forced Returns of Roma from the Former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including Kosovo, to Serbia and Montenegro from Council of Europe member states. (Doc. 9990) <http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/doc03/EDOC9990.htm> [Accessed 19 Apr. 2004]

European Roma Rights Center (ERRC). 2003. Nr. 3. Tatjana Peric. "Personal Documents and Threats to the Exercise of Fundamental Rights of Roma in Europe." <http://errc.org/rr_nr3_2003/noteb1/shtml> [Accessed 6 May 2004]

______. 2002a. Nr. 3-4. "Roma Face Difficulties in Obtaining Citizenship in Serbia and Montenegro." <http://errc.org/rr_nr3-4_2002/snap47.shtml> [Accessed 6 May 2004]

______. 2002b. Nr. 2. "Roma in Serbia Cannot Access the Social Welfare System." <http://errc.org/rr_nr2_2002/snap39.shtml> [Accessed 6 May 2004]

Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). n.d. "Displaced Roma are Denied Documents and Cannot Register as IDPs (2001-2003)". <http://www.db.idpproject.org/Sites/idpSurvey.nsf/wViewCountries/F29E39D2A1FBCDDAC1256C7C0036EBD3> [Accessed 7 May 2004]

Additional Sources Consulted

Unsuccessful attempt to contact Minority Rights Center in Belgrade and the European Roma Rights Center

Internet websites, including: Balkan Human Rights, Danish Immigration Service, Human Rights Watch, Humanitarian Law Center, MINELRES, Minority Rights Center, Minority Rights Group International, Project on Ethnic Relations, Rom News.

Topics: Roma,