Assistant Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government and Head of the Sector for Registry Books and Registers, Marina Dražić, has assessed today that the activities achieved under the Agreement on Understanding concluded two years ago between MDULS, the Protector of Citizens and UNHCR were at a satisfactory level, and has stressed that Serbia has made progress in the fight against statelessness.
At the final meeting of the Operational Group, Dražić has explained that the activities were primarily focused on exercising the right to entry of members of the Roma national minority into the birth register, with a special emphasis on newborn children.
Also, as she has pointed out, the activities were focused on the coordination and efficiency of all participants in the process of entry into the birth register, with an emphasis on the cases of birth of children whose mothers do not possess personal documents.
“The Operational Group had the task of proposing measures and activities, as well as to find the most adequate solutions needed in order to regulate the issue of persons who are not registered under birth registers, and for that purpose the Instructions for dealing with cases of childbirth whose parents do not possess personal documents was adopted”, Dražić has stressed.
During the work of the Operational Group, four round tables were organized, so that healthcare workers who work on registration of births in maternity wards, registrars, police officers, employees at Centres for Social Work and free legal aid providers could get acquainted with the Instructions and the importance of its enforcement.
Moreover, UNHCR has published a survey conducted by CeSID in 2020, the main goal of which was to obtain representative data on the prevalence of statelessness among the population of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians living in informal settlements in Serbia, which was presented to the public in July of this year.
“We believe that all these activities shall significantly contribute to the efficiency of dealing in these situations, because the officials now have a tool that can be used in situations concerning the birth of a child whose mother does not possess personal documents. We shall continue to monitor the situation in this field” Dražić has said.