The Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government would like to present a promotional video titled “Serbia is All of Us Together” as part of an informational campaign on novelties which improve the rights and position of members of national minorities, as well as on their opportunities ahead of elections for national councils of national minorities. The video presents the most important novelties of laws passed during the spring session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, including: the Law on National Councils of National Minorities, the Law on Protection of Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities, the Law on Official Use of Languages and Scripts and partially the Law on Civil Records. As a reminder, the novelties include:
– Passing of policies in accordance with the needs of minorities. The Law amending the Law on Civil Records ensures voluntary registration of data on ethnicity, which provides our citizens the right to preserve their uniqueness, as well as to express, preserve and cherish their ethnicity.
– More efficient national councils of national minorities and increased transparency of their work. Amendments to the Law on National Councils of National Minorities more clearly define powers of national councils of national minorities, decrease of excessive politicization and more transparent work of national councils.
– Positive discrimination of members of national minorities in employment. The aim is to continue this activity until adequate representation of employees in the public sector at all levels of territorial organisation is achieved.
– Writing toponyms in languages of national minorities. It is stipulated that in settlements in municipalities or in towns/cities where a national minority accounts for 15% of the total population, names of streets, squares, settlements and other toponyms should be written in the language of that minority.
– Provision of a possibility for minority members of parliament to speak in their languages at the National Assembly.
In addition, in the video we remind all members of national minorities who wish to register with the Special Electoral Roll, and who comply with general requirements to be eligible to vote in the Republic of Serbia, that this gives them the right to vote and be elected on the elections for national councils for national minorities which will be called in August and held in autumn this year. Voters are registered by a special form which they submit in writing to municipal or city/town administrations according to their permanent places of residence. The application form can be downloaded at: https://bit.ly/2LmVXhW. Applications are submitted according to permanent place of residence and temporary place of residence for internally displaced persons.