He pointed out that the Republic of Serbia, as a member of the Council of Europe and EU candidate country, pays special attention to human rights issues and harmonisation of domestic legislation and practice with international agreements. He highlighted the progress achieved by the National Assembly’s current legislature in terms of improving the legal framework concerning human rights. He especially referred to the prohibition of discrimination, which has an important place in the European Convention on Human Rights, outlining the National Assembly’s activities in that regard. We have improved the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination and passed a new Law on Gender Equality, as well as laws that should contribute to a better and more efficient exercise of civil rights and increase the transparency of the work of public administration bodies, namely the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance and the Law on the Ombudsman. He said that the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality pays special attention to the Roma national minority and has set up a Subcommittee on Roma Issues.

Finally, Bacevac concluded that a better understanding of the European Convention on Human Rights and promoting the values it protects and guarantees, by all institutions, including the National Assembly, is the surest way to prevent violations of its provisions and to make sure our citizens do not have to find themselves exercising their rights before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.