CAT/C/SRB/CO/1
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Serbia and ensure that training curricula and information campaigns constantly
communicate the message that violence will not be tolerated and will be
sanctioned accordingly.
Compensation, rehabilitation and reparations
18. The Committee notes information provided on compensation provided to certain war
victims in the proceedings before the War Crime Chamber resulting from the Code of
Criminal Procedure that also includes pecuniary compensation as well as the public
apologies by the State party provided in 2003, 2004 and 2007. However, the Committee
regrets the lack of a specific programme to implement the rights of victims of torture and
ill-treatment to redress and compensation. The Committee also regrets the lack of
available information regarding the number of victims of torture and ill-treatment who
may have received compensation and the amounts awarded in such cases, as well as the
lack of information about other forms of assistance, including medical or psycho-social
rehabilitation, provided to these victims. The Committee notes with concern the State
party’s statement that there are no services available in the State party to deal specifically
with the treatment of trauma and other forms of rehabilitation for torture victims.
Furthermore, the Committee is concerned at the lack of information about compensation,
redress and rehabilitation for persons with disabilities (art. 14) .
The State party should:
(a)
Strengthen its efforts in respect of compensation, redress and
rehabilitation in order to provide victims of torture and other cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment with redress and fair and adequate
compensation, including the means for as full rehabilitation as possible;
(b)
Develop a specific programme of assistance in respect of
victims of torture and ill-treatment;
(c)
Provide in its next periodic report information about any
reparation programmes, including treatment of trauma and other forms of
rehabilitation provided to victims of torture and ill-treatment, as well as the
allocation of adequate resources to ensure the effective functioning of such
programmes; and
(d)
Strengthen its efforts in respect of compensation, redress and
rehabilitation for persons with disabilities and provide in its next periodic
report information about steps taken in this regard.
Domestic violence and sexual abuse of women and girls
19. The Committee notes that domestic violence was defined as a misdemeanour in the
adoption of the Misdemeanours Act (2007), but expresses concern over the prolonged
proceedings, prompting many victims to abandon them. The Committee is concerned
about reports that sexual abuse of girls has been on the rise in the past few years and at
the low penalties that are pronounced against the perpetrators of domestic violence, the
slowness of the proceedings, the lack of protection measures and the lack of adequate
prevention measures in place (art. 16).