Elida Vikic

Hungary: Media Curbs Harm Rule of Law The Hungarian government’s interference with media freedom and pluralism, part of its systematic attack on the rule of law, obstructs the work of independent journalists in holding the authorities to ...

A year ago HRW reported on similar trends of government’s interference with media freedom and control of media in Hungary. The EU needs to recognize the systematic undermining of media freedom in its member states as the erosion of the rule of law, and act now.

Journalists in Greece targets of surveillance, ostensible legal actions, and harassment through online campaigns. New Human Rights Watch report exposes the government’s control over state media, the pressure on journalists to self-censor, and wide-spread failure to ensure media pluralism in Greece.

The persistence of people in Greece pushed the parliament to establish preliminary inquiry into the alleged accident coverup. Serbian government should similarly honor the outcry of 100,000 people in Belgrade today who are demanding accountability for wide-spread corruption. @unawrites.bsky.social

The nationwide protests of the last months, in Greece over the deadly 2023 train crash and in Serbia over the deadly collapse of a roof at a rail station, are both inspired by wide-spread corruption and rule of law failures that took innocent lives. @evacosse.bsky.social www.hrw.org/news/2025/03...

The message from Strasburg to BiH over failed implementation of Sejdic-Finci group of cases is clear: provide tangible updates and concrete implementation plan to end racial and ethnic discrimination in the constitution or expect new action in the absence of progress. search.coe.int/cm#{%22CoEId...

BIRN Reality Check: What Happened to Kosovo President’s Wartime Truth Commission? Uncertainty persists around Kosovo’s announced Presidential Commission for Truth and Reconciliation, amid continued concern that without real independence it risks being perceived as heavily one-sided...

There was a robust civil society and victims-led regional initiative for truth and reconciliation in the the states of former Yugoslavia, known as RECOM, which after years of invested work failed due to lack of political will. I hope this will be different. balkaninsight.com/2025/03/07/b...

In the tele-town-hall, congressional staff takes the call, records the caller's question, which appears on a monitor before the official who can pick and choose which to answer according to his or her liking. I am not sure that you can call that a productive dialoging.

Roundtable in Podgorica: Every femicide is a call for change - AIRE Centre WB

In Montenegro, poor law implementation, lack of dedicated resources, and untrained judicial professionals are just some of the limitations to robust institutional handling of domestic violence cases. airewb.org/roundtable-i...

Femicide in Serbia: Women least safe in their own home - Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia More than 300 femicides have been recorded in Serbia over the last ten years, according to data published by the Autonomous Women’s Centre (AWC) in Belgrade. Most of the women were killed in their own...

Since 2014, organizations have recorded at least 300 femicide cases in Serbia. The exact official number is unknown since formal mechanisms for monitoring of femicide cases still do not exists. www.cins.rs/en/femicide-...

Basic Courts in Kosovo to improve sentencing practices and expedite resolution of domestic violence cases, OSCE report recommends PRISHTINË / PRIŠTINA, 2 July 2024 - The OSCE Mission in Kosovo published its latest trial monitoring report today on the handling of domestic violence cases by the Basic Courts in Kosovo.

In Kosovo, women experience delays in processing of domestic violence cases and inconsistencies in conducting of legal procedures. Perpetrators often get away with lenient sentencing. www.osce.org/mission-in-k...

Nasilje nad ženama sa invaliditetom ozbiljan problem društva, rješenja se ne naziru Ovdje ne postoje prilagođene ni sigurne kuće za žene s invaliditetom. Ne postoji educirano osoblje u policiji i zdravstvu koje bi ženama s invaliditetom pružilo podršku u ključnim trenucima kada se od...

Women with disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina are especially vulnerable to persistent gender-based violence due to lack of trained police and health professionals or safe houses for women with disabilities to seek protection. www.fokus.ba/vijesti/bih/...

Year on From Live-Streamed Femicide, Critics in Bosnia Decry State Inaction No legislative changes have been made in Bosnia and Herzegovina to address femicide in the year since the live-streamed killing of a woman by her partner, though those working to support victims say t...

Recent cases of femicide in Bosnia and Herzegovina involving perpetrators previously known to authorities for domestic violence highlight the legislative gaps and institutional failures to prevent tragic killings of women. balkaninsight.com/2024/08/09/y...

On this International Women's Day, an insightful reflection by Macarena Sáez on the state of women's rights in regions across the world. Despite some victories, many women still suffer from preventable violence. Below more on the wide-spread issue of gender-based violence in the Balkans.

Women in BiH earn almost 15 Percent less than Men - Sarajevo Times Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) earn on average 14.8 percent less than men, and the current average salary for men amounts to 1.894 BAM, while women earn an average of 1.614 BAM. “According to d...

sarajevotimes.com/women-in-bih...

"Political leaders in the EU and UK have recently appeared willing to set aside universal human rights ... And some governments - notably Hungary’s - have hollowed out democracy from within, with damaging consequences for human rights inside and outside the country." Ben Ward @bpward.bsky.social

Two years after the fatal Tempi train crash, Greece's parliament is investigating a potential cover-up. This is a crucial chance to deliver accountability, address rule of law failings, and restore public trust to democratic institutions

More from @hrw.org:

www.hrw.org/news/2025/03...

‘There’s no other solution’: Polish abortion centre opens in challenge to strict laws Frustrated by government’s failure to ease rules, an NGO is opening a centre a stone’s throw from parliament in Warsaw

‘There’s no other solution’: Polish abortion centre opens in challenge to strict laws

It is highly disconcerting to see the foreign agent law reintroduced and adopted in Republika Srpska despite strong local and international outcry for its withdrawal. The law will increase control over independent media and further shrink civil society space. Republika Srpska should repeal the law.

Türkiye: Use Call to Halt Violence as Catalyst to End Rights Abuses The landmark call on February 27, 2025 to end a decades-long armed insurgency against the Turkish state should be a catalyst to end its abusive use of terrorism charges to criminalize and silence gove...

The jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has called for the group to lay down arms and disband.

Türkiye should seize the moment to change course and end its misuse of terrorism charges against political opposition, media, and civil society.

EU financing a Project to strengthen social Protection for Women in Ten Local Communities in BiH - Sarajevo Times Today, at the headquarters of the Delegation of European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as part of a project financed by the European Union titled “Providing Assistance to Vulnerable Women and Devel...

sarajevotimes.com/eu-financing...