VZCZCXRO1337
RR RUEHAST RUEHFL RUEHLA RUEHMRE RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHBW #0602 1691656
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171656Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0074
INFO RUCNOSC/ORG FOR SECURITY CO OP COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS BELGRADE 000602 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM OSCE KDEM PREL SR
 
SUBJECT: SERBIA: INPUT FOR OSCE HUMAN DIMENSION MEETING 
 
REF: STATE 60838 
 
¶1. (SBU) In response to reftel request for input, post suggests the 
following areas of concern that the U.S. delegation to the Human 
Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) might wish to raise: 
 
-- The remaining three fugitive war crimes suspects under indictment 
by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia 
(ICTY) -- Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic, and Goran Hadzic -- remain 
at large.  ICTY chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz told the UN 
Security Council in June that he believed Serbia could do more to 
capture these fugitives. 
 
-- Ambassador Richard Williamson mentioned Serbia's restrictive 2006 
Religion Law at the 2007 HDIM.  Parliament has not amended the 
controversial law, which recognizes only seven "traditional" 
churches and requires all other religious communities to reregister 
to receive official recognition, and the government continues to 
apply it arbitrarily.  The Religion Ministry has refused to register 
many minority churches, which have difficulty operating without 
official recognition.  Such religious communities have experienced 
increasing incidence of vandalism against their houses of worship -- 
often without appropriate police response. 
 
-- There continues to be a lack of durable solutions for the large 
numbers of internally displaced persons in Serbia. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The U.S. delegation to HDIM should also note progress in 
the following areas and encourage the government of Serbia to 
continue improvements: 
 
--The Serbian government has a national strategy for judicial 
reform, and the parliament has passed most of the implementing 
legislation required by the 2006 constitution.  These changes are 
needed to improve the efficiency, independence, and institutional 
strength of the judicial system.  We should encourage the GOS to 
implement the legislation as quickly as possible once a new 
government is formed. 
 
--On June 11, police arrested Stojan Zupljanin, one of the four 
remaining ICTY indictees at large.  In 2007, the government assisted 
in the arrests of Zdravko Tolimir and Vlastimir Djordjevic.  The 
government continued investigations and prosecutions of several 
organized crime and war crimes suspects despite numerous anonymous 
threats to judges and prosecutors. 
 
--The Serbian government made strides in addressing corruption in 
the police and the judiciary.  The Internal Control division gained 
increased authority to investigate abuses, and it initiated 
disciplinary proceedings against at least 100 officers in 2007. 
Also in 2007, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of a former 
Supreme Court judge for bribery, the first final verdict in a 
high-level corruption case. 
 
--The Serbian government has been making significant efforts to 
comply with the minimum standards for combating trafficking in 
persons, including training law enforcement in victim 
identification, providing services to victims, and investigating and 
prosecuting traffickers, including a deputy public prosecutor 
accused of complicity in trafficking. 
 
--The Serbian government held both presidential and parliamentary 
elections in 2008, which the OSCE assessed as being in line with 
international standards and conducted professionally. 
 
PEDERSON