Kosovo and international authorities should act in concert to halt the recent wave of attacks and harassment targeting Roma communities, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today. The action should include both speedy investigations leading to identification and prosecution of the perpetrators and measures to prevent any future attacks.

The Serbian authorities should provide alternative homes and compensation for 47 Roma families forcibly evicted in Belgrade on April 3, 2009, from housing considered substandard, Human Rights Watch and the European Roma Rights Centre said today in a letter to the Serbian government.

The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC)[1] and Human Rights Watch (HRW) are writing to express concern about failure of Serbian authorities to respect the rights of 47 Romani families forcibly evicted from their informal homes in Novi Beograd on 3 April 2009, and to urge you to ensure that in the future similar actions are undertaken in a manner which protects the rights of occupants laid out in international law.

[1] The ERRC is an international public interest law organisation engaging in a range of activities aimed at combating anti-Romani racism and human rights abuse of Roma. The approach of the ERRC involves, in particular, strategic litigation, international advocacy, research and policy development, and training of Romani activists.

Serbia’s government should ensure that an anti-discrimination law is passed, rebuffing efforts to delay its progress, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the vice-prime minister for European integration, Bozidar Delic.

Human Rights Watch writes to the Serbian Vice Prime Minister for European Integration advocating support for full protections against discrimination be extended to all persons in Serbia.

The European Union should send a strong message to Serbia that full cooperation with the Yugoslav tribunal, including the arrest and surrender of Bosnian war fugitive Ratko Mladic, remains necessary for EU membership.

Human Rights Watch is writing to urge you to adopt conclusions at next week’s General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) meeting emphasizing that Belgrade’s full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) remains a necessary precondition for the ratification of the Stabilization Association Agreement (SAA) signed earlier this year with Serbia.