Radovan Karadzic was a founding member of the Serbian Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was the president of Republika Srpska, the Bosnian Serb entity, during the war in Bosnia, from 1992 to 1995. Karadzic was indicted for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. His trial before The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is due to start on October 26, 2009.

Serbia's government should quickly take visible steps to end a spate of violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Human Rights Watch said in a letter sent November 16, 2009, to President Boris Tadic. Human Rights Watch called on the government to fully protect the rights of the country's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.

Human Rights Watch writes to the President of the Republic of Serbia to express concern that the persistent homophobia in Serbian society has given rise to incidents of violence, and prevents lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Serbians from exercising to the full enjoyment their human rights.

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.