World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), the largest international coalition of NGOs fighting against torture, summary executions, forced disappearances and all other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and Geneva-based Violence against Women Programme, invited ASTRA, Child Rights Center and Humanitarian Law Center to become a part of the project funded by the European Commission, to reinforce the prevention and monitoring of torture through the strengthening of the capacity of the SOS-Torture network members in the use of the United Nations conventional mechanisms and mainstreaming women’s and children’s issues in general human rights mechanisms.
A briefing session with the members of the Human Rights Committee was held on July 16, 2004 and government delegation presented the Report on July 19 and 20, 2004. Members of the Committee were more than satisfied with NGO presentation and most of the concluding remarks concerned the same issues that NGOs raised during the briefing session.
In October 2004, “State Violence in Serbia and Montenegro”, an Alternative Report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee was released, after which two roundtables were organized with assistance of the UNHCHR Belgrade Office: the one gathering the representatives of NGOs and international organizations, with whom we exchanged experiences from Geneva, and the other intended for state representatives, who presented their report in Geneva, to discuss together the recommendations which UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva released after the session on Serbia and Montenegro.