ASTRA’s Executive Director, Marija Andjelkovic, signed on July 5th, the Memorandum on Cooperation, with the President of the Council for Monitoring the Implementation of the UN Recommendations, Suzana Paunovic, with the aim of formalizing cooperation in the field of human rights’ protection and advancement. Currently, 12 organizations of civil society participate in the work of the Council for Monitoring the Implementation of the UN Recommendations. They deal with different issues and continuously work to increase the respect of human rights and follow the implementation of domestic regulations and public policy, as well as the implementation of the recommendations of the UN bodies and human rights mechanisms.
“Suzana Paunović has emphasized importance of the cooperation of the Council and the organizations of civil society and underlined that the Council is an example of good practice, which was pointed out by a big number of countries, UN members, during presentation of the report in Geneva, within the frame of the third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review.
Representatives of the non-governmental organizations have emphasized that the process of signing the memorandum and participation in the Council is perceived as an additional way to strengthen the cooperation in monitoring the UN recommendation on human rights, and a space for improvement of work in their respective areas of focus.
The Government’s Council for Monitoring the Implementation of the UN Recommendations is a platform for a dialogue of governmental and non-governmental stakeholders in implementation and implementation monitoring of international obligations in the area of human rights.“[1]
Within the framework of its regular activities, ASTRA will continue to follow the recommendations and participate in the development of independent reports for different UN bodies, which focus on aspects of the trafficking in human beings and on the protection of the victims of trafficking.
[1] Source: the official site of the Office of Human and Minority Rights of the Republic of Serbia http://www.ljudskaprava.gov.rs/sh/press/vesti/paunovic-novi-memorandumi-o-saradnji-sa-nvo