Dacic: We are marking International Human Rights Day this year in an atmosphere of fear and severe violations of the human rights of the Serbs in Kosovo

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, congratulated International Human Rights Day and once again warned about severe violations of human rights of the Serbs in Kosovo.

"International Human Rights Day, December 10, we mark again this year, unfortunately, in an environment where the basic human rights of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija are severely violated. Our people in Kosovo and Metohija have been living for a quarter of a century in an atmosphere of fear of persecution and violence. Many basic human rights guaranteed by the UN Charter and other fundamental international documents, including the right to freedom of movement, free expression of will in elections, the right to property, economic development, and even the right to life, have been systematically denied to the Serbs", Dacic said, as stated in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement.

They add that the world community has not resisted this severe and prolonged violence against the Serbs in Kosovo to the extent it was obliged to, and that remains a dark spot on its conscience on today's International Human Rights Day.

As they note, Serbia is deeply committed to the protection and promotion of human rights, as one of the foundations of a society committed to living in an atmosphere of tolerance and solidarity.

"Institutional protection of human rights in Serbia is at the highest level; we consider them indivisible and universal. As long as one of our citizens feels that any human right is endangered, there is an obligation of society and the state to uncompromisingly protect those rights. Serbia is a society where special attention is given to the affirmation of women's rights, especially protection against violence towards them, and sharp opposition to domestic violence until its complete eradication. Our children have the full protection of the entire society, state institutions, our educational system, to grow up in an environment of tolerance and attention and thus mature into responsible and noble individuals", the head of diplomacy stated.

Dacic adds that special attention is given to combating peer violence as a significant problem in the modern world, which unfortunately has not bypassed Serbia.

"Our healthcare system and the system of social protection are based on social care and solidarity with people in need. These are our vital systems, to which we will dedicate ourselves even more in the future because, through their work, our common sense of care and attention towards the elderly, the sick, and the socially vulnerable is best expressed", he says.

He emphasizes that Serbia is particularly committed to the affirmation and protection of the right to diversity in every sense, as the foundation of a modern, tolerant, and progressive society.

"Differences are our wealth, not our handicap; differences are an enormous social resource that we must all nurture as the foundation of our common progress through tolerance. I congratulate our citizens on International Human Rights Day, a day when the whole world celebrates one of the greatest achievements of the modern era and a day when we should remind ourselves that the protection of human rights is the duty of each of us, every day of the year", Minister Dacic said in the statement.