Guidebook
FOR THE MUNICIPAL COUNCILS
ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY Misson to Serbia AND CO-OPERATION IN EUROPE for Interethnic Relations Goran Bašić
Guidebook for the Municipal Councils for Interethnic Relations
Belgrade, 2006 Guidebook for the Municipal Councils for Interethnic Relations First edition
Publisher: Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities www.skgo.org
Donor: OSCE Mission to Serbia On behalf of the publisher: Đorđe Staničić, Secretary General
Text by: Goran Bašić
Editorial Board: Shaun R. Barcavage, Governance Advisor, OSCE Mission to Serbia Jasmina Krunić Pasku, Municipal Suppoprt Project Advisor, Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities Željko Jovanović, OSCE Project Assistant, Irina Schmakova, OSCE/CANADEM Intern
Prepress and printing: DOSIJE, Belgrade
Circulation: 100 copies
ISBN: 86-82455-39-0
Belgrade, November 2006 The publication of this Guidebook was made possible by the OSCE and specifi cally by a donation of its Participating States, the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States of America.
The content of this Guidebook refl ect the views and opinions of individual author which do not necessarily coincide with those of the OSCE.
Originalno izdanje ove publikacije objavljeno je na srpskom jeziku, u izdanju Stalne konferencije gradova i opština, u Beogradu, 2006 godine. Najlepše se zahvaljujemo Misiji OEBS i vojvođanskom Sekretarijatu za upravu, propise i nacionalne manjine na pomoći pri prevođenju publikacije na jezike manjina.
The original version of this booklet is published in Serbian language by the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, in Belgrade, 2006. We would like to thank the OSCE Mission to Serbia as well as the Provincial Secretariat for Regulations, Administration and National Minorities of Vojvodina for helping with the translation of the booklet in to additional languages.
Forward Since October 2000 Serbia has been undergoing the eco- no mic, political and social reforms where the process of decen- tralization became one of the key goals on the way to Serbia’s democratization. This process implies transferring competencies, responsibilities and resources from central organs to municipalities and towns thus strengthening local authorities and enabling them to solve their problems in a more effi cient way. The Law on Local Self-Government, which was passed in February 2002, introduced a number of signifi cant novelties related to the organization of the new system and organs of local authorities. Among these initiatives, harmonization of interests of different ethnic groups through the creation of new local bodies is an important focus of the decentralization practice in Serbia. The Law on Local Self-Government stipulates the estab- lishment of the Councils for Inter-Ethnic Relations – local bo- dies whose main jurisdiction is to protect and promote ethnic equ a lity in multiethnic municipalities. Throughout the process of building the democratic environment in Serbia, the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM) has been dedicated to the promotion and development of local self-government; supporting the interests of and promoting co-operation among the local authorities. In this regard, the SCTM has decided, through its Municipal Assemblies Support Project, funded and jointly implemented with the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, to publish a comprehensive, easy-to-read Guidebook for the Councils for Inter-Ethnic Rela- tions which is hereby presented to you. 5 This Guidebook, an outcome of collaboration and consul ta- tion between the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, the SCTM, the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self- Government, and the Centre for Ethnicity Research of the Serbian Academy of Sciences, seeks to provide support to ethnically mixed municipalities in their effort to build an ethnically tolerant environment where all citizens enjoy equal rights. It does so by presenting relevant information on the ethnic composition of Serbia as well as the domestic and international legislation related to the protection of minority rights, providing explanations and giving advice to the multiethnic municipalities with regard to the work of the Councils. The Guidebook includes the case studies, developed as a result of visits to select municipalities. These might be of particular interest to municipal employees as they describe the experience of Serbian municipalities – pioneers in the establishment of the Councils for Inter-Ethnic Relations. It also provides a list of suggestions concerning the establishment and functioning of the Councils which are in no way binding, but rather suggest pos sible solutions to the problems that might arise in your day- to-day activities. According to the Law on Local Self-Government, the municipal assemblies have full discretion to constructively use the existing legal framework and make the Councils effi cient bodies of the local self-government in multiethnic municipalities. There- fore, we hope that this Guidebook will serve as a useful tool in the daily activities of your Councils. We are open for your suggestions and ideas on how to improve this practice by encouraging you to work together with us on building democratic and tolerant local self-government in Serbia. POTPIS ? ? ?