ACFC/SR (2002) 003 REPORT SUBMITTED BY THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 25, PARAGRAPH 1 OF THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES (Received on 16 October 2002) FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA FEDERAL MINISTRY OF NATIONAL AND ETHNIC COMMUNITIES THE FIRST REPORT BY THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES Submitted pursuant to Article 25, paragraph 1, of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities Belgrade 2002 2 THE FIRST REPORT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA Submitted pursuant to Article 25, paragraph 1, of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities TABLE OF CONTENTS: PART I: INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................6 PART II: GENERAL INFORMATION............................................................................................….8 1. Basic historical facts.................................................................................…….8 2. Basic demographic facts....................................................................................9 3. Basic economic indices....................................................................................13 4. Status of International Law..............................................................................14 5. Basic problems.............................................................................................…15 6. New minority policy.........................................................................................17 7. Status of the Roma community.........................................................................20 8. Federal Law on the Protection of Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities (2002).............……………………………………………………………………21 PART III: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION................23 Article 1 ................................................................................................................23 Article 2. ...............................................................................................................28 Article 3. ...............................................................................................................29 Article 4. ...............................................................................................................33 Article 5. ...............................................................................................................40 Article 6. ...............................................................................................................53 3 Article 7. ...........................................................................................................…59 Article 8. ...............................................................................................................62 Article 9. ...............................................................................................................67 Article 10. .............................................................................................................77 Article 11. .............................................................................................................87 Article 12. .......................................................................................................... 89 Article 13. .............................................................................................................97 Article 14. ............................................................................................................ 98 Article 15. ............................................................................................................103 Article 16. .......................................................................................................….108 Article 17. ............................................................................................................110 Article 18. ............................................................................................................113 Article 19. ............................................................................................................113 Article 20. ............................................................................................................114 Article 21. ............................................................................................................115 Article 22. ............................................................................................................115 Article 23. ............................................................................................................116 Article 30………………………………………………………………………..116 PART IV: ANNEXES ......................................................................................................…118 1. Minority communities – characteristics and basic facts...................................118 Albanians .............................................................................................................118 Bosniacs/Moslems ...............................................................................................120 Bulgarians ............................................................................................................122 Bunjevci ...............................................................................................................123 Croats ...................................................................................................................124 Hungarians ...........................................................................................................125 Germans ...............................................................................................................129 Romanians ...........................................................................................................130 Ruthenians ...........................................................................................................131 Roma ...................................................................................................................133 4 Slovaks ............................................................................................................…137 Ukrainians ............................................................................................................139 Vlachs ..................................................................................................................139 Less numerous minority communities.................................................................140 2. Regulations governing, or related to, the status of national minorities............142 1) Constitutions..............................................……………………………142 2) Federal laws and regulations...........................………………………..149 3) Laws and regulations of the Republic of Serbia...................................171 4) Laws and regulations of the Republic of Montenegro..........................192 5 PART I INTRODUCTON 1. Pursuant to the provision of Article 29, paragraph 1, of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (hereinafter: the Framework Convention), FR Yugoslavia was invited by the Council of Ministers to become a Contracting Party to the Framework Convention. Yugoslavia’s becoming a member of the Framework Convention should present one of the first steps toward its membership in the Council of Europe. In response to that invitation, Yugoslavia became a Contracting Party to the Framework Convention on May 11, 2001, and, in accordance with the provision of Article 29, paragraph 2, of that document, it came into force for Yugoslavia on September 1, 2001. Pursuant to the provision of Article 25, paragraph 1, of the Framework Convention, the Contracting Parties are obliged, within a year from its coming into force, to submit to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe full information on legislative and other measures undertaken for the application of the principles enshrined in the Framework Convention. In the case of Yugoslavia, that report (hereinafter: the Report) is due on September 1, 2002, i.e., a year after the Framework Convention came into force for FR Yugoslavia. Thus, this Report is being submitted within the prescribed time limit, and its objective is to indicate the legislative and other measures FR Yugoslavia has undertaken in order to meet the obligations enunciated by the Framework Convention. 2. This Report was made in conformity with the instructions of the Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe, contained in the Country Report Form, to be submitted pursuant to Article 25, paragraph 1, of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, of September 30, 1998. To the extent possible, the report adheres to the form of replies to separate questions contained in the Country Report Form. Still, in order to obtain a coherent text and avoid unnecessary repetitions (replies to many questions are interrelated), it was often necessary to apply certain abridgements, i.e., the method of referencing. For these reasons, extensive descriptions of related situations are mostly given only when they appear for the first time. On the other hand, the text tends to avoid extensive citations (quotations) of provisions of relevant regulations, since they are given as Appendix to the