Council of Europe body: Serbia has still not drafted a same-sex partnership law, and delay risks growing

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the Council of Europe’s human rights monitoring body on racism and discrimination, said on 30 October that Serbia has failed to implement the two recommendations from its 2024 report that it had singled out for priority follow-up: a law on same-sex partnerships and a comprehensive study of hate speech.

The commission published its follow-up conclusions on five countries the same day: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Liechtenstein, Malta, San Marino and Serbia.

A draft law that never reached parliament

In its conclusions on Serbia, ECRI notes that a draft law on same-sex partnerships had been prepared before its 2023 visit and discussed with several civil society organisations. A bill based on that draft was never submitted to the National Assembly, which ECRI had recommended as a priority.

The Serbian authorities told the commission that political and social circumstances had not allowed the necessary consensus to be reached.

ECRI is particularly critical of Serbia’s new Action Plan for 2026–2027, which only foresees an analysis of possible legal options. The commission describes this as a step backwards and a risk of further delay.

Serbia currently offers no legal recognition of any kind to same-sex couples. Activists and European institutions have called for such a law for years.

Hate speech study still unfunded

The second priority recommendation called for a comprehensive study of the forms of hate speech in Serbia, its sources and its impact on the groups it targets. The authorities included the study in a project proposal for EU pre-accession funding and in the 2026–2027 Action Plan.

ECRI says it remains unclear whether the money will be secured and whether the study will actually be commissioned, so it also considers this recommendation unimplemented.

Source: n1info.rs. English adaptation: gay-serbia.com.