PRESS RELEASES

Due to the inaction of institutions and all other problems faced by all those who work by the law and call for accountability of the institutions and officials, the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy has established the Civil committee for the protection of human rights defenders and whistleblowers.

One of the key preconditions for a successful fight against organized crime is the cooperation between governments and civil society organizations. This was a conclusion by the panelists of the online discussion "Boosting Resilience to Organized Crime in the Western Balkans," organized by the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) together with regional partners from the Western Balkans Organized Crime Radar (WB OCR).

The key function of informal education is to represent a bridge between the university and the labor market. Informal education is a very important addition to the knowledge acquired at the faculty - it was pointed out during the online event "Informal knowledge for career advancement".

Due to severe threats and calls for violence targeting civil society representatives and journalists by certain MPs from the Serbian Progressive Party, without any sanctions, Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) suspends all communication and cooperation with the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia.

On the occasion of the open call for physical violence by the Member of the National Assembly, Aleksandar Martinović, civil society organizations gathered in National Convention on the European Union working groups for Chapters 23 and 24 and cross-sectoral groups for political criteria and freedom of expression and the media demand a reaction from the President of the National Assembly from the position of Chairman of the Committee on Administrative, Budgetary, Mandate and Immunity Issues.

Paris should take a brave approach and involvement in helping reforms on the ground in the Western Balkans instead of maintaining the status quo and further losing its credibility in the region – it was concluded during the online event “France and the Western Balkans’ EU membership”, organized by BCSP on Friday, March 5th .

Besides big players like Russia and China, today there are a lot more non-western countries involved in the Balkans and this kind of change of foreign policies led to some deals and agreements between this non-western countries and the Balkans, in both geopolitical and economic way. This was pointed out on the online discussion “Turkey, Israel and the United Arab Emirates in the Balkans” organized by LSE IDEAS and Ratiu Forum, in the partnership with BCSP.

What are the next steps after conducting and publishing research findings and policy recommendations? What is advocacy? In what ways can civil society advocate for public policies? What is specific about advocacy in the field of security? These are just some of the topics that BCSP interns discussed with Marko Drajić, BCBP Advocacy and Projects Manager.

The coalition of civil society organizations prEUgovor was formed in 2013 at the initiative of BCSP.

From Istanbul to Vienna, Belgrade Security Forum presents the most relevant event where key actors meet and discuss foreign affairs and security policy in Balkans and Europe. Initiated by civil society organizations, it considers different perspectives and opinions and contributes to resolution of most pressing issues.

The BCSP is the coordinator of the Working Group for Chapter 24, which operates within the National Convention on the European Union (NCEU) with the aim of monitoring the process of negotiations between Serbia and the EU in the areas of freedom, security and justice.

Balkan Security Platform (BSP) is a civil society network from the Western Balkans Six specializing in security issues. Members of BSP work together towards construction of a peaceful and democratic environment in the region and Europe through greater involvement of civil society and citizens in developing and influencing security policies.