At the joint sitting the three committees discussed the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture 2013 Activity Report, presented by Deputy Ombudsman Milos Jankovic.

The Report contains a general assessment of whether the Republic of Serbia abides by ban on torture and other cruel, inhuman or humiliating punishment and treatment. The Report states that there are no instances of organised and encouraged torture, but there are individual cases of abuse tolerated by the relevant authorities. It was also deemed that the relevant authorities should boost their attempts at combating unpunished torture. The Report also contains recommendations for the governance bodies of the Republic of Serbia.
The Chairman of the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality, Meho Omerovic deemed that the Report contains useful guidelines for the National Assembly’s scrutiny over the prevention of torture.
Having reviewed the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture 2013 Activity Report, the committee members adopted a conclusion proposal to be forwarded to the National Assembly, proposing that it be discussed by urgent procedure.

The members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child decided to organise a public hearing on “The 25th anniversary of the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child – addressing the problem of children living and working on the streets”. The public hearing will be held on 20 November 2014 at the National Assembly.
Committee member Gordana Comic suggested that the Committee on the Rights of the Child should reinstate the practice of analysing the implementation of inclusion in the educational system of the Republic of Serbia, while Committee member Dubravka Filipovski opined that the commissions dealing with various aspects of children’s rights protection within the Committee should resume work.

The sitting was chaired by the Deputy Chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of the Child Nada Lazic, Chairman of the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality Meho Omerovic and the Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, Public Administration and Local Self-Government Petar Petrovic.