Following an agreement with the UN Resident Coordinator, OHCHR deployed a national human rights adviser and programme assistant to the UN Country Team in Serbia (UNCT) in December 2007. The Adviser and the Assistant support the Office of the Resident Coordinator and the UNCT to monitor the human rights situation, provide advice to the UNCT on how to incorporate human rights into programming, facilitate the UNCT’s interaction with UN human rights bodies, etc. Supporting the UNCT, the Government and the NHRI to interact with the UN Human Rights Mechanisms, follow-up to their recommendations and participate in their actual implementation in the national context is the main priority of the UN Human Rights Adviser in Serbia.
The Adviser and the Assistant also assist the Government of Serbia in its efforts to promote and implement the human rights agenda, all with a view of furthering promotion and protection of human rights in Serbia. In addition, the Adviser and the Assistant work to empower NHRI to effectively implement its human rights mandate and support human rights defenders in their activities in Serbia. The Adviser and the Assistant focus also on supporting the UN and national NGO transitional justice initiatives as well as activities for human rights promotion and education; and on providing general human rights advice and support to the Resident Coordinator and the UNCT.