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# 									International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs: Serbia							

Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

## Serbia

Serbia has made progress toward strengthening the rule of law and reforming its justice sector institutions on its way toward joining the European Union.  However, it continues to confront significant challenges with corruption, organized crime, and establishing institutional rule of law.  While legislation, action plans, and specialized bodies have been created to counter corruption and organized crime, much remains to be done to institutionalize reforms and ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of its criminal justice system.  INL programming has expanded to include support for civil society, youth, educational institutions, and non-governmental anti-corruption organizations.

## INL Programming

        - Rule of Law  – strengthen Serbia’s capacity to prosecute and adjudicate domestic and transnational organized crime and corruption cases; strengthen due process and adherence to international legal standards
        - Civilian Security and Law Enforcement  – strengthen Serbia’s ability to investigate complex crimes; enhance internal anti-corruption controls; improve police-prosecutor cooperation

## Goals

INL aims to support key justice sector institutions in the development of greater cooperation on domestic and transnational organized crime, corruption, and human trafficking cases and development of policies and practices to enhance the efficient, transparent, independent, and balanced administration of justice.  Additionally, INL provides training to help justice practitioners acquire the necessary skills to investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate complex criminal offenses.

INL supports civil society organizations so they can effectively promote change within key justice sector institutions through lobbying, advice, and technical support to improve the government’s capacity to fight corruption and organized crime.

## Accomplishments/Impact

        - INL grantee Stevan Dojcinovic was awarded the Secretary of State’s 2022 Anti-corruption Champions Award for his anti-corruption investigative work as the Editor-in-Chief of the  Crime and Corruption Reporting Network (KRIK) .  INL supports Dojcinovic and KRIK in their important work.
        - INL launched a grant program with the University of Belgrade Faculty of Economics that established Serbia’s first ever master’s degree program in forensic accounting, creating a sustainable, long-term solution to fight money laundering, financial fraud, and illicit finance in Serbia and the region.
        - The Serbian Judicial Academy implemented the Department of Justice’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT)-developed curricula and practical manuals on legal writing and asset forfeiture for sustainable use in the future.
        - INL led Embassy Belgrade’s efforts on the international “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence” campaign to support Serbian police, judiciary, civil society, and international organizations that work to end gender-based violence.  The 2022 campaign addressed police first response and evidence collection, legal practices, and methods for working with victims and witnesses.  INL’s efforts raised public awareness in Serbia and bolstered the capabilities of organizations that provide victims’ services.  Campaign activities reached practitioners through trainings and seminars across 15 cities and more than 100,000 Serbian citizens through public awareness campaigns and media engagement.
        - INL’s work with the Department of Justice’s International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) helped modernize the Police University through classroom renovations and donations of IT equipment to improve the instruction experience of future law enforcement practitioners.

Tags

Serbia

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