The YIHR’s activities for the period from 2006 to 2011 will be centered on two overarching programs – Youth Program and Human Rights Program. It is envisaged that some elements of each program will overlap and we feel that this will give each project extra support.

Human Rights Program

In this area our goals will be: to make sure that educated citizens and groups enjoy, defend and advocate human rights; to ensure domestic and international mechanisms for the protection of human rights are implemented in practice; and to strengthen the capacities of YIHR’s Human Rights programs in each country in the region.
The Human Rights Program consists of investigating and researching human rights violations and their processing before authorized courts; monitoring of the implementation of transitional laws; and monitoring of war crimes trials. All activities within this program are aimed at protecting the victims of human rights violations and at the establishment of the rule of law in Serbia.

We plan to educate citizens and associations of citizens, as well as journalists and government employees through training programs about the basic concepts of human rights. These will include theory, advocacy and mechanisms of international justice.

Researching human rights violations

The YIHR's legal teams in Serbia, Kosovo and Montenegro investigate and researche the cases of human rights violations relating to: the right to life, the right to psychological and physical integrity, minority rights, the rights of persons without citizenship, the rights of religious and sexual minorities, as well as all forms of discrimination. So far, the YIHR has pressed several charges for the provocation and incitement of racial, religious and national hatred and intolerance. Currently underway are processes initiated before several district and municipal courts; to the Serbian Constitutional Court an initiative has been submitted for the assessment of the constitutionality and validity of the Law on the Amendment of the Law on VAT. The YIHR devotes considerable effort to the establishment of the rule of law, using all court and advocacy mechanisms at its disposal.

Monitoring of the implementation of human rights mechanisms

Some transitional laws which have been passed in the region in the past several years envisage the mechanisms designed to protect human rights and to make possible their realization. The YIHR is monitoring the implementation of transitional laws. Targeted laws are: the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Interest, the Law on the Ombudsman, the Law on War Crimes Trials, the Law on Public Information, the Law on Radio-Diffusion, and the Law on the Protection of Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities. In monitoring these transitional laws, the YIHR establishes which of the legally stipulated mechanisms are applied in practice, and which remain unused. In this sense, the YIHR exerts pressure on state institutions in order to have particular laws amended and enriched with more adequate solutions. In addition to this, the YIHR files misdemeanour charges against persons responsible for breaches of the law. In Serbia, currently underway are offence procedures against the leadership of the Security-Intelligence Agency (BIA), the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry for Capital Investments, the Council of the Radio-Diffusion Agency, etc.

Monitoring war crimes trials

The YIHR has been monitoring the war crimes trials being held before the War Crimes Chamber of the Belgrade District Court. The trials being monitored include: "Scorpions", "Zvornik", "Anton Lekaj", and "Saša Radak". The YIHR also monitored the following completed trials: "Ovcara", "Bulic", "Saša Cvjetan" and "Sjeverin".

Regional Legal Portal

The "Law Initiative" Legal Portal (www.lawinitiative.com) contains a large number of legal documents in Serbian and English language. This Portal is intended for legal experts, law school students and all other users interested in legal matters and topics. At the moment, the Portal covers only Serbia. In the course of 2007 the same kind of Portal is expected to be launched for Montenegro and Kosovo.

Human Rights Media Campaign

After each human rights case is investigated and processed, the YIHR informs the general public in Serbia about the facts gathered and legal actions taken. The aim is to actively inform the public in Serbia about human rights violations, responsible perpetrators, verdicts, and other important data.