The Amnesty International Report 2016/17 documents the state of human rights in 159 countries and territories during 2016. For millions, 2016 was a year of unrelenting misery and fear, as governments and armed groups abused human rights in a multitude of ways. Large numbers of people continued to flee conflict and repression in many regions of the world. European Western Balkans presented a short review of each country in the region. Several different issues were reported In Albania – enforced disappearances, forced evictions, the justice system, refugees and asylum-seekers, torture and other ill-treatment. In a report on BiH, AI registered few problems related to freedom of expression, crimes under international law and discrimination, while Macedonia was faced with two main issues – political instability and refugees’ and migrants’ crisis. In Montenegro, LGBTI organizations brought a case before an administrative court against the Ministry of Interior for failing to guarantee the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. In Serbia, independent journalist associations registered dozens of incidents targeting journalists, including physical assaults and death threats, whereas in Croatia civil society groups recorded increased instances of media and public officials evoking fascist ideology. In Kosovo, a Stabilization and Association Agreement between the EU and Kosovo entered into force in April however the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo remained limited. The full report is available here.
Source: Amnesty International