INTERNS VISITED THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

1. February 2013.

As part of the "Internship Program for Young Members of Ethnic Minorities in the Serbian State Institutions", the Office for Human and Minority Rights. which runs the program, organized a visit of the interns to the National Assembly.

At the National Assembly, 12 interns, who are members of the Albanian, Bosniak and Roma communities, were the guests of the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nebojsa Stefanovic, as well as of the Chairman of the Administrative Board, Zoran Babic, and the Chairman of the Committee for Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality, Meho Omerovic.

The guests were firstly addressed by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nebojsa Stefanovic, who explained how the National Assembly operated, commended the internship project for young members of ethnic minorities and stressed the importance of integration of all Serbian citizens in public institutions. The Speaker of the National Assembly said that a significant number of members of ethnic minorities were MPs, who participated in the current Assembly sessions, and who hadn’t only been on the lists of ethnic minorities’ candidates, but also on those of the majority parties.

While talking with the interns, the Chairman of the Committee for Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality, Meho Omerovic, said that the legal framework for the protection of ethnic minorities in Serbia was in accordance with the highest European standards. Mr. Omerovic said that it was important for young people, upon completion of the internship program, to remain working in the institutions that formed the backbone of the state.

During the talks, the interns were interested in the role of the National Assembly and its committees in the implementation of the Decade of Roma projects, as well as in the role of the National Assembly in Serbia's EU integration.

The interns had the opportunity to visit the National Assembly’s building and to learn more about its history. The Speaker, thereupon, asked them to enter the hall and follow one of the sessions. All MPs welcomed the interns that were present at the session.

Source: The Coordination Body’s Office