LGBT rights in Serbia

This year's Belgrade Pride, scheduled for Saturday, takes place amid calls for Serbia to adopt a same-sex union law and improve the rights of the LGBT community generally.

Serbia is moving ahead with legislation to regulate same-sex civil partnerships, but LGBT rights groups say the content of the law is just as important as its adoption.

International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia was marked in seven Serbian cities for the first time with synchronized events.

They were organized by Labris, state institutions and local civil society organizations, Beta reported, citing to a press release issued by Labris.

BELGRADE - A total of seven physical and 12 verbal assaults on members of the LGBT community happened in Serbia in 2014, police intervened and filed 10 reports to the competent prosecutor's office, Serbian Minister of the Interior Nebojsa Stefanovic said on Wednesday.

During the same period, 66 threats against the LGBT community were made over social networks, he said.

BELGRADE - International conference 'The future belongs to us: LGBT rights on the road to the European Union' opens on Friday at the Metropol Hotel in Belgrade.

In addition to long-standing issues such as discrimination, violence and hate speech, the two-day conference will also tackle the quality of social services and cooperation with social work centers.

BELGRADE - Serbia's chief negotiator in the EU accession talks Tanja Miscevic has been presented with this year's Rainbow Award for her contribution to the fight against homophobia and transphobia, and improvement of the status of the LGBT population in Serbia.

BELGRADE - Serbia's Protector of Citizens Sasa Jankovic met on Tuesday with the representatives of the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) and expressed his support to the organization's efforts aimed at combating discrimination against LGBT persons and strongly condemned the death threats against its activists.