Belgrade Roma face forced eviction

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Unfortunately the Serbian authorities didn't heed our calls, and 10 of the families have now been rehoused in completely unsuitable metal containers with no access to electricity. We'll keep working with our partners in Serbia to help, and we'll keep campaigning wherever these kinds of evictions take place - human rights must be respected.

Roma families living the Serbian capital, Belgrade, are once again facing forced eviction.

Thirty-three families, including refugees from the war in Kosovo, had been given a reprieve last November ahead of the harsh Belgrade winter, after intensive campaigning by Amnesty and others.

However, the authorities recently announced evictions would go ahead once the weather improved.

The alternatives on offer to the current residents of Block 72 include metal containers, collective centres already slated for closure - or homelessness. Find out more

We expect the evictions to happen any time from Wednesday 7 March so we need to act fast.

To co-sign our letter calling for the evictions to be stopped, text ACTION1 and your full name to 88080 now*. Over 14s only. Alternatively, you can email your letter to the Serbian authorities directly. Send an email now

Under 18? So that we can ensure you receive appropriate communications, please include your date of birth in the following format: DD/MM/YYYY (e.g. SIGNUP Joe Bloggs 01/01/1900).

What will we do with your name?
We’ll add your name, but not your number, to this letter which we’ll fax to the Serbian authorities.

I am very concerned regarding the proposed forced eviction of 33 Roma families from Block 72 in Belgrade. Twenty of the families are internally displaced, having fled Kosovo after the war there in 1999. Twelve other families are residents of Belgrade, and one is from southern Serbia.

I understand that if the eviction goes ahead, the families registered as resident in Belgrade are likely to be offered accommodation in metal containers.

I also understand that some of the families from Kosovo have been offered a place in collective centres for refugees found to be lacking in basic facilities and slated for closure by the Serbian government. Those that do not accept may be left homeless while the remaining ten internally displaced families have been told by the authorities that they must return to Kosovo.

Serbia is a state party to international and regional human rights treaties which prohibit forced evictions.

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