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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Government adopts series of conclusions after massacre at Vladislav Ribnikar primary school

Belgrade, 4 May 2023

The government of the Republic of Serbia began today's session with a minute of silence for all the victims of the horrific massacre that took place yesterday at the Vladislav Ribnikar primary school in Belgrade.

At the session, ten conclusions were adopted that President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic presented yesterday.

The first conclusion represents a two-year moratorium on the issuance of permits to keep and carry small firearms (authorisations for the acquisition of weapons, weapons certificates, etc.). Within three months, the Ministry of the Interior will review all issued weapons permits.

Within six months, the Ministry of the Interior will control the persons who have permits to keep weapons, especially the fulfillment of the legal requirements for the safe accommodation and storage of weapons and the separate storage of ammunition. Within the same period, the Ministry of the Interior will also review whether access to weapons and ammunition to minors and other unauthorised persons has been adequately prevented.

The work of all shooting ranges will be subject to control of the Ministry of the Interior in the next three months. After that, in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, within a month, regulations will be drawn up on the conditions and manner of using shooting ranges, including the ban on access to minors.

The Ministry of Justice, within the framework of the existing Working Group for the amendment of the Criminal Code, will prepare amendments to the law that would prescribe criminal liability for persons who enable minors and other unauthorised persons to get possession of firearms and who train minors and other unauthorised persons to handle firearms.

The Ministry of Justice will also, within the existing Working Group for amending the Criminal Code, consider the possibility of amending the Criminal Code in order to lower the age limit for criminal liability of minors from 14 to 12 years, while respecting international and European standards.

It is important to note that the Ministry of Justice has already taken the first steps in this matter, by sending a letter to the European Commission.

The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications will, within a month, consider the possibility of tightening sanctions for non-compliance with the prescribed obligations of media service providers, including the Internet and other electronic platforms, as well as social networks, with regard to the prohibition of program content that highlights and supports violence, criminal and other illegal behaviour, broadcasting scenes of brutal violence and other content that can seriously harm the physical, mental or moral development of minors.

Within a month, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health will prepare regulations that will allow the introduction of mandatory drug tests in secondary and primary schools for students in the seventh and eighth grades.

Within ten days, the government will form the Council for the Prevention of Peer Violence, which will, among other things, ensure the organization of mobile teams for peer violence through protocols between centers for social work and other services (educational and health institutions, police), which would respond urgently to cases of peer violence and in consultation with trade unions of educational workers and associations of parents of students, considered the expediency of adopting a measure banning the use of mobile phones in schools.

The government will also, within ten days, form a working group for the safety of children on the Internet, which will consider the introduction of measures to ban access to websites (DarkNet and similar), which contain advice on how to commit murder, acquire drugs or firearms.

Members of the government made a decision to declare a day of mourning on the territory of the Republic of Serbia, which designates 5, 6 and 7 May as the days of mourning.

The government of the Republic of Serbia also sends its deepest condolences to all the families of those who died in yesterday's tragic event.