United Nations human rights experts on Monday called on Serbia to end the intensifying crackdown on peaceful student demonstrators, urging the government to engage in meaningful dialogue with academic institutions to uphold academic freedom.

Experts expressed concern following the Serbian authorities’ targeting of students, educators, human rights activists, and civil society, emphasizing the importance of academic freedom and student rights. The Special Rapporteurs, independent human rights experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, stated, “What we are witnessing in Serbia is a systematic attempt to silence critical voices and dismantle the independence of academic institutions.”

Protests began across Serbia in late 2024, led by the “Students in Blockade” movement. The collapse of a railway station canopy, which killed 16 people and gravely injured others in Serbia’s second-largest city, Novi Sad, in November 2024, triggered the protest movement. A nationwide call for government “accountability, transparency, justice and investment in education,” the movement continued gaining momentum, reaching a peak in March 2025, with hundreds of thousands of people joining demonstrations in Belgrade.

Serbian authorities have responded violently to the peaceful student-led protests, with Amnesty International noting, “Footage of Serbian riot police indiscriminately targeting peaceful protestors gathered at blockades on the street and in front of universities in Belgrade is alarming,” in a statement last month. Authorities have used excessive force against protestors, with university and high school students being subjected to arbitrary arrests and prolonged detentions. Police conduct has raised serious concerns about accountability, transparency, and respect for human rights, with demonstrators reporting intimidation, physical attacks, serious injuries, unlawful surveillance, and officers in civilian clothes targeting protestors.

Government representatives and state-aligned media have characterized protestors as “terrorists,” with hundreds of defamatory articles being published as part of a smear campaign allegedly targeting students and university officials. Educational institutions have also been impacted, with faculty salaries being cut or suspended and a reduction of research funding. Disciplinary action has been threatened against high school teachers and students for participating in the protests.

International human rights law establishes access to justice, effective remedies, and reparation as essential rights. Identifying the government’s response as a distressing pattern of repression, the experts noted, “This approach not only violates international human rights standards, but also, by its very nature, undermines the very foundation of a democratic society.”

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, expressed concerns regarding the Serbian authorities’ conduct in July. Rights organizations such as Amnesty International and the Human Rights Research Centre have called for authorities to end the use of force and meet the protestors’ demands.