Serbia

A landlocked country in the Balkans and part of the former Yugoslavia, Serbia was heavily involved in the brutal wars of the 1990s. The first post-independence president, Slobodan Milosevic, was accused of orchestrating massacres and ethnic cleansing during this fighting and was overthrown by popular protests in 2000. Since then, Serbia has become more accepted as a member of the international community and of Europe, but the political situation remains tense and human rights violations persist - particularly discrimination against Roma people and the ill-treatment of children with disabilities.