30.08.2023.
Reserve members – single parents do not take part in military exercises
Regarding the inaccurate information published by certain media outlets about calling up members of the reserve, we announce the following:
The activities carried out by the territorial authorities of the Ministry of Defence relating to the call-up of the reservists of the Serbian Armed Forces in September and October of this year are regular, planned and continuous, announced on time and in full, in accordance with the Law on Conscription, Compulsory Labour and Requisition. In addition to mailing call-up notices to citizens' home addresses, the Ministry of Defence regularly informs the public about these activities through its official website.
Statements by certain media that single parents must participate in military exercises are absolutely untrue and malicious. Namely, according to Article 49 of the Law on Conscription, Compulsory Labour and Requisition, "a woman during pregnancy, a conscript whose spouse has been called-up for exercise, a single parent (if his/her child is younger than 15 years of age) and a woman whose spouse has not been called up for exercise (if having a child younger than 10 years of age) shall not be called up for exercise".
If the reservist is a single parent of a child younger than 15 years of age, he or she must, upon receipt of the call-up notice, submit written evidence to the territorial authority proving that they are a single parent. In that case, the said person will no longer be called up for military exercises until the child reaches the age of 15.
Please note that according to Article 53 of the aforementioned law, a reservist must submit a request for exercise postponing to the territorial authority with whom the individual is registered within eight days from the date of exercise call-up receipt.
A person in the reserve must respond to the call up of the territorial authority at the time and location specified in the individual call-up notice. If he or she does not respond to the call-up and does not provide a justified reason for his/her failure to respond, he or she will face misdemeanour or criminal charges.
Once again, we appeal to the media outlets not to publish untrue and unverified information and thereby unnecessarily disturb citizens.
