Assessment of the impact of regulations and public policies is critical to the state of equality in society. The goal is to have laws that improve the lives of citizens, which is why procedures should be respected and all relevant actors who understand how the system works and what the citizens’ problems are should be included, said the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Brankica Janković. in the introductory part of the workshop on developing methodology for assessing the impact of public policies on equality.

The consultative workshop brought together representatives of public authorities, and the Commissioner emphasized the importance of developing a methodology that can contribute to identifying and analyzing the effects of all acts that have or can have an impact on the position of citizens, especially those who are at greater risk of discrimination.

The Commissioner gives opinions on draft regulations, whereby we try to influence the proponents to omit those norms that can produce discriminatory outcomes or have a negative impact on some social group or society as a whole. Our practice has shown that it is more expedient to assess the impact of regulations on socioeconomically vulnerable groups and individuals in the phase of adopting a particular regulation than in the phase of its application, when shortcomings and their far-reaching consequences are already visible, the Commissioner adds.

The workshop was organized as part of the project “Strengthening protection against discrimination and promoting equality in Serbia: That no one is left behind”, which is implemented by the IDEAS Research and Development Center with the support of the British Embassy in Belgrade and in cooperation with the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality.