The legislative framework for the protection of national minority rights should not be viewed solely through the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities, but also from the perspective of protection against discrimination and the actions of the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, said the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality Brankica Janković at the panel “National and International Standards for the Protection of Minority Rights,” held at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts within the project “Ethno-Confessional Minorities in Serbia – Challenges and Perspectives of Human Rights.”

The Commissioner emphasized that people’s lives are not based solely on the letter of the law, but also on generally accepted cultural patterns, dialogue, understanding, tolerance, and nurturing of values that are learned from an early age. Therefore, in multinational environments, it is especially important to continuously work on intercultural integration. She also presented the practices of the institution of the Commissioner in cases of discrimination based on nationality and ethnic origin, which, in addition to acting upon complaints, includes research, analysis, cooperation with institutions, civil society, and national minority councils, as well as participation in strategic litigation.

The discussion also included Dr. Goran Bašić from the Institute of Social Sciences, Dr. Ljubica Đorđević from the European Centre for Minority Issues, and Dr. Katinka Beretka from the Faculty of Law and Business Studies “Dr Lazar Vrkatić” of Union University. The project leader, academician Alpar Lošonc, presented the project goals, and the panel was moderated by Dr. Aleksandra Đurić Milovanović from the Institute for Balkan Studies of SASA.