Brankica Janković, the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, submitted the 2016 Regular Annual Report to the National Assembly of Serbia.

The largest number of complaints pertains to discrimination on the grounds of disability and gender, making one quarter of total number of claims received. These are followed by complaints related to discrimination on the grounds of age, nationality and health condition.

Discrimination occurred mostly in the area of labor and employment, same as in previous years, making one third of total number of complaints, followed by discrimination in the course of proceedings before government authorities, delivery of public services or utilization of public spaces and facilities.

During the last year, Commissioner issued a significantly higher number of recommendations for achieving equality, as experience indicates that this is the most efficient preemptive tool.

Twenty four recommendations for the suppression of discrimination and improvement of equality are listed in the Report, including: the recommendation to intensify efforts towards eliminating all kinds of barriers that make it difficult for citizens with disability to access public buildings, means of transportation and communication facilities; undertake measures for providing pedagogic assistants for children who need additional support in education; adopt the Law on Free Legal Assistance; undertake measures for economic empowerment of women and protection of women against discrimination on the labor market; improve the position of the elderly, especially in rural areas, particularly in domains of social and health care, etc.