Commissioner Brankica Janković participated in a two-day conference in Berlin dedicated to the need to adopt common standards of equality bodies for effective protection against discrimination in Europe, jointly organized by the European Network of Equality Bodies EQUINET and the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency of Germany FADA.

The Commissioner spoke in a panel dedicated to the perceptions and expectations of society when it comes to national equality bodies, where she pointed out that the legal framework in Serbia enables citizens to be protected from discrimination following existing EU standards and the provisions of the proposed Directive on the standards of equality bodies, but that in practice there is room for strengthening the position of the Commissioner’s institution. She estimated that adopting the Directive will contribute to a better understanding of the role of equality bodies in preventing discrimination, promoting equal treatment, encouraging knowledge, and building the capacity of public and private entities to prevent discrimination.

Janković stated that one of the biggest challenges is citizens’ expectations, which exceed the institution’s competencies, as due to the various forms of injustice they face daily, they often turn to the Commissioner even when the issue is not discrimination. She pointed out that in such cases, citizens receive information on whether there has been a violation of another right and are referred to the competent institutions. Emphasizing that citizens’ views are very important for the promotion of equality, Janković also presented on the panel some of the preliminary findings from the latest research on citizens’ perceptions of discrimination, which the Commissioner regularly conducts.