It is very important that Parliament, as the highest authority, effectively cooperates with independent institutions for the protection of human rights and accepts and understands their role in society. Protection of vulnerable and excluded groups and individuals, respect for diversity, and building an equal and tolerant society is only possible through democratic processes and the rule of law, and independent institutions and parliament must be partners in this task, said the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality Brankica Janković at the conference “Democracy, minimum consensus” organized by the organization CRTA.
An important tool in the hands of the Commissioner is the preparation of the Regular Annual Report and its deliberation in the Parliament. That mechanism ensures a systematic review of perceived shortcomings and proposals for measures to improve various areas of social life. Through deliberation and discussion, and finally by adopting conclusions, every year the people’s deputies have the opportunity to take concrete steps to improve the rights and position of all citizens, said the Commissioner.
We are about to constitute a new convocation of the National Assembly and I expect that in the newly elected members of parliament we will have collaborators and people who will understand the importance of the fight for the protection and improvement of human rights. There is plenty of room for work because there is still discrimination in various areas. We, as an institution, will work with dedication and commitment to prevent all forms and cases of discrimination and to protect equality, expecting that the new parliament will recognize our work and support the recommendations and measures from our reports, said Janković.
At the “Democracy, minimum consensus” conference spoke, among others, the German ambassador in Belgrade Thomas Schieb, the head of the Political Department of the EU Delegation in Serbia Dirk Lorenz, the director of the USAID mission in Serbia Denny Robertson, and the director of CRTA Vukosava Crnjanski.
