In the proceeding upon the complaint against General hospital “Laza K. Lazarevic” Sabac, because of discrimination on grounds of belonging to Roma national minority, Commissioner for the Protection of Equality issued an opinion that the provisions of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination were violated.

Namely, the complainant stated that he had applied for the employment in this hospital many times, attached all required documentation and fulfilled all required conditions, but he was never hired because he belongs to Roma national minority. During the proceeding, the health institution did not offer facts and proofs that would prove that it had considered the complainant’s application, as well as additional documentation attached in accordance with the public advertisement for an open job position, and that he was not hired because of objective reasons that had no relation to his nationality. Having in mind the stated facts and conducted proofs, as well as statistical data about position of Roma minority at the labor market, stereotypes and prejudices about working habits of Roma people and fact that there is still a great social distance towards this social group, Commissioner issued an opinion that the  General hospital “Laza K. Lazarevic” Sabac discriminated this candidate during the employment procedure on grounds of his personal characteristic – belonging to Roma national minority.

Along with this opinion, Commissioner issued a recommendation to the General hospital “Laza K. Lazarevic” Sabac, to take measures within its authority in order to remove the consequences of discriminatory acting, and also not to violate legal provisions on prohibition of discrimination within its regular operations and activities.

Since the General hospital “Laza K. Lazarevic” Sabac did not act upon the recommendation, even after the warning, Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, in accordance with the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination, informs the public about this.