Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Brankica Janković, met with the Albanian Commissioner for Protection against Discrimination, Robert Gajda, who came for a reciprocal bilateral visit. The meeting was held after they participated together, within the framework of the International Conference on Human Rights, on the panel “The Western Balkans in relation to the EU: Ways of fighting discrimination through institutional mechanisms”.

Commissioner Janković and Commissioner Gajda discussed all issues in the field of protection and promotion of human and minority rights and freedoms, with a special emphasis on whether the institutions of other European countries deal with the fight against discrimination differently from those in the Balkans, and what are the differences in terms of legal and practical mechanisms used by these countries. Practical experiences in the work of the two institutions were also exchanged.

During the conversation, it was concluded that human rights issues are extremely important and equally sensitive for the entire Western Balkans, which is visible from the tensions accompanying the organization of this year’s Europride in Belgrade. The commissioners agreed that the protection of the rights of the LGBT community is not ideal even in the developed democratic societies of the EU, but that progress is continuously being made in our region on this issue.

A similar conclusion was reached at the panel where, besides Janković and Gajda, their colleagues from Slovenia and Montenegro also participated. They concluded that changing laws is a very challenging job, but changing cultural patterns is more than a challenge. It requires continuous and dedicated work and alliances at all levels and with all social actors, both in civil society and state institutions.