No. 07-00-508/2023-02  date: 19.2.2024.

OPINION

The opinion was issued in the procedure regarding the complaint submitted by Association AA on behalf of and with the consent of BB, against the City of Zaječar and the Center for Social Work “Zaječar”. The complaint stated that BB, as an internally displaced person, was granted the right to use accommodation in a social housing facility under protected conditions in the City of Zaječar by a decision of the Center for Social Work “Zaječar”. The accommodation was assigned in residential unit number …, floor … at the address …, with the commencement of use on January 26, 2009, after which BB signed a Social Housing Agreement under Protected Conditions. The basis for issuing the decision and concluding the agreement was the Cooperation Agreement on the Implementation of the “Social Housing in Protected Conditions” project, the Decision on Social Protection of Citizens in the Municipality of Zaječar, and the Rulebook on Criteria and Measures for Selecting Social Housing Beneficiaries under Protected Conditions. The City of Zaječar appears as one of the contracting parties in the cooperation agreements, as the construction land and the facility designated for social housing under protected conditions are publicly owned. The Rulebook stipulates that a Commission consisting of representatives of all contracting parties, including the City of Zaječar and the Center for Social Work “Zaječar”, conducts the initial selection process of beneficiaries, i.e., compiles the final priority ranking list based on the number of points assigned according to the prescribed criteria and measures for selecting beneficiaries. The complaint further states that on September 10, 1997, the Republic Fund for Pension and Disability Insurance – Đakovica Branch issued a decision determining BB’s disability of Category I due to illness and granting the right to a disability pension. In 2007, BB was also granted the right to financial assistance for care and assistance from another person. It was pointed out that for 15 years, BB, as a person with a disability who moves exclusively using a wheelchair, has been unable to enter or exit the residential unit because the building lacks an elevator or any other means of overcoming height differences for persons with disabilities. As a result, BB has been forced to seek the assistance of her daughter or neighbors who carry her in the wheelchair. The complaint included photographs of the interior and exterior of the social housing facility under protected conditions in the City of Zaječar, taken in May 2023. In its response, the Center for Social Work “Zaječar” stated that BB has been a beneficiary of the social housing service under protected conditions since 2009, based on a decision by the Center for Social Work, in a building constructed by the City of Zaječar in collaboration with its partners, both domestic and international, for this purpose. It further stated that the building is publicly owned by the City of Zaječar and that the Center for Social Work “Zaječar” provides this service, which was entrusted to it by the City of Zaječar based on the Decision on Social Protection of the Citizens of Zaječar. Additionally, it was stated that the City of Zaječar and the relevant authorities, together with the Center for Social Work “Zaječar,” plan to determine the most efficient solution for the existing building in the future. In its response, the City of Zaječar stated that city authorities promptly began examining possible solutions to the problem by first determining the factual situation regarding the technical possibilities on-site and then contacting an authorized company for the distribution and installation of platforms. The response also stated that there are no available social housing apartments for persons with disabilities in the City of Zaječar. The Commissioner requested the complainant to clarify whether they maintained their complaint. The complainant informed the Commissioner that they stood by the complaint. The Commissioner for the Protection of Equality then requested the City of Zaječar to supplement its response by providing information on whether they had received a response from the company to which they sent a request for an offer for the installation of a mobile platform for persons with disabilities and to outline the timeline for the execution of the works, including the expected start and completion dates. In its supplemental response, the City of Zaječar stated that a representative of the company to which the email with documentation and project assignment was sent had informed them that, due to an increased workload, they were unable to provide an offer for the manufacture and installation of the mobile platform for persons with disabilities. Following this, the city contacted other companies engaged in the production of mobile platforms for persons with disabilities. In analyzing the case, the Commissioner took into account the rule on the redistribution of the burden of proof. According to this rule, the complainant must make it probable that the person against whom the complaint is filed has committed an act of discrimination based on a personal characteristic. If the complainant does so, the burden of proving that the act did not result in a violation of the principle of equality, i.e., the principle of equal rights and obligations, lies with the party against whom the complaint was filed. The Commissioner for the Protection of Equality considers important the activities undertaken by the City of Zaječar and the Center for Social Work “Zaječar” after the complaint was filed, aimed at resolving the problem to make the residential unit accessible to BB. However, as it has not been proven that the obstacles and barriers to unobstructed access to the residential unit have been removed, i.e., that the residential unit is accessible to persons with disabilities who use a wheelchair for movement, the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality issued the opinion that, in this specific case, there was a violation of Articles 6 and 26 of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination. The Commissioner recommended that the City of Zaječar and the Center for Social Work “Zaječar” take all necessary measures and actions to eliminate the consequences of discriminatory conduct, specifically to ensure that the residential unit … at the address …, Zaječar, is made accessible to BB, a person with disabilities who exclusively uses a wheelchair for movement, and to ensure that in the future, in the course of their duties, they do not violate anti-discrimination regulations.

COMMISSIONER FOR THE PROTECTION OF EQUALITY
Brankica Janković