no. 07-00-373 /2022-02 date: 5/12/2022

OPINION

The opinion was issued in the proceedings regarding the complaints submitted by A.A. – parents of J. and S. M. and B.B. – parents of N.M., and the complaint of the Association C.C., in the name and with the consent of the children’s legal representatives, filed against PU “Vlada Obradović Kameni”, due to discrimination based on political affiliation. In the complaints, it was stated, among other things, that the children on whose behalf the complaint was filed regularly attended this preschool institution, starting in 2018, i.e., in 2021, that the parents have concluded contracts for an indefinite period with the preschool institution, that the parents submitted applications for enrollment in 2022/2023 and that the parents were informed by phone, on August 25, 2022, that children will not be able to stay in the facility where they were already enrolled in previous years and that they are on the waiting list. It was further stated that the parents did not receive a decision or any other document containing an explanation of the reasons why the children were not enrolled in the preschool institution and that the discriminatory behavior of the preschool institution is reflected by the circumstances that the children’s parents or their family members are members and officials of the DS, as well as that they took part in the farmers’ protest, which was characterized as an oppositional activity because they criticized the government. In the statement and supplement to the statement of PU “Vlada Obradović Kameni”, it was specified, among other things, that the parents of the children on whose behalf the complaint was filed submitted a request for enrollment in the coming year and accepted the provisions of the Rulebook on the enrollment of children and the work of the enrollment committee from March 11, 2022, by which the contracts that were concluded with the parents, as users of the service, were terminated by force of law. It was also stated that the enrollment committee considered the request for enrollment of the children on whose behalf the complaint was filed, but that the accommodation facilities are full, which is why the children are on the waiting list. It was also stated that the enrollment committee determined, by checking the data on the e-administration portal, that the mother of the child N.M is unemployed and that there is a debt, which is why the enrollment committee determined that N.M does not meet the requirements for enrollment and that the accommodation facilities are not sufficient. The Commissioner combined the procedures for the submitted complaints, considering that in the specific case, they were on the same legal basis and related to the same factual situation. When deciding on this case, the Commissioner had in mind the application of the provisions of Article 45 of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, which is why they assessed whether PU “Vlada Obradović Kameni” presented the facts and provided evidence from which it could be determined that there were justified reasons due to which the complainant’s children were not enrolled in this preschool institution in 2022/2023, and which are not related to the personal characteristics of the parents, i.e. family members of the children. In the procedure, it was established that the complainant’s children attended PU “Vlada Obradović Kameni” in the facility Pećinci, i.e. Obrež, from 2018, i.e. from 2021, based on contracts concluded with this preschool institution for an indefinite period, and that the children’s parents submitted a new request for the enrollment of children in the coming year, in accordance with the Rulebook on the enrollment of children and the work of the enrollment committee of PU “Vlada Obradović Kameni”, which now prescribed this obligation, which did not exist in the previous Rulebook. It was established that the preschool institution was obliged to decide on the admission of children by the end of June 2022, however, the parents were informed only on August 25, 2022, by phone, that their children were not enrolled and that they were on the waiting list. In the procedure, it was established that the children of A.A. met the priority requirements for enrollment in this preschool institution, in accordance with the regulations, that the parents fulfilled all obligations from the contract, and that there were no justified reasons why their children were on the waiting list. Also, it was established that the child B.B. regularly attends the preschool institution since 2019 and that there were no justified reasons why the preschool institution did not enroll the child in 2022/23. In addition, in the process of inspection supervision, which was carried out for this preschool institution, it was determined that there was no justification for not admitting children who already attend this preschool institution and who have concluded contracts for an indefinite period, which is why it was ordered that the preschool institution act in accordance with Article 5 of the contract and return the children to the facilities of this institution where they were already enrolled in previous years, however, this has not been done to date. After the conducted procedure and presented evidence, applying the provisions of Article 45 of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, the Commissioner issued the opinion that PU “Vlada Obradović Kameni” Pećinci violated the provisions of Article 22 of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, in connection with Article 25 of this Law. The preschool institution was recommended to remove the consequences of discriminatory treatment and take immediate measures and activities to ensure that the children on whose behalf the complaint was filed attend this institution, in the facility Obrež, i.e. Pećinci, in which facilities the children were already enrolled in previous years, then to send a written apology to the parents of the children on whose behalf the complaint was filed, and that in the future takes care that they do not violate the legal regulations on the prohibition of discrimination in their regular work and activities.

COMMISSIONER FOR THE PROTECTION OF EQUALITY
Brankica Janković