no. 07-00-576/2022-02 date: 6.3.2023.

OPINION

The opinion was issued in the proceedings regarding the complaint of the organization AA, filed due to discrimination based on disability against the Municipality of BB and the Institution for the provision of social protection services. In the complaint, it was stated, among other things, that the Municipal Council in BB decided on the relocation of the daycare center for people with developmental disabilities outside the city center – to the VV picnic area, while the relocation of the daycare center for young people and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical development outside the settlement is prohibited by regulations. The request for a statement regarding this decision, which the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality sent to the Municipality of BB and the Institution for the provision of social protection services, still needs to be answered. In order to properly establish the factual situation, the Commissioner turned to the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans, and Social Affairs. The Ministry informed the Commissioner that social protection inspectors from the Provincial Secretariat for Social Policy, Demography, and Gender Equality made an official advisory visit to the Institution for the provision of social protection services in connection with the relocation of the daycare center from the location at BB, st. … to the location VV. The inspectors stated that the facility at the location of VV is located at a distance of about 4 km from the center of the municipality of BB, as well as that there is no public transportation to the facility, and that this facility does not meet the conditions prescribed by the law and the Rulebook on closer conditions and standards for the provision of social services protection. Namely, this Rulebook prescribes the following conditions: that the facility where services are provided is located in a populated area, that the facility must be accessible to public transportation, and that the service provider offers a safe environment for users, employees, and third parties to stay. The inspectors stated that the building at the address VV is inadequate due to the location and accessibility of the daycare service, while the daycare facilities at the address … BB are inadequate due to the area being full of moisture, subsidence of the area, access, etc. Bearing in mind the above, the desire of the Municipality of BB to improve the provision of the daycare service is justified, especially considering that the current space where the service is provided is unconditional. However, the Commissioner stated that the planned relocation of this facility to a location far from the eyes of the public, public transport, and outside the urban environment is problematic and is not only contrary to social protection standards but also inconsistent with anti-discrimination regulations. The fact that the license of the provider of this service necessary for citizens expired at the beginning of 2023 is particularly worrying. Since the Municipality of BB and the Institution for the provision of social protection services have not submitted a reply to the allegations of the complaint, the Commissioner has no knowledge of whether the Decision on the relocation of the daycare center has been invalidated. Also, from the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs letter, it is indisputable that the daycare service is currently provided in an inadequate space by a provider whose license has expired. In this regard, applying the rules on redistributing the burden of proof from Article 45 of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, the Commissioner issued an opinion that the Municipality of BB and the Institution for providing social protection services violated the provisions of Article 6, in connection with Article 26 and Article 27 of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, well as Article 13, Paragraph 5 of the Law on Prevention of Discrimination of Persons with Disabilities. It was recommended to the municipality of BB that, if it has not already revoked this decision, it should do so and take all the necessary measures and activities to provide an adequate space in which daycare services for people with disabilities will be provided by a licensed service provider, as well as to take care to comply with the regulations on prohibition of discrimination in the future, while the Institution for the provision of social protection services was recommended to urgently proceed with the process of extending the license for the provision of social protection services.

COMMISSIONER FOR THE PROTECTION OF EQUALITY
Brankica Janković