People with disabilities are ‘invisible’ in Serbia

11 months ago 43

People with disabilities in Serbia face systemic discrimination and live on the edge of poverty, Branko Jokić, president of the Association of People with Disabilities Phoenix told Euractiv Serbia.

Although there is no single database on the number of people with disabilities in Serbia, it is estimated that there are about 800,000 of them.

Speaking to Euractiv Serbia, Jokić pointed to the systemic discrimination and poverty-ridden life people with disabilities face in Serbia, bemoaning the small progress that has been made to protect the group despite Serbia’s 2009 ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

“Just one example of misunderstanding of the position of people with disabilities and a form of discrimination is another illogical law that prohibits the realisation of several rights, such as family pension and personal disability allowance,” Jokić added.

He also noted that most of them face various social and life barriers, such as prejudices and attitudes towards disability, inaccessibility of facilities, information and communication devices, unemployment, poverty, and exclusion from society.

“We, people with disabilities, are marginalised and constantly exposed to prejudices that are difficult to change. Even more alarming is the fact that in some places families hide people with disabilities, which is favoured by the lack of interest and unwillingness of the local community to provide them with a dignified life,” Jokić added.

Also in contradiction with the basic principles of equality and human rights is the common practice of taking away the capacity of people with disabilities to make business decisions by themselves, taking away their power to decide on their lives.

“Two years ago, the UN Committee for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recommended to Serbia what it should do to improve the position of people with disabilities, but very little is being done in this regard,” Jokić added.

“Unfortunately, the reality is that we are invisible to Serbian society, and our problems are pushed under the carpet,” he said.

In June of last year, Fenix organised a protest in front of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Veteran Affairs.

The association presented 10 points to increase the strength and unity of people with disabilities, for families, friends, and colleagues to publicly show their support for people with disabilities, but also to improve the overall acceptance of people with disabilities by the community and society – none of which have been answered to, Jokić added.

To improve the status and daily life of persons with disabilities in the country, all laws concerning persons with disabilities should be tightened and respected, and all UN charters on the rights of persons with disabilities should be applied, Jokić concluded.

(Euractiv.rs | Milena Antonijević)