To mark this year's Human Rights Day, the United Nations has chosen the theme "Recover Better - Stand Up for Human Rights", putting human rights at the center of efforts to better recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In our country, as in other countries in the world, the pandemic has brought to the fore the systemic anomalies and weaknesses of the countries, which contribute to increasing inequality and discrimination on various grounds.
Starting from the daily contacts with citizens who have faced violations of their rights, as well as the regular monitoring of the situation in several areas, our key recommendations for the upcoming recovery period from the crisis are:
Discrimination on various grounds is the root of many problems. Therefore, it is necessary to create professional and efficient bodies that will fight inequality in society, followed by serious systemic changes that will enable consistent application of the principle of equality in all spheres of society;
The new Labor Law should reflect the real needs of the workers imposed by the crisis and include the lessons learned from it, in order to improve the situation with workers' rights;
Women are disproportionately more affected by the effects of the pandemic. Decision makers must not ignore the gender dimension of the crisis.
It is necessary to adopt and implement policies to promote gender equality, which will address the specific position of workers, and at the same time will enable the existing social and labor system to protect all workers equally, regardless of their status in the work process ( formal or informal).
Comprehensive policies and measures are needed to protect poor citizens and bring them out of a state of constant social risk;
The adoption of the new Law on Prevention and Protection from Violence against Women and Domestic Violence must be accompanied by profound reforms in the actions of the competent institutions;
People with disabilities are still one of the most marginalized groups in society and have been disproportionately affected by the effects of the pandemic.
They need equal involvement in decision-making processes and in all spheres of social life in order to ensure their smooth functioning and dignified life.
Sanctioning hate speech because it deepens divisions among people and affects the violation of the principles of solidarity and humanity.
Establishment of a preventive educational mechanism and education of young people to overcome prejudices and stereotypes.
