Request to Commissioner for the protection of equality

Coalition Against Discrimination and partner organizations require from Dr. Nevena Petrusic to promptly determine whether to carry out its function of Commissioner to protect the equality or if she will hold a job of a Professor of Law Faculty in Nis with full-time. According to the explicit provisions of Article 28 Law on the prohibition of discrimination, the Commissioner for the protection of equality must not perform any professional activity. This legal prohibition in the first place refers to the work being done under a contract of employment. In Article 30, this law, prohibition of non-compliance with other professional activities sanctioned by dismissal from office of the Commissioner.

In the recent letter to Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Nis, Dr. Nevena Petrusic confirmed her decision that in full employment she does work as a professor at the Faculty even after the election for Commissioner. Accordingly to that, the decision of the Teaching and Scientific Council of July 01, 2010, Dr. Nevena Petrusic is distributed as a teacher in five classes of this Faculty.

Non-governmental organizations gathered in Coalition Against Discrimination and partner organizations believe that for the function of Commissioner for the protection of equality is necessary full engagement of working capacity of the person elected for that position. Decision to act directly contrary to the letter of the prohibition of discrimination, Dr. Nevena Petrusic has shown no intention to seriously and fully committe to conducting operations within her jurisdiction.

Please note that the prohibition of performing professional duties in Article 28 Law on the prohibition of discrimination is an independent legal basis for dismissing a person who acts contrary to this prohibition, and that is not related to the prohibition of conflicts of interest in which Article 30 refers Law on Agency for the fight against corruption. Please also note that Dr. Nevena Petrusic in May 2010th was elected for Commissioner but did not meet the requirements (Law on the prohibition of discrimination) for election to the post.

In addition, for almost three months after her election, Dr. Nevena Petrusic has not taken any opportunity which has stood at her disposal to warn about numerous and drastic cases of discrimination, such as stoning case of the Roma settlements in Jabuka near Pancevo. In this way, as she has done with the decision to work as the full employed professor and to perform the function of Commissioner as an additional or part-time work, Dr. Nevena Petrusic has once again confirmed that she doesnt take that function seriously.

Based directly on the provision of Article 28 and 30 Law on the prohibition of discrimination, non-governmental organizations require from Dr. Nevena Petrusic to immediately obey the letter of the law whose application shes in charge and decide whether to fully devote herself to carrying out its functions or be professor at the Law Faculty.

Belgrade,

July 27, 2010.

Members of the Coalition against discrimination of the Center for Advanced Legal Studies, Civil Rights Defenders, LABRIS - organization for lesbian human rights, anti-trafficking center, Network Committee for Human Rights (CHRIS network), the Association of Students with Disabilities, Inclusion Initiative "VelikiMali and Gayten LGBT.

1. Center for Advanced Legal Studies

2. Civil Rights Defenders

3. Center for Youth Integration

4. Centre for Euro-Atlantic integration

5. Center for Democracy and Development of South Serbia

6. Humanitarian Law

7. Gayten LGBT

8. Initiative for Inclusion "VelikiMali"

9. Youth Initiative for Human Rights

10. Lawyers Committee for Human Rights - YUCOM

11. LABRIS

12. Network CHRIS: Civic Forum Novi Pazar

13. CHRIS Network: Human Rights Committee Negotin

14. CHRIS Network: Human Rights Committee Nis

15. CHRIS Network: Human Rights Committee Valjevo

16. CHRIS Network: Vojvodina Centre for Human Rights, Novi Sad

17. People's Parliament Leskovac

18. News Agency TimocPress

19. Organization for Development and Democracy Bujanovac

20. PRAXIS

21. Roma Centre for Democracy Bujanovac

22. Reginal Center for Minority

23. Association of Serbian Vlachs

24. Association of Students with Disabilities

25. Women in Black

26. Women's forum Negotin

27. Roma Women's Network Banat: Association of Roma, Novalja

28. Banat Roma Women's Network: Roma Women's Center Romnjako Ilo, Zrenjanin

29. Roma Women's Network Banat: Association of Roma "Danica", Pancevo

30. Anti Trafficking Center - ATC