THE FOLLOWING IS THE SPEECH OF THE SPEAKER OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA IN ITS ENTIRETY:
"Dear Ms Jankovic,
Distinguished members of the Government,
Your excellencies,
Distinguished members of the civil sector,
Thank you for taking part in today's public hearing and thank the Commissioner for the initiative to organise it. As you know, the National Assembly in its current legislature wants to encourage public discussion on all topics of importance that come before the parliament. On the other hand, working in this format contributes to the quality of decisions made in the Assembly, because the MPs have the opportunity to be further informed about important issues through discussion with all the interested parties. That is why our decision to organise public hearings on important topics as often as possible has so far been fully justified.
Today, we have before us one of such important document, the Special Report of the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality on discrimination against senior citizens. It is a detailed, comprehensive document in which the institution of the Commissioner for Equality and, obviously, Ms Jankovic herself, had invested a lot of effort and knowledge, for which I congratulate and thank them.
The picture this report paints is nothing we should be proud of as a community that often likes to think of and even more often call itself one of solidarity, one that take care of its oldest. Unfortunately, Serbia is not immune prevailing global trend of on aging population, especially in the countryside, with an often unenviable material and social position.
What is of particular concern is that, according to the Report, complaints of age discrimination have been among the topmost discrimination reports for years, which are supposed to secure the protection of the Commissioner and society as a whole. For years now, complaints of age discrimination have ranked second to all other forms of discrimination. This is a situation we need to change. That is why it is important to have before us such a detailed and in-depth report, as an excellent material to help us make decisions that will truly and lastingly improve the position of our oldest fellow citizens.
I am also convinced that it is important to point out in this discussion the numerous positive sides evident in our attitude towards the elderly. First of all, I am thinking of the efforts of the current and previous governments to improve the material position of pensioners, through the constant increase in pensions recorded for years back. We must keep in mind that every fifth of our fellow citizens is older than 65, and that the emphasis on improving their material position is also one of the Government’s most important financial and social priorities.
We are convinced that by constantly strengthening the material and financial position of our pensioners and the elderly, we also eliminate the largest number of factors that lead to their discrimination and, in general, their unwarranted marginal role in society. We want a Serbia in which being old is not an embarrassment, and being a pensioner does not mean being poor and discriminated against. I am convinced that we are on a good path to achieve that, and we will only be able to do that if we combine our knowledge and, above all, a sense of solidarity with the elderly that we all share here. That is why I consider this Report a very important step in that direction, having in mind all of its recommendations for the work that awaits us in the future.
Thank you once again for being here today, especially Commissioner Jankovic and her team for drafting this document, and I believe that in course of the public hearing we will come up with useful and concrete initiatives to achieve our common goal, which is better position for and less discrimination against our senior citizens.
Thank you.
