Praxis and Equal Rights Trust (ERT) from London, with the support of the Commissioner for Protection of Equality, held a roundtable Antidiscrimination Legal and Strategic Framework – Defining Priorities and Challenges of the civil Society in Nis on 5 November 2015.

The goal of the roundtable was to define join priorities and key challenges of civil society organizations related to the implementation of antidiscrimination legal and strategic framework. The roundtable was organized within the project Empowering Civil Society to Improve the Implementation of Anti-discrimination Laws in Serbia, supported by the European Union. It was attended by 40 representatives of civil society organizations , law students and human rights activists.
 
The roundtable was opened by Ivana Stjelja, Coordinator of Antidiscrimination Programme in Praxis. Following the opening words, the present were addressed by Nevena Petrusic, PhD, from the Faculty of Law in Nis. She was talking about the importance of acquiring this kind of knowledge at law studies, which does not have enough attention paid to at the time.

Afterwards, the participants were divided into six working groups, with an aim to define priorities and main challenges in the respective areas. The working groups were led by experts: Tamara Lukšić-Orlandić, child rights; Jovanka Todorović Savović, Labris, LGBT rights; Milan Pantelić, Praxis, gender equality; Marija Demić, SKRUG- League of Roma, Roma rights; Dragana Ćirić Milovanović, MDRI, rights of persons with disabilities and Vladimir Petronijević, Grupa 484, rights of migrants. Priorities and challenges in these areas were then presented at the panel discussion.

Inadequate implementation of the applicable legal regulations, adoption of new legal regulations and bylaws and their compliance with international standards are the main challenges in the area of antidiscrimination legislation. Struggle against prejudices, stereotypes and hate speech is the main strategic factor which civil society organizations should focus on. Having in mind that vulnerable groups mainly face similar problems, the cooperation of relevant actors dealing with the rights of those vulnerable groups is of utmost importance. Multidisciplinary approach to discrimination, primarily to indirect and multiple discrimination, would enable a better insight into the challenges we are facing and open new opportunities for cooperation. In addition, it is also important to acquire knowledge about discrimination through formal and informal knowledge.