In connection with the International Day of Disabled Persons, 3 December, the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection reminded that the state has the duty to provide to all citizens conditions for unhindered and proper exercise of the rights enshrined in the Constitution and the law. The Commissioner reminded that disabled persons, i.e. persons with special needs, also have the need and the right to participate in social life and contribute to its quality and that all levels of the Government must provide assumptions for that.

In connection with that, Commissioner Rodoljub Sabic also said the following:

“Even without reliable data we know very well that disabled persons, i.e. persons with special needs, constitute a significant part of Serbian population and that there are almost one million of them. Unfortunately, we also know that majority of them are poor, many of them live on welfare and slightly over 10% of them are employed.

All levels of the Government must do all they can to improve such situation. This, together with measures which should ensure improvement of disabled persons’ economic status, certainly also imply provision of conditions for exercise of political and civil rights, such as the right to free access to information of public importance.

Proper information and free access to information held by public authorities are an assumption for active participation of all citizens, including disabled persons, in social life. Since disabled persons have special needs, they also need some special conditions for exercise of that right. Thus I as a Commissioner for Information of Public Importance urge all public authorities and all relevant entities, such as public information services, to assess whether they provide those conditions in the highest possible measure and to identify scope for improvement in this regard.

There are positive examples at different levels, such as the use of software which enables electronic communication to blind and partially sighted persons, sign language for deaf and deaf-mute persons or ramps and elevators for bed-ridden persons etc., but regardless of economic difficulties, use of those and all other means which would enable proper exercise of this right to disabled persons can certainly be additionally improved. The state has a duty to make those possibilities real.”