Law on same-sex partnerships is being drafted: Serbian MPs will soon discuss it

The debate is expected before the spring of next year

Photo: Shutterstock

Minister of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue Gordana Comic announced today that the laws on gender equality and same-sex partnerships will be drafted by the end of the year.

She told TV Prva that dialogue on the law on same-sex partnerships will be opened in December and that a working group is being formed, while the two laws could enter parliamentary procedure before the spring of next year.

"This is not a regulation against the majority, but a regulation by which a distinct minority in society exercises their rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the law on anti-discrimination," says Comic.

Asked what the debate on that regulation would look like, she said that it would be a dialogue with civil society, with professionals, within the government, as well as with MPs.

"I am aware that any anti-discrimination regulation is a problem for society because it bans your behavior based on prejudice. Every anti-discrimination regulation is accepted by society with difficulty," says Comic.

There will also be conversation with people who oppose that law, she said.

Asked about the renewal of the dialogue between the government and the opposition and whether she could be a mediator in those talks, Comic said that the dialogue is the competence of the Assembly of Serbia and the European Parliament.

She said that neither the European Commission, nor any ministry or government should interfere in that.

When asked if she has the energy to do everything that's planned, she said that her mandate is limited to one year, and that she is listening carefully to "the growling of enemies and the silence of friends."

"If in a year you cannot increase the mark of the rule of law by 20 percent, from the current low 2.2 to 2.64, if you cannot fulfill the plan we set before ourselves two, three, four or five years ago, then that won't be possible next year either," said Comic.

She said that she is not a member of any political party, nor does she plan to join the SNS.

"I am not a member of any political party, nor will I be, I was once and that was enough," added Comic.

When asked to comment on the events in the DS, of which she was a member, Comic said that "only silence remains."

(Telegraf.rs)