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Article 28 Adequate Standard of Living and Social Protection

315. The Law on Public Housing 59 governs the conditions for sustainable development of public housing and the method of provision and use of funds for development of public housing, as well as other issues of importance for public housing. The funds for public housing shall be used, inter alia, to incite various forms of provision of flats for public housing of persons with disabilities, as well as of individual and family persons with disabilities and civilians disabled during war, as well as housing with the support for persons with disabilities. The right to resolve housing needs in accordance with this Law shall be held by persons with no flats, and persons without flats of adequate standard, respectively, who cannot provide a flat at the market prices with the earnings they make. Disability is one of the basic criteria for establishment of priority list for settlement of housing needs of persons who accomplish the right to resolution of housing needs.

Note #59
Official Gazette of RS, No. 72/2009
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316. The Strategy for Improving the Position of Persons with Disabilities prescribes general and special objectives regarding the application of Article 28 of the Convention.

317. The Law on Social Protection created a comprehensive systemic framework in order to make it possible for persons with disabilities to have access to services, devices and other adequate aid at affordable prices, including availability of programmes covering additional financial costs related to disability.

318. The Law on Social Protection prescribes that every individual and family in need of necessary social aid and support in order to overcome social and living problems and create the conditions to meet essential requirements have the right to social protection, which is provided by rendering the services of social protection and financial support. Within this meaning, the services of social protection are the activities of support and aid rendering to an individual and family with the aim to improve, namely to maintain the quality of living, eliminate or mitigate the risks of adverse living circumstances, as well as to create possibilities for independent living in the society. The right to various types of financial support shall be exercised with the aim to ensure the minimum of living standard and support to social inclusion of beneficiaries.

319. The beneficiaries of social protection shall be the citizens of the Republic of Serbia, although they also can be foreign citizens and stateless persons, in accordance with law and international treaties. In compliance with the principle of non-discrimination, contained in the Law on Social Protection, all persons with disabilities have equal rights to social protection services and financial support, as well as to support in preventing social exclusion.

320. The Law on Social Protection established the right to pecuniary social assistance, belonging to an individual, and to family, respectively, who through their work, income from property or from other sources make income smaller than the amount of pecuniary social assistance prescribed in this Law. Also, this Law prescribes that an unemployed family member, who takes care of a person with disability or of a child with disability using allowance for aid and care by another person, on any grounds, shall have the capacity of a person incapable of work, which is an advantage in accomplishment of the right to pecuniary social assistance.

321. In addition to pecuniary social assistance, a person may also accomplish other pecuniary compensations – allowance for assistance and care of another person, namely increased allowance for assistance and care of another person. These rights do not depend on income, and it is also possible to accomplish the right to pecuniary social assistance under the conditions prescribed in the Law on Social Protection.

322. The Law on Social Protection established a special measure of direct support to parents of children with disabilities who take care of their children in the family surroundings: unemployed parents of children with disabilities, who are not insured on other grounds, whereas the child shall exercise the right to increased allowance for care and assistance of another person (from birth up to 26 years of age) shall be recognized the right to life-long pecuniary compensation, if they had not accomplished the right to pension on other grounds. This measure means support to the family of children with disabilities and prevents placement of children with disabilities at the institutions.

323. Also, the Law on Social Protection prescribes the establishment of a special fund for dedicated transfers to the poorest local communities in the Republic of Serbia explicitly intended for the development of certain services, which represents one of the mechanisms of support to communities not having the capacity to establish and maintain services for citizens in response to their requirements. The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy recognizes the lack of capacities and concrete services in the field concerning persons with disabilities. For this reason, the set of activities has been in progress to prepare the programmes and minimum standards, and set up the services, respectively, which will be intended, inter alia, to improvement of the position of persons with disabilities.

324. According to the 2003 Poverty Reduction Strategy in Serbia persons with disabilities were singled out as one of marginal social groups especially exposed to risk of poverty. The researches of the World Bank followed by the adoption of this document show that even about 70% of persons with disabilities and members of their families live at or below poverty limit. The Strategy prescribes development of support services, incitement of inclusive education and increase of employment rate, which amounted to 13% in 2003.

325. After the establishment of the Poverty Reduction team with the Office of the Vice Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, some focus groups were formed for civil society to support the implementation of the Strategy and one of the focus groups was also in charge of associations of persons with disabilities.

326. On the occasion of adoption of the documents for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, the Republic of Serbia has recognized, in accordance with the Poverty Reduction Strategy, persons with disabilities as one of especially vulnerable social groups and explicitly included persons with disabilities in the measures for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

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