Explanation of basic positions of traditional Churches and religious communities on anti-discrimination Bill

An  essence  of an initiative of the traditional Churches and religious communities is that the anti-discrimination Bill adjusts to the standards of the acts of the Council of Europe, the European Union and developed democracies. 

Traditional Churches and religious communities again, welcome the willingness of the Government to perfect the anti-discrimination Bill , which is not simple under the pressure of libels and disinformation about the essence of the problem.

We support every effort to restrain discrimination, so we support and help bringing the proper act as soon as possible.

An aggressive action to a constructive approach of the traditional Churches and religious communities reveal relics of the communist ideology, associated with an attempt to , through the prohibition of making differences in an acceptance and a protection of the basic rights, smuggle among the basic rights such rights that neither international practice and the Constitution, nor the  state values and the laws of Serbia recognize.

Introduction of the law through theback door is unacceptable, out of public attention and legislative body, and such rights which insult public moral, religious beliefs, basic social values,as well as the international acts, the Constitution and Serbian laws guaranteed right to personal dignity and respect of private and family life.

The present Bill as if written to enable court , state organs and international instances misuse for a forced execution of interests within certain groups when it comes to the collision of protected rights or when there is legitimate interest in differentiated treatment. The present Bill would be the source of hard conflicts and it would under valuate  the battle against discrimination as a whole.

One drastic example of weakness and  multitude of  regulations sufficiency of the present Bill is article 18, which contains a religious prohibition of discrimination, and which essentially narrows the prohibition in relation to that already immanent in the Law on the Churches and the religious communities.

Novi Sad, March 11, 2009

Brought by: Bishop Irinej of Backa, m.p.