On 16 December 2025, a social dialogue titled “Guaranteed Rights and the Real Life of Persons with Disabilities” was held at the Palace of Serbia, organized by the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue of the Republic of Serbia. The aim of the event was to examine the challenges in the exercise of guaranteed rights of persons with disabilities and to discuss ways to improve inclusive policies.
Representatives of the Youth with Disabilities Forum (YDF), Tanja Radović Krstić and Milica Glišić, attended the event. The dialogue was organized through three thematic panels addressing key issues in the field of disability rights:
- the deinstitutionalization program and development of community-based support services for independent living,
- assessment of work ability and bodily impairment,
- the enjoyment of rights related to legal capacity and effective protection from discrimination, violence, and abuse.
Tanja Radović Krstić participated as a panelist on the topic “Assessment of Work Ability and Bodily Impairment”, drawing on the Youth with Disabilities Forum’s more than decade-long engagement in improving employment opportunities for persons with disabilities — a key area of its work since 2008.
Thanks to years of experience and direct cooperation with both persons with disabilities and employers, YDF brings a unique perspective and practical expertise. This contributed to a more comprehensive understanding of the challenges within the assessment process, as well as the formulation of concrete recommendations for improvement.
Based on focus groups conducted by YDF in March of this year, several key problems were presented to the participants:
- complex and lengthy procedures,
- lack of accessible information about the assessment process and its consequences,
- negative effects of assigning the third degree of disability to employed individuals,
- reliance solely on medical documentation while neglecting the social assessment,
- inconsistencies in evaluation outcomes,
- inadequate content of decisions that exclude measures of reasonable accommodation,
- focus on limitations instead of the person’s abilities with appropriate adjustments.
Recommendations for improvement include:
- simplifying and shortening procedures,
- providing clear information about the process and its implications,
- introducing the social assessment as a relevant element,
- ensuring consistency in assessments and decisions that highlight a person’s capabilities with reasonable accommodation,
- adopting an inclusive approach that enables the active participation of persons with disabilities throughout the process.
The Youth with Disabilities Forum will continue to advocate for changes that ensure a fairer, more transparent, and more inclusive system for assessing work ability — in line with the principles of equal opportunities and active participation of persons with disabilities.
