The Protector of Citizens organized a dialogue on improving the rights of transgender people
Today, the Protector of Citizens, Zoran Pašalić, called on the competent state authorities, international and civil society organizations to improve communication and cooperation in order to implement the revised International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization, which removed transgender identity from the list of mental illnesses.
"In 2019, with the revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD 11), transgender identity was removed from the list of mental illnesses and moved to the domain of sexual health. The Republic of Serbia has an obligation to apply international standards and harmonize its regulations", Pašalić said.
Today, at the headquarters of the institution of the Protector of Citizens, Pašalić initiated a dialogue with representatives of state authorities, health care institutions, international and organizations dealing with the protection of rights of transgender persons, which was also attended by the Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, Tomislav Žigmanov.
Minister Žigmanov said that the institutional framework for the implementation of ICD 11 is being built, that better communication of all actors and intersectoral cooperation are necessary in order to successfully end this process, and that his ministry will contribute to the improvement of systemic measures and services for the benefit of citizens.
The dialogue, held at the initiative of the association of transgender people "Kolektiv Talas", was attended by acting assistant director of the Department of Biomedicine of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Vojislav Radosavljević, head of the Office for Transgender Conditions of the Clinic for Psychiatry of the CC of Serbia, Prim. Dr. Dragana Duišin and the president of the Republic Expert Committee on issues related to transgender persons, Prof. Dr. Svetlana Vujović.
The meeting was also attended by representatives of the UN Mission in Serbia and the Office of the World Health Organization in Serbia, the Serbian Medical Chamber, the Institute for Public Health "Dr. Milan Jovanović – Batut", the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality of the Republic of Serbia and representatives of transgender associations "Geten" and "XY Spektrum".