Deputy Protectors of Citizens, Mr. Slobodan Tomić, Ms. Nataša Tanjević and Ms. Jelena Stojanović together with the Secretary General of the Secretariat of the Protector of Citizens, Ms. Olja Jovičić, participated today in a video conference attended by more than 20 EU member states Ombudsmen representatives as well as the Ombudsmen from the states in the EU accession process.

The main topic of the conference, organized by the European Union Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly, was related to the impacts of the health crisis caused by the coronavirus in the field of human and minority rights, especially in exercising and observing the rights of vulnerable groups (the elderly, migrants, persons deprived of liberty), and also to the repercussions for the healthcare and social system and further democratic and economic development of states.

Deputy Protector of Citizens, Nataša Tanjević, said that since the declaration of the state of emergency in Serbia (15 March 2020), the Protector of Citizens was paying special attention to the respect for and protection of human rights in Serbia. The institution was available to citizens seven days a week, through a large number of newly opened telephone lines, by filing complaints via e-mail and by going out on the field. In the protection of human rights, special attention was paid to vulnerable groups, the protection of the rights of children, women, national minorities, persons with disabilities, migrants and persons deprived of liberty.

Ms. Tanjević said that during that period, NPM representatives continued visiting the institutions for the enforcement of penal sanctions, in order to check how measures to contain coronavirus were implemented and how in those circumstances the exercise of fundamental rights of persons deprived of liberty was ensured. In addition, several migrants and asylum seekers reception centers were visited, in order to monitor how they were treated. The NPM opened a special hotline that was available all 7 days a week from 8 am to 10 pm and responded to each complaint. The outcome of these activities were Recommendations issued to the authorities to rectify the identified shortcomings in the work.

In the area of freedom of speech and expression, Serbia marked no progress, on the contrary - we witnessed numerous rights violations and press freedom endangerment. On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, 3 May, Mr. Zoran Pašalić, the Protector of Citizens, stated that this year, in a state of emergency and at a time of unprecedented health crisis, we would face new, even more difficult challenges in safeguarding the freedom of the press and professional journalism.

Over the years, the Protector of Citizens has been drawing attention to various pressures to which journalists have been exposed in their work, ranging from difficult financial situation and unfavorable employment contracts to frequent verbal and physical attacks, discrimination and discrediting, threats and putting their safety into danger. Also, over previous month and a half during the state of emergency, the media have been exposed to additional pressures. At a time when journalists are urged to report objectively and timely on coronavirus, they work in particularly exacerbated circumstances, such as difficult access to information, exposure to insults, sexist and discriminatory attacks on social networks, as well as the fear of possible consequences for the written word.

The Protector of Citizens urges all stakeholders in public space to allow journalists’ unhindered work, without discrimination and labeling, without hate speech and intimidation, and adds that media freedom is one of the key tenets of any democratic society, which must not be jeopardized or restricted. Without a regulated position and adequate salaries, there is no free journalism and this activity, with all the praise, cannot be left to enthusiasts, because it is too serious and important for the citizens, emphasized Mr. Pašalić.

I expect from the competent authorities, and the entire society in Serbia to abide by the Law, to respect press freedom. In addition, I expect that all the media, those with national coverage as well as those with local coverage, will be equally provided with access to information that is important for timely and factual informing of citizens on all topics of public importance, said Zoran Pašalić.

The fight for eight-hour work and better financial position of late 19th-century workers, continued by strikes and protests against employers in the ensuing decades, had developed from the onset the idea of the inviolability of human dignity and individual freedom. Mr. Zoran Pašalić, the Protector of Citizens, said that we celebrated International Workers' Day, 1 May, in completely new circumstances in 2020 due to coronavirus epidemic and amid the state of emergency in

Serbia which in turn affected workers’ position and he added that the common element of all labor rights was the protection of human dignity, which was not called into question even during a state of emergency. The number of laid off workers, especially in the private sector, was still unknown to the public, while those who worked at their work premises were exposed to coronavirus infection in various ways and unfortunately many had died from the consequences of the infection. Mr. Pašalić underlined that in that war against an invisible enemy, healthcare workers were most at risk, together with salespersons, members of the police and the army, postmen, volunteers and journalists.

Citizens warn of violations of labor rights during the state of emergency, most often complaining that they have been fired or laid-off without explanation, forced to leave their children to go to work, but also to work in unsafe conditions, without protective equipment and prescribed work procedures. Mr. Pašalić underlined that as much as 20 percent of total number of citizens addresses to the Protector of Citizens was related to labor rights.

In the previous year, in the field of labor rights, citizens most often complained of harassment at work, arbitrariness and illegality when making a decision on termination of employment contract, non-payment, or irregular payment of wages and non-payment or irregular payment of social security contributions. Mr. Pašalić highlighted that they signaled untimely acting of the Labor Inspectorate, whose efficiency and quality of work was certainly affected by the number of labor inspectors, which was insufficient for efficient and quality work, and continued to complain about the untimely response of the National Pension and Disability Insurance Fund.

The health and working ability of the work force are critical factors in the overall socio-economic development of the country and the key to productivity, competitiveness and sustainable development, which is why this protection must be given close attention. Even though the number of occupational diseases has been decreasing in our country for years, the number of workplace accidents is on the rise, which is the reason for taking activities by the Protector of Citizens in the field of protection and safety at work.

In the coming period, the Protector of Citizens will pay attention to and protect the rights of entrepreneurs and SMEs, which are a significant factor in the economic life and prosperity of the country. As they state in their addresses, the current situation has made their business operation more difficult, which is the reason why the Protector of Citizens continues to monitor the exercise of citizens' rights in this area as well.

Today, Mr. Zoran Pašalić, the Protector of Citizens and his associates participated, via video conference, in the meeting of Euroasian Ombudsman Alliance devoted to the 75 anniversary of the victory over fascism. The meeting was initiated by Ms. Tatiana Nikolayevna Moskalkova, High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation.

Celebrating the victory in World War II is an essential activity for the citizens of Serbia, primarily because of a large number of victims it suffered in the fight for freedom in the former Yugoslavia. Out of the 1,700,000 victims, between 500,000 and 700,000 innocent people, mostly Serbs, Jews and Roma, died in the Jasenovac concentration camp in the Independent State of Croatia alone. The only child concentration camp during the War, where thousands of children died just because they had different religion and nationality, was situated on the territory of this state.

In the second part of the meeting, dedicated to the best practices of the Ombudsmen and National Human Rights Institutions during COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Pašalić pointed out that the Protector of Citizens had organized the work, even before the declaration of the state of emergency, so that the Institution was able to receive the citizens’ complaints which, at that point, increased tenfold. He highlighted that the state managed to save the elderly population in the health crisis, and to put the life and health of its citizens before the economy. Mr. Pašalić explained that in the ensuing meetings it should be discussed how to fight the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

The meeting ended with a proposal to adopt a Resolution of the Eurasian Ombudsmen Alliance dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the end of Second World War, which is expected to be adopted in the coming days by the participants in the meeting.