The Protector of Citizens believes that the executive authorities cannot have a key and final say in restricting human rights during the pandemic and that their decision should be under parliamentary, judicial and oversight of independent institutions, said the Deputy Protector of Citizens Ms. Jelena Stojanović, on 10 December - Human Rights Day.
“In challenging circumstances - such as this lethal virus pandemic, judicial authorities, institutions and competent authorities must ensure the implementation of health measures in an environment that will not violate human rights”, said Ms. Stojanović at a conference organized by the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue to mark this international day.
Ms. Stojanović stated at the meeting that the competent authorities, when adopting measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, should be guided by the rules of the profession and the situation on field with mandatory respect for human rights and close attention to vulnerable categories of citizens.
The year behind us in Serbia and all over the world had been marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and most world ombudsmen considered whether the measures taken by their states were justified in relation to the human rights restrictions that inevitably had to be imposed to save people's lives, the Deputy Protector of Citizens accentuated.
Ms. Stojanović reminded that during the state of emergency, the Protector of Citizens had redefined priorities and organization of work in order to help the most endangered ones - residents of substandard Roma settlements, shelters for foreigners, the homeless, migrants and people accommodated in temporary Covid hospitals.
The Protector of Citizens had proposed amending the regulations to enable children with autism to go for a walk without hindrance, enable a child to visit the parent with whom he/she does not live, enable movement of domestic violence victims, carers for the elderly and people with disabilities, said the Deputy Protector of Citizens.