Today, the Protector of Citizens of the Republic of Serbia, Mr. Zoran Pašalić, spoke with the Ombudswoman of Ukraine, Ms. Lyudmila Denisova on the concrete assistance to Ukrainian refugees who are located in our country and on preventing potential danger that the refugees, primarily women and children, become the victims of human trafficking.
In the online conversation, organized upon the request of Ms. Denisova, Mr. Pašalić announced that as soon as possible he would visit the citizens of Ukraine who fled to the Republic of Serbia in order to get acquainted with the situation they are in and get informed on the types of assistance they needed, and primarily in order to prevent that the refugees from Ukraine be exposed to danger of human trafficking.
“The Protector of Citizens of the Republic of Serbia has been mandated by the new Law to conduct tasks of the National Rapporteur in the field of Human Trafficking. The team I cooperate with and myself will make efforts to prevent such situation from happening in the Republic of Serbia, said Pašalić.
Mr. Pašalić highlighted that his activities regarding the protection of Ukrainian refugees would take two directions: securing decent living conditions during their stay at the territory of the Republic of Serbia and preventing the possibility that they become victims of human trafficking; and he assured the Ukrainian Ombudswoman that he would speak to the colleagues from the region in order to point out to them the potential danger of refugees becoming the victims of human trafficking.
The Ombudswoman of Ukraine thanked Pašalić for his sympathies and support that he extended towards the refugees from Ukraine and stated that according to the data of her Office 13,000 of Ukrainian citizens have passed through the Republic of Serbia, and about 2,000 of them have stayed in our country.
Ms. Denisova stressed that the talks that Mr. Pašalić intended to hold with Ombudspersons from the region were very important for the position of Ukrainian refugees, particularly in the light of the forthcoming session of European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) where the member states will be urged to accept the refugees from Ukraine and ensure decent living conditions.
Early this month, Pašalić spoke with Russian Ombudswoman Ms. Tatiana Moskalkova on the situation of refugees from Ukraine and appealed for cooperation of Russian and Ukrainian Ombudswomen regarding the protection of the rights of refugees.