The Protector of Citizens, Zoran Pašalić, met today in Belgrade with the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro, Siniša Bjeković, who was elected to that position at the end of 2019. In the conversation between the two ombudsmen, issues from their competence and current practice in the field of protection and promotion of human rights were discussed, as well as further modalities of cooperation.
In addition to mapping the current topics and challenges they face in their work, it was jointly concluded that it is necessary to strengthen the capacity of institutions that deal with the protection of citizens' rights.
The city of Novi Sad and the municipalities of Babušnica and Bela Palanka are the winners of this year's awards, which are awarded by the Protector of Citizens to the cities, municipalities and city municipalities in the Republic of Serbia that contributed the most to the development of all forms of accessibility in their territory in the previous year.
The city of Novi Sad was awarded for the comprehensive and continuous actions of city authorities on the development of all forms of accessibility and social inclusion of persons with disabilities, and the municipalities of Babušnica and Bela Palanka for their contribution to improving the accessibility of public facilities.
The city of Šabac received recognition for the development of the partnership between the public and civil sectors in creating an accessible environment and the availability of services, and the city of Niš deserved a commendation for advocating for improved access to City Administration services. Certificates of appreciation were presented to the representatives of Vranje, Leskovac, Smederevo, Sombor and the municipality of Svilajnac.
Photo: Protector of Citizens
The Protector of Citizens, Zoran Pašalić, said that this institution has been conducting a public call for the sixth year in a row, with the desire to encourage and recognize those local self-government units that have contributed the most to the development of all forms of accessibility in their environment.
Accessibility implies not only accessibility to the physical environment, but also to information, services, and products. The availability of such content makes life more dignified and complete, emphasized Pašalić.
He pointed out that the position of people with disabilities is not talked about enough, and that a very important aspect of the activities of the Protector of Citizens is raising social awareness at all levels about the necessity to take continuous and systematic measures to improve their position.
The General Secretary of the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, Nikola Tarbuk, pointed out that the awarded cities and municipalities serve as an example to others, which is one of the goals of promoting the improvement of all forms of accessibility through best practices. He particularly emphasized that support on the national level through various programs and types of financing is important, to be able to implement some of the local measures.
The Protector of Citizens has been awarding the award for contribution to the development of all forms of accessibility at the local level for six years in cooperation with the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, and in previous years, also with the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit of the Government of the Republic of Serbia.
The Deputy Protector of Citizens for Gender Equality, Jelena Stojanović, emphasized today that elderly women in the countryside are in a disadvantageous position because they are mostly socially excluded and invisible, they are in poor financial condition and have difficulty accessing social and health care services.
"The elderly women in the countryside belong to the part of the population that is insufficiently visible and insufficiently vocal about their disadvantageous position. They do not enjoy the full range of rights in the area of social and health care, primarily due to insufficiently developed special services and support services at the local level", said Stojanović at the conference "From childhood to the right to a dignified old age – human rights and institutions".
At a meeting organized in Novi Sad by the Provincial Protector of Citizens and the Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research from Belgrade, Stojanović stated that elderly women in the countryside are in a poor financial situation because they most often participate in unpaid domestic work and work on the agricultural estate.
Фото: Заштитник грађана
The Protector of Citizens constantly points to the need to raise awareness about the rights of the elderly, especially elderly women in the countryside. In this direction, in the project we are implementing with the association "Amity – Strength of Friendship" with the support of the Council of Europe, we mapped the relevant partners in the area of protection of rights of elderly women in the countryside, especially at the local level, Stojanović said.
Based on the mapping, we created a Register of civil society organizations dealing with the protection and promotion of the economic and social rights of elderly women in the countryside, as well as a mechanism for mapping the prevalence and monitoring the quality of the help at home service as a social protection service and the health care service, while respecting the socio-demographic characteristics of women beneficiaries, Stojanović added.
According to the Deputy Protector of Citizens, the goal of this project is to protect the rights of elderly women in the countryside through reporting on the implementation of the Revised European Social Charter as an instrument that proclaims and encourages the full protection and enjoyment of the rights of the elderly, especially through Article 23 – The right of the elderly to social protection.
The Deputy Protector of Citizens for Children's Rights, Jelena Stojanović, said today that this institution, in carrying out the tasks of the National Rapporteur in the field of trafficking in human beings, a new competence given by the new Law on the Protector of Citizens from November 2021, will pay special attention to child victims of trafficking in human beings.
"The Protector of Citizens was very engaged in the protection of child victims of violence, abuse and trafficking in human beings, children in street situations, children with developmental disabilities and children with physical disabilities. In the coming period, we will continue to improve these activities within the new competence of the National Rapporteur in the field of trafficking in human beings", said Stojanović in her opening speech at the international meeting of the Network of Social Service Organizations.
Stojanović stated at the meeting, which was organized in Belgrade by the organization for the protection of victims of human trafficking "Atina", that the Protector of Citizens, as an independent state body in the highest A status, actively participates in the work of the National Coalition to End Child Marriage in Serbia and that it often indicates the necessity of developing a comprehensive national strategy on combating street situations among children, as well as a protocol on the protection of children in street situations.
Фото: Заштитник грађана
The Deputy Protector of Citizens pointed out that the Protector of Citizens pointed out to the competent authorities the necessity of protecting children from secondary victimization and traumatization during the procedures conducted by judicial authorities in cases of protection of children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.
Stojanović also said that the Youth Advisory Panel of the Protector of Citizens, which was formed in 2010 as a form of permanent participation of children in the work of this institution, has been very active in recent months through the training of panelists for transferring their knowledge to their peers on children's rights and available protection mechanisms, but also on the rights and protection of persons from particularly vulnerable categories of the population.
The Protector of Citizens, on his own initiative, and based on media information that a father killed his minor child in Vršac and then committed suicide, launched a control investigation into the legality and regularity of work of the Provincial Secretariat for Social Policy, Demography and Gender Equality and the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia.
The Protector of Citizens requested the Provincial Secretariat to perform supervision over the professional work of the Centre for Social Work Vršac in this case within 15 days and to submit to him a report on the supervision performed and documentation on the handling of this case.
Due to media allegations that the mother of the murdered child repeatedly reported the child's father for domestic violence, the Protector of Citizens requested the MoI of Serbia to inform him within the same period about the actions of the competent police department in the specific case, especially about the activities of the police officers in this case.
The Protector of Citizens also requested from the MoI a statement on whether the police officers acted in accordance with the obligations prescribed by the Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and the General and Special Protocol for the Protection of Women from Violence in Family and in Intimate Partner Relations.
On the World and European Day against the Death Penalty, the Protector of Citizens reminded that the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia declares human life inviolable, that there is no death penalty in the Republic of Serbia and that cloning of human beings is prohibited. The death penalty was abolished in our country two decades ago, and the last time it was carried out three decades ago.
The Protector of Citizens expressed his belief that the death penalty will never be reintroduced in Serbia. The position against the death penalty stems from the universal and basic human right to life. It is also woven into the human dignity of every human being, including the perpetrators of the most heinous crimes. It is the duty of the state to protect and respect the innate rights, universal and basic, such as the right to life, which is also a condition for the protection of human dignity.
By marking 10 October, countries, organizations and people around the world confirm their determination to abolish the death penalty in countries where it still exists and their determination not to allow its reintroduction in countries that have already abolished it.
The Deputy Protector of Citizens for Children's Rights, Jelena Stojanović, assessed today that the potential establishment of a special institution for the protection of children's rights would lead to the fragmentation of the protection of children's rights at the national level and would not contribute to the improvement of children's rights.
"Serbia already has an institution for the protection of children's rights in the highest A status, which is the Protector of Citizens. The establishment of a new institution that, in addition to the Protector of Citizens, would deal with the protection of children's rights, especially in times of economic crisis, would not improve children's rights and would represent a major financial challenge for the country", said Stojanović.
At the meeting "Dialogue on the rights of the child – Serbia tailored to the child", which was organized by the association Child Rights Centre, Stojanović reminded that according to the new Law on the Protector of Citizens, adopted in November 2021, this institution, in addition to the already existing Sector for the Protection of Children’s Rights, also has the position of a special body that protects, promotes and improves the rights of the child.
"And the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that in situations of limited resources, attention must be paid to using the available resources in the most effective way for the promotion and protection of human rights, including children's rights", she said.
Stojanović expressed her fear that, given the difficult economic situation that has gripped the whole world, in the coming years, the big challenge will be to preserve the existing level of protection of children's rights and achieve additional advances in their protection.
The Protector of Citizens, Zoran Pašalić, said today that the competent authorities should work to improve the position of women living in the countryside, especially older women, and facilitate their access to services in the community.
On the occasion of the International Day of Rural Women, on 15 October, Pašalić reminded that women living in the countryside, especially older women, represent one of the most vulnerable categories of the population and that it is difficult for them to access health, social and other services in the community, as well as public transportation.
The Deputy Protector of Citizens for Gender Equality, Jelena Stojanović, stated that women in the countryside are not economically independent and rarely own property, that they do not always exercise their right to a pension, and that until recently there was no legal basis for them to be compensated for the many hours they spend in unpaid housework, taking care of other family members, the household and the agricultural holding.
Stojanović said that it is important for rural women, especially older women, to be empowered to report violence of any kind to the competent authorities and to recognize various forms of discrimination against them, as well as that it is necessary to work on raising their awareness of various forms of violence in the family and about protection mechanisms.
The Protector of Citizens also works to improve the realization of the rights of women in the countryside, with a special focus on older women, through the project Strengthening the capacities of the Protector of Citizens in the protection and promotion of economic and social rights, in accordance with the ratified provisions of the Revised European Social Charter, which is supported by the Council of Europe, Stojanović said.
The Deputy Protector of Citizens called on all women in the countryside, especially older women, to contact the Protector of Citizens in situations where they feel that their rights have been violated or when the competent authorities have not taken measures within their competence so that women, especially older women, could exercise their rights.
