Opinions and Statements

Further to the complaints of the Croat National Council in the Republic of Serbia about discrimination and denial of the Croatian language, the Protector of Citizens initiated the investigation to control the regularity and legality of the operations of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development and the Institute for the Improvement of Education in the Republic of Serbia.

The Protector of Citizens has requested the competent authorities to submit case data and relevant documentation within 15 days.

Croat National Council’s complaint to the Protector of Citizens reads that the Board for Standardization of the Serbian Language, upon the request of the Institute for Improving Education, has adopted a stance according to which the Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian and Slovenian languages should be categorized under South Slavic languages and the Croats are categorized under the nations using the Serbian language, but naming it Croatian, and that such a definition is found in the published Serbian language textbooks for eight graders.

The Protector of Citizens has pointed out that the Republic of Serbia confirmed the European Charter on regional and minority languages in 1992, thus accepting the Croatian language as a minority language and taking up the obligation to protect it and work towards its preservation.

Upon the investigation to control the legality and regularity of operations of the Republic Health Insurance Fund (RHIF) launched by the Protector of Citizens in mid-June 2021, this healthcare institution has provided financial means for a breakthrough therapy for treating 13 cystic fibrosis patients – 9 children and 3 adults.

Upon the citizens’ complaints, the Protector of Citizens launched the investigation to control the RHIF operations requesting the body to inform him on the possibility to provide for the medicine “Trikafta” as a therapy to children suffering from cystic fibrosis from compulsory health insurance funds.

Upon examining the monitored authority’s report, the Protector of Citizens determined that the medicine “Trikafta” was not registered in the Republic of Serbia, and that, on the basis of the insight into the submitted documents of the competent health Institution, according to the Government of the Republic of Serbia Act, the RHIF Commission for treating rare diseases makes the decision on treating the insured patients suffering from rare diseases with medicines for treating rare diseases from the budgetary funds of the Republic of Serbia.

The Protector of Citizens determined that the RHIF provided certain financial resources for an extremely expensive innovative therapy for treating cystic fibrosis patients and that members of the RHIF Commission have been appointed to treat cystic fibrosis.

In late August 2021, this Commission, in accordance with the financial resources at its disposal, approved the commencement of the treatment of 13 cystic fibrosis patients (nine children and four adult patients) with “Kaftrio + Kalydeco”, initiated a public procurement procedure for these medicines and informed on the matter the health care institutions where patients who have been approved for therapy are being treated.

Upon learning that one convicted person died in Prokuplje District Prison due to poor health and lack of medical assistance, the Protector of Citizens launched own-initiative investigation to control the legality and regularity of the Institution’s operations.

The Protector of Citizens has requested Prokuplje District Prison to submit, within 15 days, the information on the moment when the deceased convicted person tested positive for coronavirus, activities that have been undertaken to provide timely and adequate healthcare, as well as the manner in which his health has been examined.

The Protector of Citizens has requested the District Prison in Prokuplje to notify him about the number of examinations provided to the convicted person upon learning that he had tested positive for COVID-19, whether the convicted person was taken to a healthcare facility outside prison, days of doctor’s presence in the facility, and whether during the weekend (2 and 3 October 2021) he was informed that the convicted person needed medical assistance and if so, about the treatment on that occasion. In this regard, the authority requested full medical documentation related to the manner of providing health care to the convicted person from the moment he learned that he had tested positive for COVID-19.

In addition, the Protector of Citizens demanded the Prokuplje Prison to notify him whether other convicts in the prison were infected with the corona virus, what healthcare they were provided with, as well as how preventive measures were taken to curb the spread of coronavirus.

After social networks information that in the Municipality of Apatin, the service of a personal assistant was cancelled for a large number of children with disabilities denying them the right to education in that way, the Protector of Citizens launched own initiative investigation to control work regularity and legality of the local self-government unit.

Taking into account the possibility of endangering or violating the rights and best interests of the child as children with disabilities cannot attend school without a personal assistant, the Protector of Citizens has requested the Apatin Municipal Administration to inform him about all the circumstances related to the allegations on social networks, as well as about the measures and activities that it will take in this case.

The Municipality of Apatin should submit the requested data and documentation to the Protector of Citizens within 15 days.

In the capacity of an observer, the Protector of Citizens of the Republic of Serbia, Mr. Zoran Pašalić monitored the conduct of the election process for Members of the State Duma in the Russian Federation, as well as for regional and local parliaments, taking place from 17 to 19 September 2021.

At the invitation of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the Russian Federation, Pašalić, as an observer in Moscow, monitored the conditions for holding the elections within the Agreement on Bilateral Cooperation signed by the two institutions in November 2018 which granted easier and quicker problem-solving for Serbian citizens in the Russian Federation, and those from the Russian Federation in the Republic of Serbia, as well as every sort of assistance and cooperation.

During the three-day election, Mr. Pašalić paid visits to a large number of polling stations and observed the conditions during the voting, with particular focus on the conditions within the Ombudsman’s competence: accessibility of polling stations, voting by people with disabilities and the ones deprived of liberty, as well as voting by people being far from the polling stations.

The Protector of Citizens welcomes the Draft Law on Health Care and Health Insurance of Military Insurance Beneficiaries and the efforts put into drafting a single legislative framework for health care and health insurance of military insurance beneficiaries, given the difficulties in implementing the existing regulations governing this area.

The Protector of Citizens in his Opinion on the Draft Law on Health Care and Health Insurance of Military Insurance Beneficiaries, received on 6 August 2021 from the Ministry of Defense for providing Opinion, has highlighted that the provisions specifying the procedure of monitoring the implementation of the Law and monitoring the operation of military health institutions and ambulance units needs to be harmonized with the provisions of the Law on the Rights of

Patients that regulate the procedure upon dissatisfied patients’ complaints and provide for the possibility of approaching the health inspection of the Ministry of Health.

Finally, the Protector of Citizens believes that the Draft Law failed to fully specify or terminologically determine the provisions relating to the keeping of personal records of beneficiaries and the use of health insurance rights in relation to the provisions of the Law on the Central Registry of Compulsory Social Insurance.

The Protector of Citizens welcomes the efforts made to draft the National Strategy for Gender Equality for 2021-2030 and deems that, with some amendments, it would display a comprehensive framework for stepping-up the position of vulnerable social groups.

The Opinion by the Protector of Citizens to the wording of the Starting Premises on drafting the National Strategy for Gender Equality for 2021-2030, received on 9 August 2021 from the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue for submitting Opinion, presented a range of suggestions and proposals for a more detailed presentation of the very difficult position of women in rural areas, their specific needs and systemic measures to improve their status.

In addition, the Protector of Citizens, inter alia, has highlighted that the position of health mediators is still not a job post classified on a permanent basis in health care institutions, despite their undeniable success in their substantial contribution to increasing the number of Roma women and Roma children who have health insurance and use health care services.

In the Opinion, the Protector of Citizens has underscored that measures to improve the safety of women, men and children from all forms of gender-based violence should include Trans women, exposed to various forms of discrimination in the public and private spheres.

The Protector of Citizens has also pointed out as well that the Starting Premises should be supplemented pursuant to the Law on Gender Equality, according to which a person who does not have health insurance on any other basis acquires the right to health insurance based on unpaid work at home (housekeeping, rearing children, caring for children or other family members), unpaid work on the agricultural property, etc.

The Protector of Citizens welcomes the drafting of the Law on the Protector of Citizens and believes that the new normative solutions will improve the rights of citizens, the efficiency of the Protector of Citizens, advance the independence of this institution and implement international standards relating to the status and competences of the Ombudsman institution, in particular the Venice Principles.

In the Opinion on the Draft Law on the Protector of Citizens delivered to the Institution by the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government on 9 August 2021, the Protector of Citizens has stated that he highlighted the need to change this law years ago, based on the long-term practice of this institution.

The Protector of Citizens reminds that amending the Law on the Protector of Citizens is an obligation of the Republic of Serbia in the European Union accession process and that he therefore took part in the work of a special working group which was formed by the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government in December 2020 and prepared the Draft Law on the Protector of Citizens.