The Protector of Citizens points out that the elderly need support and understanding in order to preserve their dignity and exercise their rights. It is necessary to combat the social exclusion and isolation of the elderly and to take measures dedicated to their active participation in society, the prevention of poverty and the improvement of financial position of the elderly, in the area of providing community services, health and social care, personal and family life, said the Protector of Citizens, Zoran Pasalic, on the occasion of the International Day for Older Persons.

The most common problems faced by the elderly are poverty and neglect within the family, including disposition of their property without their consent, dissatisfaction with exercising the right to material support when they are in a difficult financial and life situation due to lack of income or insufficient amount of income, and when they are in poor health condition, exercising the right to the assistance and care of another person is difficult.

Although domestic violence has ceased to be a “private family matter” and a taboo topic, violence against the elderly is not recognizable and visible enough. The elderly are less likely to report violence, especially when the perpetrators of the violence are their children; in such situations – primarily because of loyalty to their own children – older and infirm parents are willing to suffer the most cruel forms of violence, rather than to seek protection from the system. In one case, which the Protector of Citizens investigated on its own initiative, an elderly woman was a longtime victim of her son's violence. She was kicked, slapped, punched, insulted and belittled. Still, she did not want to press charges against her son, in order to protect him from prosecution. Although the victim did not report him, the police, guardianship authority and the health institutions were aware of the violence but failed to take action to protect the victim and prevent the recurrence of violence. Despite the history of violence against the elderly by her son, police officials did not estimate that there was a risk of violence, and the guardianship authority, instead of violence, was concerned with “repairing family relations between mother and son”. The extent to which the police, health care and guardianship authority estimates were incorrect, and the activities inadequate, was shown by the unfortunate tragic death of the victim, who died at the hands of her own son, which is unacceptable.

The lack of support services is still present, especially home support services that are often necessary for this group of population, given that the elderly often live alone and do not have relatives to care for them. These problems are particularly pronounced in rural areas, where elderly women living in single households are in a particularly difficult position, Pasalic said.

Secretary general of the professional service of the Protector of Citizens, Olja Jovicic, participated in the conference of the highest representatives of the European institutions for equality “Towards effective equality – new responses to racism and intolerance” in Paris on the occassion of the 25th anniversary of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance of the Council of Europe (ECRI). The conference was held on September 26-27, 2019, within the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Council of Europe.

The main topics of the conference were mutual cooperation in the field of equality protection, the most effective ways to build an inclusive society, the benefits and risks of using new technologies, as well as the future of the idea of equality and combating racism and intolerance.

The aim of the conference was to formulate a common strategy and plan activities that will meet the biggest challenges in Europe in these areas.

Assistant secretary general, Natasa Jovic, and the Head of the Cabinet of the Protector of Citizens, Marija Podunavac, participated in the regular annual conference of the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children, held in Belfast from 25 to 27 September.

The theme of this year's conference were the rights of the child in the digital environment, both from the point of view of protecting children on the Internet and from the point of view of promoting the rights of the child to information, participation, expression, association and the exercise of other rights and freedoms of the child through the use of information technology (IT). A significant part of the conference was dedicated to the participation of children, through the European Network of Young Advisers, which is made up of children, who gave their own assessment of the rights of the child in the digital environment, their perceptions of the risks they are exposed to and their views on how children can be provided with knowledge and skills for responsible and secure use of IT. Particularly significant is the fact that children indicate that adult attention is predominantly focused on the risks to children's safety when using IT, and less on the benefits that children undoubtedly derive from information technology.

Assistant secretary general, Natasa Jovic, presented experiences, achievements and challenges in Serbia at a workshop dedicated to safeguards and strategic documents in the field of child protection in the digital environment. She emphasized that Serbia has ratified all key international treaties that are important for the protection of children in the digital environment, and that it has a national legal framework that provides a very good basis for establishing and developing mechanisms for protecting children in the digital environment.

Ombudsman cooperation in the region is of the utmost importance in the protection of human rights, especially useful through the exchange of experiences in work with the aim of improving good practices and the efficiency of independent institutions, said the Protector of Citizens, Zoran Pasalic, in cnversation with the Romanian Ombudsman, Renate Weber, who with her associates paid a two-day working visit to the institution of the Protector of Citizens. In addition to the Secretary General of the expert service of the Protector of Citizens, Olja Jovicic, the Ambassador of Romania in Belgrade H.E. Oana-Cristina Popa also attended the talks.

Pasalic expressed his expectation that the new Draft Law on the Protector of Citizens will be in the legislative procedure and informed Webber about organizational changes in the institution after the systematization in December 2018, especially about the function of the new organizational unit –Department for urgent action. The Romanian Ombudsman showed special interest in the competences and authorities of the Protector of Citizens and the international cooperation with ombudsmen from the region.

Speaking to the Romanian Ombudsman and the Protector of Citizens, the vice-president of the National Assembly, Djordje Milicevic, expressed his satisfaction that the good political and parliamentary cooperation between Serbia and Romania is accompanied by good cooperation between these two independent institutions. He welcomed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Protector of Citizens of the Republic of Serbia and the Ombudsman of Romania, as well as the establishment of the Network of Balkan Ombudsmen. In the conversation, he emphasized the importance of successful cooperation of the Protector of Citizens with the National Assembly, which elects the Protector of Citizens and to whom he is responsible for his work.

Zoran Pasalic said at the press conference at the Serbian Parliament, after meeting with the Parliament's vice-president, Djordje Milicevic, and the Ombudsman of Romania, Renate Weber, that the Ombudsman's contact with the Parliament is important and that the Ombudsman is an advisor to the Serbian Parliament who, by communicating the results of his work and experience and by speaking openly to the Members of Parliament about what systematically or individually bothers Serbian citizens, indicates what needs to be changed in order to align the regulations with the needs of the citizens. These institutions have an obligation to strengthen the protection of our citizens in Romania and Romanian citizens in Serbia through contact. Independent ombudsman institutions are at the disposal of citizens and in protecting their rights, the citizens can contact us, Pasalic said.

The Ombudsman of Romania, Renate Weber, stated that the Ombudsman's institution is crucial for all democratic societies, and that mutual exchange of work experience is of the utmost importance, especially in order to promote good practice and efficiency of independent institutions in Serbia and Romania.
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24 Sep

On the second day of the visit, representatives of the National Council of the Romanian National Minority spoke about the position of the Romanian national minority in Serbia, as well as the problems they face on a daily basis, while representatives of the NPM and the Department for urgent action spoke about the work and typical cases from these organizational units.