The Ministry of Environmental Protection did not undertake all preventive measures to prevent or remove possible harmful consequences for the environment, the Protector of Citizens determined, and it considers that the acting inspection authority was obliged to consider the ban on the execution of the project and the performance of the company's activities until the consent on the impact assessment study of the competent authority is obtained, that is, until the results of the possible damage measurement are obtained.

For this reason, it issued a recommendation to the ministry to, through the republic environmental protection inspector, consider imposing a ban on the implementation of the project in question until the consent of the competent authority is obtained, as well as to consider submitting appropriate applications to the competent authority.

The Deputy Protector of Citizens, Jelena Stojanović, stated today that the social rights of children include the right to various types of social support, but that it is necessary to further improve the protection of families and children in the area of social policy.

"Restriction of employment in centres for social work, non-establishment of all centres for family placement and adoption, absence of social-health care institutions and uneven financing of personal companion services, had negative consequences on the provision of services to families and children, and the Protector of Citizens will continue to insist on eliminating these shortcomings", Stojanović said at the forum "Let children's week last the whole year" in Ćuprija.

After the recommendation of the Protector of Citizens at the beginning of 2021, the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs secured the consent of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for the employment of 187 new professional workers, Stojanović reminded at the forum organized by the Association "Knights of Smiles" and the Association of Lawyers in Social Protection "Argument".

She also stated that in 2021, again on the basis of the opinion of the Protector of Citizens and after the decision of the Constitutional Court, amendments were made to the Law on Financial Support for Families, from which the provision was deleted that expressly prevented the simultaneous use of the right to compensation of wages during leave for the special care of a child and the right to an allowance for the assistance and care of another person.

Stojanović presented the work of the Summer School of the Protector of Citizens, which was held in Novi Sad in mid-September, where children from all over Serbia, including those from foster families, learned about the rights of children and persons with disabilities, the rights of the elderly, protection from all forms of violence and abuse, recognition and protection from human trafficking, as well as strengthening the participation of children in processes concerning their rights.

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.

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.