BackSignificantly increased number of claims by citizens during emergency status is a special witness of trust into the institution of the Protector of Citizens, out of which 3673 requested assistance using telephone, and 1029 of citizens appealed in writing.
During the emergency status, the Protector of Citizens has introduced five new telephone lines which the citizens can use for asking for assistance each and every day in the period from 8-22 o'clock. One of those lines served for rendering psychological assistance to citizens in crisis situations, while the support has been provided by Psychologist of the Sector for Rights of a Child and Gender Equality, and one of the lines was intended for National Torture Prevention Mechanism. Work of the Protector of Citizens during emergency status was based on preventive-advisory activities, mediation between the Complainant and the Administrative body, sending initiatives for amending regulations to competent authorities, control procedures in the field and actions on citizens' complaints.
During emergency status the Protector of Citizens has initiated change of regulations in the competent state authorities, after which that enabled unhindered movement of children and parents of children with autism during movement ban period, as well as maintaining personal relations between a child and a parent with whom the child does not live, regardless if the model of seeing has been regulated by a Final Court Decision or based on agreement of the former spouses.
Also, after the Protector of Citizens' initiative, it has been enabled that the persons taking care of the elderly, immobile and persons with disablity during movement ban, movement of victims of violence during movement ban in order to protect them from the violence, as well as the change in the procedures used to inform the family about the health status of the patients ill from COVID-19, who were located in Clinical Center Niš. Throughout emergency status duration the Protector of Citizens used control procedures „in the field“ to check the state of conditions in which citizens are, especially vulnerable groups, among whom are children, persons with disability, Roma, migrants, as well as persons deprived of their liberty.
Source: Protector of Citizens of the Republic of Serbia
