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AN OVERVIEW OF GENERAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC SITUATION IN SERBIA
subsystems (education, social welfare, judiciary, finance, health, home affairs) 121 . Also,
coordination between state authorities and local governments is unsatisfactory.
§ 78. Serbia still does not have Ombudsman for children, although a legislative initiative
to set up this institute entered parliamentary procedure in 2008. On the other hand,
in the structure of the Ombudsman office, one Deputy Ombudsman is in charge of
the rights of the child. In 2010, Ombudsman launched a separate website intended for
children 122 , where children, among other things, can learn more about their rights and file
a complaint in cases of violation of these rights. An officer in charge of representing the
rights of the child work has been active for several years within the office of the Provincial
Ombudsman, while several municipalities have established the offices of children’s
ombudsman at a local level.
§ 79. The Child Rights Council has drafted the National Action Plan for children for the
period until 2015. NAP contains guidelines necessary for advancing the rights of the
child and builds on four core principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child:
right to life, survival and development, best interest of the child, non-discrimination and
participation. The following have been defined as priority areas in the policy for children:
the reduction of children’s poverty, quality education for all children, better health for
all children, advancement of the position and rights of children with developmental
difficulties, protection of children without parental care, protection of children from
abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence, and strengthening state capacities for solving
the problems of children 123 .
§ 80. To improve the reporting and registering of all forms of abuse and neglect of children,
General Protocol for the protection of children from abuse and neglect has been adopted,
as well as special protocols on acting in the protection of minors from abuse and neglect
for the police, the judiciary and the systems of education, health care and social welfare
§ 81. In December 2008, the Government of Serbia adopted the National Strategy for
Prevention and Protection of Children from Violence. The Strategy has two basic goals: to
develop a safe environment for children and to establish a national system of prevention
and protection of children from all forms of abuse, neglect and exploitation. The Action
Plan for the implementation of this Strategy for the period 2010-2012 was passed in
March 2010.
I.6. Persons with Disabilities in Serbia
§ 82. According to the results of a survey conducted by Handicap International and the
Center for Policy Studies in 2001, persons with disabilities constituted 6.5% of Serbian
population, i.e. there are around half a million persons with disabilities who live in
121
Ibid.
122
www.pravadeteta.rs
123
UNICEF (2007), op.cit. p. 10.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA - Report for the period 2000-2010 35