Government of the Republic of Serbia
The situation regarding the rights of citizens in Serbia in 2015 was marked by economic difficulties for a large number of people and lack of legal certainty, while the state and administration dealt with their own reforms, the results of which still have not brought about the changes that would be felt as clear improvements, assessed the Ombudsman Report for 2015. The number of citizen’s appeals increased in 2015 by 28%, to over 6,000. The report states that the media reform failed to strengthen media freedom, that the media is still under the influence of a combination of politics and money, and it seems as if instead of state media, Serbia gained partisan media. Assessments also state that Serbia acted proactively in the migrant crisis, but there is room for improvement in the field of migrations.
The regular Ombudsman Report for 2015 states that, compared to the previous report, the number of complaints in the field of social and economic rights was replaced in first place by the number of complaints against so-called bad governance, i.e. the untimely work of the administration, careless approach to work, misapplication of laws and other omissions from the field of “good governance”.
“Particularly vulnerable categories were the very poor, children and youth, persons with disabilities, elderly persons, refugees and other migrants, internally displaced persons, members of national minorities, incarcerated persons, sufferers of serious illnesses, victims of violence in the family and intimate partner relations, organizations and individuals advocating human rights, organizations and individuals presenting critical opinions, journalists, members of the LGBTI population. Many usually say to the Ombudsman that in Serbia, the most vulnerable is the ‘ordinary citizen’”, the report adds.
Source: Beta, taken from www.euractiv.rs
pdf [271 KB]
Leave a Comment