The Protector of Citizens believes that the executive authorities cannot have a key and final say in restricting human rights during the pandemic and that their decision should be under parliamentary, judicial and oversight of independent institutions, said the Deputy Protector of Citizens Ms. Jelena Stojanović, on 10 December - Human Rights Day.

“In challenging circumstances - such as this lethal virus pandemic, judicial authorities, institutions and competent authorities must ensure the implementation of health measures in an environment that will not violate human rights”, said Ms. Stojanović at a conference organized by the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue to mark this international day.

Ms. Stojanović stated at the meeting that the competent authorities, when adopting measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, should be guided by the rules of the profession and the situation on field with mandatory respect for human rights and close attention to vulnerable categories of citizens.

The year behind us in Serbia and all over the world had been marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and most world ombudsmen considered whether the measures taken by their states were justified in relation to the human rights restrictions that inevitably had to be imposed to save people's lives, the Deputy Protector of Citizens accentuated.

Ms. Stojanović reminded that during the state of emergency, the Protector of Citizens had redefined priorities and organization of work in order to help the most endangered ones - residents of substandard Roma settlements, shelters for foreigners, the homeless, migrants and people accommodated in temporary Covid hospitals.

The Protector of Citizens had proposed amending the regulations to enable children with autism to go for a walk without hindrance, enable a child to visit the parent with whom he/she does not live, enable movement of domestic violence victims, carers for the elderly and people with disabilities, said the Deputy Protector of Citizens.

Ljubljana, 9 December - President Borut Pahor received Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina ahead of World Human Rights Day on Wednesday, with the pair stressing the importance of respect for human rights during the epidemic and after. At Svetina's initiative Pahor joined a UN-sponsored campaign raising awareness of human rights, Pahor's office said.

Human rights were profoundly marked by the Covid-19 epidemic this year, a topic that the talks between Pahor and Svetina focussed on today. But the issue will also be important after the epidemic, throughout the period of recovery, which will bring more demanding challenges, the pair said.
They assessed that after this crisis humanity would build a world that would be more resilient, just and sustainable. But to achieve that tolerance, compassion and humaneness must come first, they said, adding that no crisis must be an excuse for lack of dialogue.

This is the second meeting of Pahor and Svetina during the second wave of the epidemic. At their first meeting, they agreed that despite temporary restrictions, Slovenia should strive for full democracy, the functioning of all political and legal institutions, freedom of speech and media freedom.

At Svetina's invitation Pahor also joined today the campaign launched by the Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on social networks. Under the motto #covid19, the campaign raises awareness of the importance of human rights also in these special circumstances.
Every supporter is invited to promote the campaign further, so Pahor has already invited Petra Greiner, an advocate for the acceptance of children with disabilities, linguist Kozma Ahačič, and journalist and publicist Boštjan Videmšek to join in. They all accepted his invitation.

In the frame of the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” Campaign announced from November 25 to December 10, Ganja, Sheki and Guba Regional Centers of Ombudsman have organized video-conferences with the participation of the representatives of various stakeholders and youth.

The online event by Ganja Regional Center held jointly with Samukh Region Heydar Aliyev Center was on the topic “Let's end violence against women and girls”. The event has brought together representatives of the Heydar Aliyev Centers located in the surrounding districts, as well as OHCHR Baku Office expert, .Zulfiya Guliyeva. During the event, this was brought to attention that our Government had taken some serious measures, by acceding to CEDAW, developing national policy for women, adopting the Law on Gender Equality and Prevention of Domestic Violence and taking institutional reforms. The participants were also informed on the 2020 “Action Plan for 2020-2025 on the prevention of gender-based sex selection” approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

During the event organized by Sheki Regional Center, it was noted the effectiveness of being educated and aware about how to prevent and fight against violence. The relevant international treaties, national legislation, including the National Action Plan for Combating Domestic Violence in Azerbaijan for 2020-2023 have been also discussed around with the participants.

Guba Regional Center of the Ombudsman also held similar video-conference with the participation of the employees and active readers of Guba Centralized Library Systems “Let's know and protect our rights!”, where the participants have been informed about the activity of the Ombudsman in the field of women's rights, the relevant national legislative framework, specifically the 2020-2023 NAP on Combating Domestic Violence in Azerbaijan and the measures arising from the document.

In all above-mentioned events, participants have also shared their views on the topic

In a letter published today, the Commissioner calls on the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to address the persistent shortcomings in their handling of migrants and asylum seekers. The letter was addressed to Mr Zoran Tegeltija, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Mr Selmo Cikotić, Minister for Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Commissioner expresses her concern that, one year after the closure of the Vučjak camp in December 2019, which followed her visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, another humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Una-Sana. There have been many reports by international organisations and NGOs working in the field about seriously substandard living conditions in the Lipa emergency tent camp, including a lack of electricity and running water and overcrowding, following the transfer there of migrants from the Bira temporary reception centre and its subsequent closure. The closure of the Bira centre and the Una-Sana authorities’ ban on new admissions to the Miral temporary reception centre have also had serious humanitarian consequences for hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers, including families with children, who have been left without accommodation, food and medical care. The restriction on migrants’ movement imposed by the cantonal authorities have further exacerbated the difficult situation of the most vulnerable groups, especially unaccompanied migrant children, pregnant women and elderly persons.

The Commissioner stresses that the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, Brčko District and the cantons should share the responsibility for hosting migrants and asylum seekers more evenly. Migrants and asylum seekers are currently only accommodated in reception facilities in some parts of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and she says that this needs to change. Her understanding is that funding is available to create new reception facilities.

Amid reports of local vigilante groups attacking migrants and destroying their personal property in various parts of the country, the Commissioner calls on politicians to counter vigilantism and refrain from stigmatising speech and generalisations about refugees and migrants. She expresses her concern about reports of attacks and threats targeting human rights defenders who help migrants, including a smear campaign and death threats, and urges the authorities to carry out prompt, independent and impartial investigations into these attacks and to bring those responsible to justice.

The Commissioner also stresses the need to address the problems which hinder access to the asylum procedure and to speed up asylum decisions.

She recommends that urgent measures be taken to uphold the human rights of hundreds of unaccompanied migrant children, including the 480 accommodated in reception centres, and to ensure that they can be assigned a legal guardian.

Lastly, she requests information from the authorities about their plan to address the lack of access to mainstream education for migrant children, which is not provided uniformly for all throughout the country.

• Read the Commissionner's letter addressed to the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina (also available in Bosnian)