Today in Šabac, the Protector of Citizens, Zoran Pašalić, signed an agreement on cooperation with the Association of Ombudsmen of Serbia, with the aim of jointly working on improving the protection of citizens' rights and the promotion of human and minority rights and freedoms in the Republic of Serbia.

"Local self-governments are among the competent authorities whose work citizens often complain about to the Protector of Citizens. That is why we support the drafting of a law that would regulate the position and status of local ombudsmen and thereby improve the protection of rights of citizens in local self-governments", Pašalić said after signing the agreement.

Pašalić stated that the new law on local ombudsmen should stipulate the obligation for every municipality and city in Serbia to have its own human rights defender, and that the position of the local ombudsman must be regulated in detail – the duration of the mandate, the manner of work, but also how he will be protected after his mandate ends.

"When the local ombudsman does his job well, it can have far-reaching consequences for both him and his family, which is why we believe that the protection of the local ombudsman after the end of his mandate must be explicitly defined by law", Pašalić said.

The Protector of Citizens announced that in the coming period, in order to better understand the problems of citizens in local communities, he will visit municipalities and cities where there are local ombudsmen, but also those where this body has not yet been established.

The President of the Association of Ombudsmen of Serbia, Marina Popov Ivetić, who signed the agreement on behalf of the association, thanked Pašalić for his continued support and assistance in the work of local ombudsmen and expressed her satisfaction with the future joint work on the improvement of rights and freedoms of citizens.

According to the agreement, the Protector of Citizens and the Association of Local Ombudsmen will, among other things, conduct joint activities, trainings, media promotions, projects and research, in order to improve and promote human rights.