At the sitting on 13 May, the Children’s Rights Working Group discussed the part of the Ombudsman’s Regular Report for 2009 relating to children’s rights. The sitting was chaired by Prof. Dr Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic, National Assembly Speaker and Working Group Chairperson.

Deputy Children’s Rights Ombudsman Tamara Luksic-Orlandic presented the part of the report relating to the position of children in Serbia. She stressed that last year the Ombudsman took action in 216 cases of citizens’ complaints relating to violations of children’s rights, and employed surveillance measures in about 50 such cases. In addition, he worked on improving the legal system in the sphere of children’s rights, as well as informing elementary and high-school students of their rights.

The members of the Children’s Rights Working Group accepted the Ombudsman’s Regular Report for 2009, the part relating to children’s rights, and pointed out the need to raise social awareness of children’s rights.

The Working Group went on to consider the Report of the members of the sub-group on the results of planned and realised activities in the period between two Children’s Rights Working Group. Meho Omerovic stressed that three important laws relating to children’s rights were being drafted – on social security, on the youth and on criminal proceedings. Milica Vojic-Markovic informed the Working Group on the research conducted on violence against children in Serbia, and Snezana Stojanovic-Plavsic on the planned visits to local self-governments.

Chairperson Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic and Working Group members again emphasised the need to transform the working group into a standing working body in the new National Assembly Rules of Procedure, considering the significance of the topic it deals with, particularly in the present circumstances.

At the end of the sitting, the Working Group members agreed on a visit to the German Bundestag’s Commission for Children’s Concerns from 30 June to 3 July of this year.