The Annual Report was presented by Ombudsman Sasa Jankovic, who outlined the bureaucratic obstacles to obtaining reliable data on the number of children with developmental difficulties aged 15 to 18. He listed violations of children’s rights related to school violence, discrimination and physical punishment. Jankovic added that the number of complaints of children’s rights violations has increased compared to 2011, as has the number of direct contacts by children which proves that the Ombudsman has become more accessible.
In the ensuing debate, the Committee members discussed the options and time frames for the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Ombudsman’s report related to the protection of children’s rights.
The Committee Chairman declared the Ombudsman’s 2012 report comprehensive and informative, adding that it gave a clear overview of the violations of children’s rights. The Committee Chairman stressed that the Committee and Ombudsman should continue to cooperate and strengthen their interaction which is an excellent example of how government institutions can cooperate for the better of the citizens.
The Committee members unanimously endorsed the part of the Ombudsman’s Annual Report related to the rights of the child, and will be voting on the conclusions related to the Report at the next sitting.

The sitting was chaired by MA Nebojsa Stefanovic, Committee Chairman.