Submitted by crinadmin on
On 13th May 2013, the National Assembly of Republic of Srpska adopted the Annual 2012 Report of the Ombudsman for Children of Republic of Srpska. The Report provides detailed statistics but also points out those parts of the system that need to be strengthened in order to protect the rights and interests of children. In 2012, the Institution has acted in 601 cases - 503 complaints based cases, 426 are received complaints, 38 ex officio complaints, and 39 transferred from the previous year. While in 2010 the newly created institution acted in 258 cases there has been an important increase of the case-work in 2012. Complainant is usually one of the parents, but the number of children who directly address the Institution has also significantly increased. The largest number of complaints is related to violation of personal rights of children, 43.3%, then the right to education, 19.8%, and complaints are most often related to treatment of social welfare centers and educational institutions. Concerning children's personal rights, most of the complaints relate to the regulation of the contact of a child with a parent with whom the child does not live and/or with close relatives 39.3% and protection from neglect, violence and abuse 32.3%. Children under 10 are most exposed to situations that lead to violation of their rights - 38% and boys are somehow more exposed to violations of their rights than girls. The significant increase in the number of complaints is primarily due to a greater visibility of and confidence in the Institution, but also to an increasing willingness and openness of the governmental and non-governmental sector to speak openly on issues related to children's rights.