ANNUAL REPORT ON THE RESULTS OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE INSTITUTION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OMBUDSMAN OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA VIII THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD In 2019 the Department for the Protection of the Rights of the Child received 198 complaints. In cases where violations of children's rights were found, Ombudspersons issued 23 recommendations. Analyzing the complaints received during the reporting year, it is evident that the complaints most often related to the work of social welfare centers, courts, prosecutor's offices, educational institutions, inspection bodies, and some other competent administrative bodies. Ombudspersons pay a great deal of attention in their work to the protection of children's rights through the work of the Department for the Protection of the Rights of the Child, which is operating since 2009. In this part of their Annual Report, Ombudspersons emphasize that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, which is established under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, considered the combined fifth and sixth periodic reports of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 330. Prior to that, the Committee called on the Ombudsman to provide information they considered relevant to the situation of children's rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 14 January 2019 Ombudspersons furnished the UN Committee with information on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In addition, in accordance with Article 45 (a) of the Convention (before considering the report of Bosnia and Herzegovina), representatives of the Institution attended a working meeting with members of the Committee, together with representatives of non-governmental organizations from Bosnia and Herzegovina 331. In accordance with Recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child332 Ombudspersons find it necessary to strengthen the work and activities of the Department for the Protection of the Rights of the Child, so that in addition to legal experts working on individual complaints, the Department employs psychologists, social workers or social pedagogues in order to conduct comprehensive research on the rights of the child and to establish the so-called network of young Ombudsman's advisers. The network would consist of children and would continuously advise Ombudspersons and suggest solutions to certain problems, conduct education in schools on various topics (peer violence, child abuse on the Internet, etc.). Furthermore, in this direction, governmental organizations dealing with the rights of the child should be strengthened. In this regard, it is necessary to further strengthen efforts through appropriate curricula to ensure that children and teachers are better informed about the role of student councils in the decision-making process in the interest of children in school, and to sensitize children and adults to respect and cooperation with this student body. The Ombudsman's assessment is that in many schools student councils are formed solely to meet the legal form, without a real will to improve participation of children in school. 330 In September 2019 On 04 February 2019 332 Concluding remarks on the combined fifth and sixth report of Bosnia and Herzegovina dated 30 September 2019 adopted by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child at its 82nd Session (9-27September 2019 331 81