ANNUAL REPORT ON THE RESULTS OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE INSTITUTION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OMBUDSMAN OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, as well as certain benefits from the budgets of the cantonal
ministries responsible for social policy. 439
Therefore, the Ombudsman's Recommendation and the Conclusions of the Government of the
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina have not been implemented, as indicated by the complaints
received at the Institution during 2019 440, from which it clearly follows that in some cases the
Disability List applies, and in some cases the Instruction for the implementation of the Disability
List, in which way citizens are deprived of rights.
When it comes to the situation in the Republika Srpska, when drafting the Special Report on the
Status and Problems of the Centers/Services for Social Work in Bosnia and Herzegovina 441
individual centers 442 informed the Ombudsmen about the problem regarding the work of the firstinstance expert commissions for the assessment of the functional state of adults and children in the
process of exercising social protection rights 443.
Namely, in terms of the applicable by-laws, it is envisaged that each municipality forms a firstlevel expert commission for determining the ability of persons and functional status in the process
of exercising social protection rights and a first-level expert commission for assessing the needs
and guidance of children and young people with disabilities. Municipalities pay commissions from
the budget, and all persons who submit applications for entitlement to the assistance and care
allowance of another person and the right to financial assistance go for review. After the evaluation
of the functional status by the commission, the competent center decides by decision on the
recognition of rights, i.e. on the non-recognition of rights.
In practice, problems occur because commissions give different opinions, especially in the area of
children's rights - for example, a child with diabetes in one municipality is entitled to a supplement
for the assistance and care of another person, and from the territory of another municipality, with
the same diagnosis does not. They believe that this problem could be solved by establishing
regional commissions (e.g. one regional commission for several municipalities). This would
provide approximately equal opportunities for all citizens and beneficiaries of social protection
rights. The Centers for Social Work also pointed out the difficulties in the work of the first-level
expert committees to assess the needs and guidance of children and youth with disabilities.
Ombudsmen will consider these issues in 2020 and continue to insist on the application of the
principles underpinning the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
439
Federation Ministry of Finance, Act No. 06-02-4-8447/19 of 6 November 2019.
Ž-SA-02-1330/19, Ž-SA-02-543/19, Ž-SA-02-1316/19
441
Report finalized in October 2019, presented to the general public and recommendations sent to the competent
authorities in November 2019, available at www.ombudsmen.gov.ba;
442
Centers from Trebinja, Kotor Varoša and Srbac.
443
The work and procedure of the commissions are defined in the Rulebook on the Assessment of Needs and Guidance
of Children and Youth with Disabilities (Official Gazette of the Republika Srpska, Nos. 117/2012 and 16/2018) and
the Rulebook on Determining the Capacity of Persons in the Process of Exercising Social Protection Rights and
Determining functional status of users (Official Gazette of the Republika Srpska, Nos. 116/2012, 111/2013 and
9/2017).
440
107
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