42 A particular concern is the fact that many children are also placed at social welfare homes117; also, some persons placed in social welfare homes have restricted freedom of movement (they are locked up) and many of them are occasionally physically restrained (bound) without proper legal grounds or applicable procedures. Competent authorities do not act in compliance with international regulations and standards, including in particular the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Serbia, as a state party, has a duty to grant all persons with disabilities the right to social inclusion and the freedom to make their own choices. It also has a duty to put in place effective and appropriate measures to facilitate the exercise of this right by persons with disabilities and their full and effective participation and inclusion in the community. Based on the current state of affairs, it would seem that the government has not taken an active role to ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities in community life. The Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs has not fully cooperated with the National Preventive Mechanism and has not taken the necessary measures to remedy the identified shortcomings pursuant to the recommendations given to it. Based on the reports of visits to social welfare homes for the elderly, the NPM has found that, in addition to the issues concerning the staff structure, ranging from a shortage of staff to medical staff that is untrained to deal with dependent and semi-dependent users, there were also issues involved in the provision of treatment activities to such users and with taking dependent and semi-dependent users out for fresh air. Namely, due to the shortage of staff, dependent and semidependent users often spend most of the day in their rooms and, since the staff does not receive any education, training or seminars, the treatment services for dependent users tend to be less varied. The accommodation conditions for dependent and semi-dependent users tend to be worse than those of independent users. They are placed in rooms with multiple beds118, with no screens provided, which violates their right to privacy, as they are often in full view of other users when changing, grooming etc.; also, they are not provided with overhead handrails. SOS alarms in the rooms of dependent and semi-dependent users are either out of order or broken, which effectively prevents these users from alerting the staff in the event of an emergency. It has been found that the social welfare homes keep no records of submitted applications, complaints and appeals and have no procedures in place for their handling. The social welfare homes for the elderly have mostly complied with the NPM’s recommendations for improving the status of their users. Namely, they have undertaken measures to make the SOS alarm systems functional, overhead handrails have been provided and screens have been installed to protect users’ privacy. Furthermore, plans have been made to train the staff involved in the work with users and records of submitted applications, complaints and appeals have been formed. General recommendations for remedying the identified shortcomings It is necessary to commence with the activities recommended in the Conclusions of the Committee on the Rights of the Child of the National Assembly and step up efforts towards comprehensive deinstitutionalization, i.e. reduction of capacities and closing of the existing social welfare homes, as well as on community-based care for persons with intellectual and mental problems. It is necessary to commence with the activities recommended in the Conclusions of the Committee on the Rights of the Child of the National Assembly and undertake available measures and activities to ensure that social security institutions discontinue the practice of placing children with mental and/or intellectual difficulties in solitary confinement. 117At 118 the time of the visit, 96 users were aged between 6 and 18. Report of Visit to the Gerontology Centre “Srem” in Ruma and Report of Visit to the Gerontology Centre Šabac.