Russian Federation, the Protector of Citizens participated at the third international conference dedicated to the protection of human rights in Eurasia and exchange of the best practices of ombudspersons and on this occasion presented the topic of protection of the rights of migrants, refugees and persons without citizenship. The Protector of Citizens participated also at the conference of the European Network of Ombudsman in Brussels, organized by the European Ombudsman. At the conference the improvement of participative democracy in the European Union was discussed. The Protector of Citizens participated at the annual conference of the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC), which was held in Belfast, Northern Ireland to the topic of child rights in digital environment. Within his traditional participation in the operation of the International Conference of Ombuds Institutions for Armed Forces, the Protector of Citizens participated at the 11th conference which was held in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2019. Stable and sustainable ombudsman institutions were discussed at the conference. Furthermore, within the activity of the Network of Ombudspersons for Environmental Protection, the Protector of Citizens participated at the regional meeting of ombudspersons where the role of ombudspersons in the environmental protection was discussed. The Protector of Citizens organized two-day regional conference “Strengthening of the capacity of the institution and increase of availability of the Protector of Citizens to all citizens”, which was held in Niš, in November 2019. The conference gathered representatives of institutions of ombudspersons from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Turkey, Montenegro and Croatia which presented the experience on availability of their institutions to citizens, on the position of national minorities, monitoring of activities in the fight against human trafficking and strengthening of the ombudsman institution in compliance with the Venice Principles (Principles on Protection and Promotion of the Institution of the Ombudsman) adopted in March 2019 as the most complete overview of international standards in the field of ombudsman. Participants of the conference agreed that the Venice Principles are a signinficant source of ombudsman independence and that their full application is crucial for the stability and efficiency of this institution. For the institution of the Protector of Citizens the conference was of multiple importance and its regional character contributed to the strengthening of cooperation and networking of the Balkan ombudspersons. PROJECTS In this reporting period the implementation of the project “Increase of visibility and availability of the Protector of Citizens to citizens living inside Serbia” which started in May 2018 with financial support of the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria via the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Serbia was completed. In 2019 the Protector of Citizens continued to visit municipalities and cities in Serbia245. On these occasions he discussed with representatives of city and local authorities and public institutions and civil society organizations about key problems in the exercise of citizen rights and potentials for their promotion. Furthermore, during visits, citizens had the opportunity to talk to the protector of The Protector of Citizens visited Dimitrovgrad, Kraljevo, Čačak, Kanjiža, Zaječar, Leskovac, Bujanovac, Novi Pazar and Bosilegrad. 245 - 126 -