strategic document in this field, improvement of technical means and cooperation with civil
sector.
During the visits to the institutes for the execution of criminal sanctions the emphasis was
placed on the treatment of persons deprived of liberty by police before they were delivered to
the institute. Visits were paid by visiting local police stations and the institute, which enabled
crossing of the data obtained from the persons with official allegations and documentation. In
this manner, visits were paid to PCI Ćuprija, PCI Požarevac – Zabela, DP Zaječar and DP
Vranje.
In this reporting period, too, the NPM confirmed that in visited residential care institutions,
there is still a great number of users accommodated there for a longer period of time, because
in the community there are no conditions provided for their staying. However, what is
encouraging is the fact that by the end of the reporting period the Government of the Republic
of Serbia passed the Program on the mental health protection in the Republic of Serbia for the
period 2019-2026133, with the Action Plan which stipulates measures and activities for the
implementation of the Program and in terms of deinstitutionalization.
During the reporting period the application of the measure of fixation toward users at the
residential care institutions was continued, even though the stated restraint was not
prescribed by the law, but it was regulated by internal procedures of the institutions for the
application of this measure.134 Furthermore, the freedom of movement continued to be limited
to users outside the institution, even though there is no valid legal basis or procedure which
would regulate their detention at the institution. The Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veteran
and Social Affairs at the beginning of the reporting period executed the Draft of the Law on
the Protection of Rights of Persons with Mental Disabilities, Users of Accommodations
Services in Social Protection and the NPM issued the opinion to this indicating that proposed
decisions leave room for arbitrary actions based on internal rules of service providers and
violations of persons with mental disabilities135.
Accommodation conditions in individual institutions of social protection136 and conditions for
keeping of the privacy of users are still not satisfactory and in compliance with valid
standards. The continual problem in visited institutions of social protection137 and in this
reporting period was the lack of employees for the immediate work with users, which may
have an inconvenient effect on the quality of the provision of health care and psychosocial
services.
After paid visits to psychiatric clinics within four clinical centers and issuing of reports with
recommendations138, the NPM was notified by these institutions on taken activities with the
05 Number: 500-11682/2019, dated 21st November, 2019.
The Report on the visit to the Home for accommodation of adults “Trbunje“, number 414–31/19.
135 Available at: https://ombudsman.rs/index.php/2011-12-11-11-34-45/6105-ishlj-nj-z-sh-i-ni-gr-d-n-n-n-cr-z-nz-sh-i-i-pr-v-lic-s-n-lni-s-nj-risni-uslug-s-sh-u-s-ci-ln-z-sh-i-i.
136 The Report on the visit to the Gerontological Center of Kragujevac – Facility 3/block for increased supervision,
no. 414 – 4/19 and the Report on the visit to the Home for accommodation of adults “Trbunje“, number 414–31/19.
137 The Report on the visit to the Gerontological Center of Kragujevac – Facility 3/block for increased supervision,
no. 414 – 4/19, the Report on the visit to the Infirmary for Children and Youth with Autism, number 414 –13/19
and the Report on the visit to the Home for accommodation of adults “Trbunje“, number 414–31/19.
138 The report on the visit to the Psychiatric clinic of the Clinical Center of Kragujevac 413-6/19, available at:
https://npm.rs/attachments/article/867/Izvestaj%20o%20poseti%20Klinici%20za%20psihijatriju%20KC%20Kra
gujevac.pdf.
The report on the visit to the Psychiatric clinic of the Clinical Center of Serbia 413-36/19, available at:
https://npm.rs/attachments/article/895/Izveštaj%20o%20poseti%20Klinici%20za%20psihijatriju%20KCS.PDF
The report on the visit to the Psychiatric clinic of the Clinical Center of Niš 413-45/19.
133
134
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