1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. FOREWORD Respectable Representatives of the National Assembly, Pursuant to Article 33 Paragraph 1 of the Law on the Protector of Citizens I hereby submit for the review the Regular Annual Report of the Protector of Citizens for 2019. In the previous year, there were many challenges for the Protector of Citizens as independent public authority whose task is the protection of citizen rights and control the work of public administration bodies, body authorized for legal protection of property rights and interests of the Republic of Serbia, as well as all other bodies and organizations, enterprise and institutions which have been delegated public authority. The institution of the Protector of Citizens responded to all these challenges in compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, Law on the Protector of Citizens and numerous international documents which regulate and promote and propose standards for ombudspersons and national institutions for human rights. Preserving the principle of independence of the public authority with entrusted care about the protection and promotion of human and minority rights and freedoms, in 2019 the work with citizens was promoted by solving numerous complaints, increase of the availability of the institution itself to citizens who live in smaller towns and municipalities in Serbia and by the increase of the number of reactions upon own initiative. During the last year the Protector of Citizens was contacted by approximately 11,000 citizens and more than 3,200 complaints were received and in these citizens presented the violations of their rights. The complaints predominantly refer to the violation of rights in economicproperty field, good administration field and social and cultural rights. The complaints of citizens mostly refer to the violation of rights to the property protection, right to receiving of the decision within legal deadline as well as of the right to the respect of the best interests of a child. Within the project of the increase of availability of the Protector of Citizens, I visited 12 cities and municipalities and made the competences of the institution and manners in which they may exercise their rights closer to citizens. The exercise of economic-property rights is the field in which citizens for years back have the greatest difficulties to exercise their rights, so I have discussed this issue with 2,600 citizens in Serbia and with our people who are on temporary work aboard since I took the office of the protector of citizens. The discussions were organized every last Friday of the month, when the citizens had the opportunity personally to present the problems they face. Simultaneously, the number, especially of unannounced visits of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) to the locations where persons deprived of their liberty are accommodated or may be accommodated with the aim of the discouragement of public authorities and civil servants from any form of torture or any other form of abuse, as well as with the aim of directing the public authorities towards the creation of accommodation and other living conditions at the institutions where the persons deprived of liberty are accommodated in accordance with valid regulations and standards. In 2019, the NPM paid 77 visits to the institutions which accommodate persons deprived of liberty and eight supervisions of the procedures of forced return of foreigners. Four visits were paid with the aim of tracking of the treatment of refugees and migrants. For the first time since its establishment, the NPM paid -3-