ANNUAL REPORT ON THE RESULTS OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE INSTITUTION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OMBUDSMAN OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Bosnia and Herzegovina considered it at its 152nd session on 29 August 2018 and the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska on 12 March 2019. Example: Ombudsmen have registered a case ex officio on the occasion of the publication of disturbing photographs showing residents of the Public Institution the Institute for the Care of Mentally Disabled Children and Youth Pazarić. 420 The first activity undertaken as part of the case work was a visit by a representative of the Institution to the Institute for the Care of Mentally Disabled Children and Youth Pazarić 421, on which occasion the interview was conducted with the Director of the Institute, medical staff, caregivers and users of the Institute. According to the director, at the time of the visit, the Institute housed 339 users and employed 70 caregivers. Compared to the previous reporting period, when a neuropsychiatrist was hired once a month, the number of neuropsychiatrists and dentists visits increased to four times a month at the time of the visit. In the interview with the staff, a small number of caregivers were mentioned in relation to the number of protégés, especially in certain pavilions, with two or more caregivers working with twenty or more protégés, while only one caregiver was hired at night for two pavilions. Caregivers do not have the opportunity for any type of professional development, and there is also room for improvement in the conditions of placement of beneficiaries. With regard to procedures for the separation and use of physical force, the neuropsychiatrist pointed out that the Law on the Protection of Persons with Mental Disabilities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina establishes a procedure for the separation and use of physical force against persons with mental disabilities. Procedures and fixation books have not yet been drawn up and there is no categorization of institutions, which means that the issue in question has not been systematically resolved. Ombudsmen pointed out problems in social welfare institutions in the Special Report on the State of the Rights of Persons with Intellectual and Mental Disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Considering that the recommendations were issued to the Federation Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, but that the Ministry did not provide information regarding the measures and activities undertaken with a view to their realization, an act was sent to the Federation Ministry of Labor and Social Policy on the basis of which the response was submitted 422 which states, inter alia: "... The need to establish an independent body for the expert evaluation of every person with intellectual and mental disabilities was also detected by the Federation Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, namely, an expert evaluation to be carried out by an independent bodies, would constitute a basis for classification and further a basis for determining treatment and care of these persons in a community or institution. This would, inter alia, prevent the continuation of the current practice of placement of persons with mental disabilities in institutions for the care of persons with disabilities, which are in accordance with the Law on Assuming the Rights and Obligations of the Founders of Social Welfare Institutions in the Federation of BiH ("Official Gazette of the Federation" BiH, No. 31/08 and 27/12) owned by the Federation of BiH. ... As part of the reform processes in the field of social protection, the Federation Ministry of Labor and Social Policy has drafted the Strategy for Deinstitutionalization and Transformation of Social Ž-SA-02-1274/19 The visit was made by the Ombudsmen of Bosnia and Herzegovina Nives Jukić and Dr. Jasminka Džumhur, Assistant to the Ombudsman Irma Hažiavdić and Expert Advisor Alma Mehonić Kišić on 21 November 2019. 422 Federation Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, Act No. 05-3/2-3107/19 AH of 13 December 2019. 420 421 101