this demanding situation was adequate, as it implemented a human approach while at the same time successfully providing for the safety of its citizens. With regard to legislative changes, the provisions of the Act on International and Temporary Protection that were designed to reduce the frequency of the limitations of freedom of movement for applicants for international protection have not fulfilled their intended purpose, which is confirmed by the fact that one in five of them did find him/herself in detention after all. Forced returns have still not been adequately organized, which is why the Ombudsman has been proposed as the institution that could take over the supervision of the process. However, this would be possible only after adequate legislative changes and provided financial resources for the implementation thereof. The end of the year saw the realization of the possibility of much more extensive cooperation between the NPM and independent experts and representatives of civil society organizations, in accordance with the amendments to the Act on the NPM. A public call for applications was announced, and it resulted in selecting a total of 20 associates. The Report that you are reading has been prepared with the aim of providing relevant information for anyone who might find them useful in the promotion and stronger protection of the rights of persons deprived of their liberty – primarily for national bodies and institutions, employees in the prison, police, judicial, healthcare and social care systems, civil society organizations, the media, the professional public abroad, but also to the persons deprived of their liberty and members of their families, all the while respecting the right to privacy and protection of personal information. In addition to that, the Report is also intended for anyone who may for any reason be interested in the situation with regard to human rights of persons deprived of their liberty, laws and international standards that regulate them, which is the best path toward fighting prejudice toward this group of citizens. Although having been deprived of their liberty, they are not deprived of their human rights, which is something that is often forgotten. Therefore we believe that if the wider public were better informed about the issue, this would help to achieve a greater level of awareness of the standards of protection that we as a society aspire to. Lora Vidović, Ombudswoman

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