The Child Rights Centre is addressed daily by parents with numerous questions regarding the exercise of the right to see their child during the state of emergency in the Republic of Serbia.
In this regard, we would like to refer parents to the statement of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy, which states that local self-government units, in cooperation with social welfare centers from the same territory, are obliged to, in case of admission requests, process the parents’ data that governs the child’s visitation (picking up and returning the child to a parent) by a final judgment. The local self-government unit is obliged to submit requests to the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy, which will then be forwarded to the Ministry of Interior for a permit.
The Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy has published a list of social welfare centres, with contact phones and e-mail addresses that citizens can contact at any time if they have any concerns, problems or situations when they do not know what to do.
If parents are dissatisfied with the work of a social welfare centre, the decision issued or the work of the employee at the social welfare centre, they can file a complaint with the competent authority, i.e. the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Policy – Department for Care about Family and Social Protection, 22-24 Nemanjina Street, tel: +381 361 62 59, email: socijalna.zastita@minrzs.gov.rs, and in the territory of Vojvodina, Secretariat for Social Policy, Demography and Gender Equality, 16 Bulevar Mihajla Pupina Street, Novi Sad, tel: +381 21 487 4000.
In addition, citizens can also address the institution of the Protector of Citizens, but it is necessary that all the legal remedies have been exhausted beforehand. The Protector of Citizens can inform them on how to protect their rights during the state of emergency by phones active seven days a week (in the period from 8:00 to 16:00: +381 66 800 7009, +381 66 800 7010, +381 66 800 7011, +381 66 800 7012, and in the period from 16:00 to 22:00: +381 11 2068 100 and +381 64 876 8505) and at email: zastitnik@zastitnik.rs.
The Child Rights Centre implements Project “Positive parenting” with financial support of EU within the programme European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights in Serbia with an aim of contributing to protection of every child in Serbia from all forms of violence through an effective legislative framework consistently enforced in all surroundings. The project is co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society of the Republic of Serbia.
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