On 21 April 2022, advisors from the Osijek office of the Ombudswoman—Melanija Kopić, Matea Miloloža, and Robert Adrić—visited the women’s association Izvor in Tenja, where they presented the work of the Ombudswoman’s institution. The visit and lecture were organized as part of the association’s monthly social gathering for older persons, which is held every second Thursday and aims to conduct educational workshops for its members.
Presenting the institution’s competencies across all five mandates of the Ombudswoman, advisors Kopić, Miloloža, and Adrić explained to citizens how they can reach out to the institution if they believe their rights have been violated or if they have been subjected to discrimination.
They specifically addressed examples of complaints from citizens who contacted the Ombudswoman due to violations of older persons’ rights. These included difficulties in claiming pension rights, abuse of elderly persons within their households, problems faced by residents of nursing homes, and various forms of age-based discrimination, among others.
They also spoke about concrete outcomes achieved by the Ombudswoman’s institution in the area of protecting the rights of older persons. For example, following the acceptance of the Ombudswoman’s recommendation to increase the number of inspectors supervising homes for the elderly and infirm, the number of inspections carried out significantly increased. Furthermore, based on another recommendation, persons who initiate proceedings to terminate life-long care contracts due to failure to meet obligations can now be granted the right to guaranteed minimum allowance, care and assistance allowance, home care, and placement services.
More about the problems faced by older persons and the related recommendations can be found in the Ombudswoman’s 2021 Annual Report.
In the second part of the visit, the Ombudswoman’s advisors engaged in discussion to learn about some of the challenges faced by the Izvor association’s members and explained how the institution can assist them.
The full 2021 Annual Report of the Ombudswoman is available [here].