Serbian ombudsman invites counterparts from Russia and Ukraine to Belgrade: We've had similar experience

Aware of the circumstances citizens in Eastern Europe are facing, thanks to the similar events from our not so distant past, we deeply sympathize with the suffering of brotherly peoples, which is why I sent an invitation to my colleagues from the Russian Federation and Ukraine, said Citizens' Ombudsman of Serbia Zoran Pasalic

Ombudsman Zoran Pasalic has invited his counterparts from the Russian Federation and Ukraine to a meeting in Belgrade or an online meeting to agree on ways to protect human rights of citizens in Eastern Europe, especially the right to life.

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According to the ombudsman's statement, this conversation would primarily refer to the protection of the rights of the most endangered social groups, and primarily to the protection of the rights of children.

"I've sent an invitation to my colleagues from the Russian Federation and Ukraine based on the excellent cooperation that our institutions have had for years, and I expect them to respond in the next five days," said Pasalic.

"We sincerely regret everything that is happening in Eastern Europe. We have a moral right and obligation to help those we consider friendly and brotherly peoples in such situations, because we have had a similar experience in the 1990s during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, as well as during the NATO bombing in 1999," said Pasalic.

The ombudsman also stated that after the disintegration of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Serbia received several hundred thousand refugees from the countries that formed out of the country that broke up, while after the NATO bombing in 1999, more than 200,000 internally displaced and expelled citizens came to central Serbia from Kosovo and Metohija.

"Aware of the circumstances citizens in Eastern Europe are facing, thanks to the similar events from our not so distant past, we deeply sympathize with the suffering of brotherly peoples, which is why I sent an invitation to my colleagues from the Russian Federation and Ukraine," said Pasalic.

(Telegraf.rs)