Press statement | 11.12.2018

Assignment of parents as a personal assistant to a child with special needs

On 03.09.2018, the Ombudsman Institution for Human Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina received the complaint of mother of minor NN, a child with special needs (autism).

The complaint states that the boy with a regular documentation based on the category was included into regular education with the presence of an assistant and that during the two-year education, four assistants were changed to the child. The boy could not accept the frequent change of assistants from the first to the third grade and there was a change in his psycho-physical condition. Pediatrician, then psychiatrist in the Brčko District of BiH was asked for assistance, after which he was sent to the Institute for Mental Health - Clinic for Children and Youth in Belgrade.

In the opinion of an ordination physician, a child psychiatric specialist at the Children's and Youth Clinic in Belgrade noted that, given the specificity of the developmental disorder, which is recognizable by the adaptation difficulties and the pronounced reactions to changes, it is necessary to ensure continuity at least during one school year. It is recommended that parents assist in attending classes and performing school activities. However, the parents did not find the willingness of the competent organs to act in accordance with the opinion of the doctor, because of which the child, due to the specificity of his psycho-physical condition, did not begin attending classes in the school year 2018/2019.

On the same day following the receipt of the complaint, the Ombudsmen of Bosnia and Herzegovina initiated the investigation procedure, and on 03.10.2018 issued the Recommendation stating:

It is not questionable that the provisions of the Law on Education in Elementary and Secondary Schools of the Brčko District of BiH (Law on Education in Primary and Secondary Schools in the Brčko District of BiH, Official Gazette of the Brčko District of BiH No. 10/08, 25/08, 4/13, 48/16 and 22/17) stipulates the goals, organization and activity of the institutions of primary and secondary education of the Brčko District of BiH and the Rulebook on work with pupils with special needs in elementary and secondary schools of the Brčko District (Rulebook on working with pupils with special needs in Brčko District Official Gazette of the Brčko District of BiH, No. 43/17) and Article 33 stipulates the manner of work and the description of the assistant's work, which provide professional assistance to pupils with special needs, and the provision of paragraph 4 of the Rulebook stipulates that assistants cannot be members of the immediate family of the students to whom they are assigned.

However, the Ombudsmen of Bosnia and Herzegovina point out that the provisions of Article 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulate that: "In all actions involving children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts, state administration or legislative bodies , the best interest of the child must be given priority" and by the provision of Article 23 it is stipulated that States Parties recognize the right of disabled children to special care and helpers, and, depending on available means, provide assistance to such a child and to those responsible for caring for him, assistance which they ask and which corresponds to the child's condition and the circumstances of the parents or others who take care of the child.

The Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Article 2, paragraph 1, prescribes that Bosnia and Herzegovina and both Entities shall ensure the highest level of internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The Ombudsmen of Bosnia and Herzegovina have found that, in deciding on the subject matter of the requests of the parents of the student NN, the educational bodies of the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina did not take into account his health condition as the most important segment that should have been taken into account as well as the specificities of the disorder from the autism spectrum as a very complex neuro-developmental disorder that affects all aspects of a child's personality.

They noted with concern that it is an undisputed fact that the educational bodies of the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the commission and the working group decided not to abide by the doctor's finding, adopted after the child's examination, by a child psychiatric specialist, although in its composition, visible from the submitted documentation, did not have a child psychiatric specialist.

The Ombudsmen of Bosnia and Herzegovina concluded that in this situation the imperative of the best interests of the child was ignored, as required by the international standards for the protection of the rights of the child, and in referred the recommendation to the Government of the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Education Department, on 3 October 2018:

- to take the necessary measures without delay in order to continue the education of NN, acting in his best interest and in accordance with his special needs, taking into account the findings of this Recommendation;

- within 15 days, provide feedback to the Ombudsman for Human Rights Institution of BiH on the implementation of the Recommendation.

Useful Links

• Cooperation with NGO
• Office Days of the BiH Ombudsman
• Agreements of the Ombudsperson Institution of BiH with other ombudsman institutions
• Covid-19 and the human rights effect
• Freedom of Access to Information
• ​Marrakech Declaration, 12th October 2018
• Operational Strategy of the Institution of Human rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Period 2023 – 2028
• Medium-Term Plan 2024-2026
• Ombudsman Manual for handling discrimination cases
• Guidelines for filling in the complaints in the area of discrimination
• Application before European Court of Human Rights - Instruction
• The life of an application before the European Court of Human Rights
• News Archive

We are protecting rights of natural persons and legal entities in accordance with the Constitution of BiH and international human rights instruments...
Ombudsmen of BiH

Ombudsman's Activities

Posjeta ombudsmenke dr. Jasminke Džumhur Kazneno-popravnom zavodu Zenica

Sastanak ombudsmenke dr. Jasminke Džumhur s predstavnicima ambasade Kraljevine Nizozemske

Sastanak ombudsmena dr Nevenka Vranješa s predstavnicom Helsinškog parlamenta građana u Banjaluci

Ombudsmenke na sastanku Posebne grupe za reformu javne uprave

Ombudsmenke razgovarale sa Specijalnim izvjestiocem UN-a za prava na slobodu mirnog okupljanja i udruživanja

Ombudsmenka dr. Jasminka Džumhur na Info sesiji ENNHRI-a

Activities Archive