Skopje, 10 December 2021 (MIA) – The Ombudsman’s Office has carried out an analysis in the period January-August 2021 on activities undertaken by institutions regarding human rights protection requests from the Ombudsman’s Office, Ombudsman Naser Ziberi told a conference on International Human Rights Day. In the period January-August 2021, the Ombudsman’s Office received a total of 1,760 complaints and opened investigations into 1,097 (62.32%) of them, sending requests to 1,417 state, local self-government and other institutions. 436 of these responded to requests within the deadline, 865 after the deadline and 116 didn’t respond at all. 1,062 od the responses were complete, while 232 were lacking certain information, Ziberi stressed. The analysis, he added, showed that there’s lack of cooperation between institutions and called on authorities to urge them to improve collaboration with the Ombudsman’s Office, in order to respond to requests in a timely manner. “The ministries of health, transport and relations, agriculture, forestry and water economy, labor and social policy, interior affairs, several courts, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Corruption, the Ohrid and Kichevo-based prosecutor’s offices, the government’s general secretariat, the records’ keeping administration, the State Statistical Office, the City of Skopje, the municipalities of Berovo, Kochani, Tetovo and Bitola, as well as several public enterprises, etc. either respond at our insistence or not respond to requests at all, and often deliver formal responses that can’t protect citizens’ rights efficiently,” Ziberi underlined. On the other hand, the analysis found that institutions such as the Health Insurance Fund, public health institutions, the State Health and Sanitary Inspectorate, social work enters, the Social Services Office, the Ministry of Education, etc. have responded to requests timely, or with small delay, but provided full and meaningful answers. The State Market Inspectorate, most elementary and high schools, the Employment Agency, national institutions, notaries, the Chamber of Lawyers, primary courts, the Misdemeanors Commission, the Denationalization Commission, the Veles, Bitola, Kumanovo, Prolep and Kavadarci-based prosecutor’s offices, MRTV, EVN, BEG and the Regulatory Commission are also on this list. “Cooperation is crucial in order to improve the protection of human rights and freedoms,” ZIberi noted. Citizens, he added, usually complain about the institutions of the judiciary. In the period January-August 2021, the Ombudsman’s Office recorded a total of 300 complaints, of which 49 were against courts. 99 of the responses were relevant, while 14 were formal. Citizens also submit a lot of complaints regarding consumer rights. In the period January-August 2021, the Ombudsman’s Office recorded a total of 163 such complaints and acted on 120 of them. Only 15 relevant institutions responded in a timely manner. 98 of the responses were relevant, while 24 were formal. In regard to labor relations, the Ombudsman’s Office received 146 complaints. 74 of the responses it got were relevant and six were formal. Moreover, in regard to children’s rights, citizens submitted 153 complaints to the Ombudsman’s Office, which acted on 129 of them and got 179 responses from institutions, of which 154 relevant and 25 formal. Ziberi also told Friday’s event that starting next year, the Ombudsman’s Office will carry out such analyses twice a year and publish data, so as to inform citizens which institutions are open for cooperation. The analysis incorporated complaints submitted to the Ombudsman’s Office in Skopje, as well as regional offices in Bitola, Kumanovo, Kichevo, Strumica, Tetovo and Shtip. It highlights activities undertaken in regard to human rights violations, as well as cooperation with institutions. Eric Meyer, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy to North Macedonia, said that human rights are one of the key topics at President Biden’s democracy summit, alongside fight against corruption and authoritarian regimes. “These are the U.S’s basic values, interwoven in all our efforts at the State Department and international diplomacy. Human rights are the foundation of democracy, they’re what makes a country great. Freedom of expression, labor rights, national security, etc.,” Meyer stressed.