Rakic (UNESCO): Social Welfare Institutions Need to Be Depoliticized

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Vojin Rakic, the Head of the European Division of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics, said that given the crime and corruption allegations, it is necessary to depoliticize Serbia’s social welfare institutions and the competent ministry’s inspection department, replace Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs Minister Zoran Djordjevic, along with the rest of the party cadre working in the said ministry.

Professor Rakic told BETA on Aug. 19 that every person involved in criminal activities in social welfare institutions needs to be prosecuted, including “the offenders from social work centers, judges who are a part of the criminal chain along with those centers, as well as their associates in the competent ministry.”

Rakic recalled that after the issue of abuse in social services, and their connection with the ruling political parties had been raised, the pro-government media launched a series of untruths and ad hominem attacks against him. This caused UNESCO Chair in Bioethics Amnon Carmi to react and publicly refute certain claims that Rakic was “under investigation” by this U.N. organization.

“Amnon Carmi had to deny all these fabrications in an official letter and confirm that I am the head of the mentioned UNESCO division, a recipient of UNESCO honorary membership for my contribution to the development of the European Division [of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics] with 40 units and for the global development of ethics; that no investigation is taking place on my account, to the contrary, that I enjoy full support of UNESCO,” Rakic said.

He added that “it is clear that [Serbian President Aleksandar] Vucic has tasked his media lackeys with something that has seriously stained Serbia’s reputation.”