El Defensor del Pueblo, Ángel Gabilondo, ha participado este martes en la entrega de los Premios Archiletras de la Lengua 2026, que se ha celebrado en el auditorio de Casa América, en Madrid.

Ángel Gabilondo ha entregado el premio a la `Iniciativa lingüística en el ámbito educativo´, que en esta edición ha recaído en el programa `Profesorado visitante en Estados Unidos y Canadá’. Se trata de una iniciativa de la Acción Educativa Exterior del Ministerio de Educación, Formación Profesional y Deportes, que permite a docentes españoles trabajar en centros educativos públicos de EE. UU y Canadá bajo las mismas condiciones laborales y salariales que los profesores nativos. El galardón ha sido recogido por la ministra de Educación, Milagros Tolón.

En el evento, que ha sido conducida por la actriz y cómica María Juan, han intervenido el director general de Casa de América, Leon de la Torre, y el fundador de Archiletras, Arsenio Escolar. El vicepresidente primero del Gobierno y ministro de Economía, Carlos Cuerpo, lo ha clausurado. 

Los Premios Archiletras se organizan para distinguir a personas, colectivos o instituciones por sus méritos en la promoción o investigación de la lengua española en cualquiera de sus ámbitos territoriales. Son convocados por Prensa y Servicios de la Lengua, editora de la revista trimestral impresa Archiletras, la semestral Archiletras Científica y el sitio web archiletras.com.

One of the Ombudsman institution’s most important tasks is to be present and accessible to the most vulnerable citizens in society – those that for various reasons have difficulty taking care of their own interests.

This is what the new Parliamentary Ombudsman, Christian Britten Lundblad, writes in the preface of his Annual Report, which has just been published in English – the first in his period in office.

The Ombudsman says that, for the same reason, he attaches great importance to the institution’s monitoring activities. Or as he himself puts it: ‘(…) our monitoring visits allow us to get out in the field and in direct dialogue with citizens who often find themselves in difficult and stressful situations. These may be children and young people placed outside the home in institutions, prison inmates, remand prisoners or patients in departments of forensic psychiatry.’

The Ombudsman also wishes to visit all of Denmark’s municipalities and citizen advisors in order to reach out to those parts of society as well. In 2025, he visited 10 municipalities, and he expects to visit 20 municipalities in each of the coming years.

The new Ombudsman also writes about the organisational and strategic changes that have been initiated at the institution. Among other things, Christian Britten Lundblad writes about the mission for the Ombudsman institution, which is described like so:

‘With the Constitutional Act as a starting point, the Parliamentary Ombudsman safeguards legal rights and a democratic society based on the rule of law. By ensuring that the administrative authorities act in accordance with the law and follow good administrative behaviour, we protect the citizens’ rights in their encounters with the authorities.’

When municipalities are disqualified

The Annual Report includes an article about administrative disqualification in the municipalities. It is an issue that may arise if a municipality itself has an interest in the outcome of a case it is processing. It may be for example if a municipality is both the developer and the authority granting building permissions. Or if a municipality needs dispensation from rules that the municipality itself administers, for instance in the fields of environment and planning. 

It is not intrinsically wrong or reproachable that situations may arise where a municipality is disqualified. However, it is important that the municipality is aware that it is disqualified and considers what to do in that connection. Normally, an authority that is disqualified will have to transfer the case to another authority by so-called substitution. However, municipalities do not generally have the possibility of transferring a case from one municipal council to another (with a different voter base etc.).

The article mentions different situations that can result in disqualification and the ways that the municipalities can deal with them.

Highest number of complaints

The Annual Report also mentions some of the cases that the Ombudsman dealt with in 2025, and it contains statistical information about the Ombudsman’s work.

It appears from the Annual Report that the Ombudsman last year received approximately 7,100 complaints, which is the highest number in the history of the Ombudsman institution.

Read the Annual Report.

Eva Kostolanska, formerly a lawyer at the Office of the Ombudsman and the Children’s Ombudsman, has officially assumed office as the Czech Ombudsperson. She succeeds Stanislav Křeček, who served as Ombudsman from 2020 until 2026.

“I am taking on the role of Ombudswoman with the awareness that behind every complaint is a real human story. I want people to know that they do not have to face their problems alone and that they can find both understanding and assistance at the Ombudsman’s Office,” said Eva Kostolanská.

In the second round of voting, Eva Kostolanská received the support of 93 MPs, becoming the fifth Ombudperson in the history of the Czech Republic. 

The leadership of the Office of the Ombudsman and the Children’s Ombudsman is now complete. Alongside Ombudsperson Eva Kostolanská, it consists of Children’s Ombudsman Martin Beneš and Deputy Ombudsman and Deputy Children’s Ombudsman Vít Alexander Schorm.

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, released today a memorandum asking the Georgian authorities to make progress in ensuring accountability for the disproportionate use of force against protesters and to reverse legislation curtailing freedom of assembly, association and expression in Georgia, following his visit to the country in April 2026.

Ensuring law enforcement accountability

The Commissioner welcomes a legislative proposal requiring all law enforcement personnel to wear visible identification numbers and calls for its prompt adoption and effective implementation. He acknowledges the recently announced criminal charges against five police officers for the use of disproportionate force against protesters and journalists in 2024 and early 2025. However, given that the Public Defender received ill-treatment reports from 360 protesters, the Commissioner is concerned about the substantial delays and the limited progress made to date. He underlines the importance of implementing the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights concerning effective and independent investigations into allegations of ill-treatment and the policing of demonstrations.

“Without further delay, the authorities should ensure a thorough, independent and transparent inquiry into the reported use of water cannons containing chemical substances against protesters, with the full participation of victims and civil society, and public disclosure of the findings,” said Commissioner O’Flaherty.

Protecting democratic freedoms

The Commissioner regrets that, rather than reviewing existing restrictions on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, the Georgian authorities adopted further limitations in October and December 2025. These include a mandatory prior notification requirement for any assembly, including spontaneous protests, new police powers to restrict protesters from impairing road or pedestrian traffic, expanded administrative sanctions, and criminal liability for repeated protest-related administrative offences.

“These amendments significantly restrict the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and appear incompatible with the principles of necessity and proportionality enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR),” said Commissioner O’Flaherty.

The Commissioner is concerned about the chilling effect of several laws relating to ‘foreign influence’ on civil society organisations (CSOs), human rights defenders and journalists. “I call for the repeal of the Foreign Agents Registration Law, which requires legal and natural persons to register as ‘agents of a foreign principal’ and of the wide-ranging amendments to the Law on Grants, which prohibit CSOs from receiving foreign funding without official permission. The authorities should also halt the administrative and criminal proceedings against dozens of CSOs for receiving foreign funding or for alleged involvement in aggravated sabotage, and immediately lift the freeze on their bank accounts,” said Commissioner O’Flaherty.

He considers that ongoing legal actions targeting opposition parties and politicians appear to be inconsistent with the ECHR.

Finally, the Commissioner warns that restrictions on freedom of expression, including the ban on foreign funding for media outlets and the cumulative effect of amendments to defamation law, risk driving journalists towards self-censorship.

• Read the Commissioner's full Memorandum on Georgia following his visit to the country
• Read the comments of the Georgian authorities on the Commissioner's Memorandum

La disposición novena de la nueva ley encarga la evaluación y el seguimiento del proceso a la institución del Síndic

El Parlamento de Cataluña ha aprobado hoy por unanimidad la Ley para la erradicación del amianto de Cataluña, un paso importante para la salud pública y la seguridad de la ciudadanía. Esta norma responde a una demanda largamente expresada por la síndica, que ha alertado repetidamente de los riesgos de ese material.

Esta ley establece medidas para identificar, retirar y gestionar de forma segura los materiales con amianto en todo el territorio catalán. El objetivo es reducir la exposición de la población y prevenir enfermedades graves asociadas a este material.

Además, la disposición adicional novena de la nueva ley encarga al Síndic de Greuges de Cataluña la función de evaluar y efectuar el seguimiento del proceso de retirada de los materiales con amianto. Este control se llevará a cabo mediante un apartado específico dentro de los informes anuales o bien a través de informes monográficos, con periodicidad anual o bienal. Con esta medida, se refuerza la transparencia y se garantiza que la ciudadanía esté informada sobre la evolución del proceso de eliminación del amianto.

La nueva ley representa un firme compromiso de las instituciones para proteger la salud y avanzar hacia un entorno más seguro para todos.