On February 26, 2025, Levan Ioseliani, Public Defender of Georgia, and Tamar Gvaramadze, First Deputy Public Defender of Georgia, met with Urs Daniel Engels, Head of the Division for Ukraine, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia at the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

The mandate of the Public Defender's Office and the challenges relating to the protection of human rights were discussed at the meeting. In addition, the issues relating to the supervision of the protests ongoing in the country and the activities of the Office in this direction were highlighted.

Un chiaro segnale dell’attenzione verso la formazione dei futuri cittadini, fondamentale per la costruzione di una società più equa e rispettosa dei principi costituzionali.

Il progetto “Il Difensore civico sui banchi di scuola”, porterà Marino Fardelli, Difensore civico del Lazio, ad incontrare gli studenti di varie realtà scolastiche regionali, con lo scopo di far conoscere ai ragazzi ruolo e funzioni di questo organismo. L’iniziativa, possibile grazie al supporto di dirigenti scolastici e docenti degli istituti visitati, vedrà nelle prossime settimane ulteriori appuntamenti in altri istituiti scolastici della regione.

Summary of the decision: A person requested documents, including an x-ray, from a unit of the University Hospital of Umeå in Region Västerbotten. The unit did not release the requested documents, instead notifying the applicant that a referral was required from the responsible doctor before a patient could obtain a copy of an x-ray. The investigation reveals that procedure at the unit was to refer individuals requesting x-ray images to the unit that requested the x-ray examination, which in turn would order a copy of the x-ray.

The Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman notes that there are no formal requirements concerning how a request for access to an official document should be made and that a request may be made to anyone within the authority. This implies that the regional health authority’s procedure is incompatible with the provisions of the Freedom of the Press Act (SFS 1949:105). Nor may a requirement be imposed for a referral from a doctor before an individual can receive a copy of a document.

Instead, the Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman notes that the regional health authority should have promptly examined whether a copy of the requested document could be sent to the applicant; however, no such examination was conducted. The Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman criticises Region Västerbotten for deficient processing of the applicant’s request for the disclosure of official documents.

On 23 February 2025, the six-year mandate of the fifth Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia, Petar Svetina, will expire. On 24 February 2019, he was elected to this position with the unanimous support of all 89 present members of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia at the proposal of the then President of the Republic, Borut Pahor.

Unwavering support for the protection of the rights of the most vulnerable – people who society overlooks or pushes to the margins – has always been at the centre of his life and activities "After six years in office, I note that the awareness of the importance of rights in society is indeed strengthening, but I am not satisfied because people still so often run into bureaucratic obstacles on the way to their enforcement. Social circumstances put many in a more vulnerable position, and the state, which should help them on this path, unfortunately often fails. Even though the violation of the principle of good governance has been one of the most frequently identified violations since 1995, authorities still too often behave as if rights are above the standard. They forget their explanatory duty, and they also behave ignorantly or arrogantly, instead of following their mission and doing everything to help people. Violations of the rights of individuals and their restrictions unfortunately do happen," he emphasises, adding that this is why independent institutions such as the Human Rights Ombudsman are so important, because they hold up a mirror to the authorities and society. Svetina, who is again running for the position of human rights ombudsman, emphasises the importance of strengthening the mandate and powers of independent institutions – he has often pointed this out in direct contact with decision-makers. Throughout his tenure, he has been in constant dialogue with them, not seeking attention, but staying focused on the essence of his work. More important than media exposure is the quick and effective resolution of the plight of people who turn to the Ombudsman after the authorities have overlooked, neglected, or interfered with their rights and freedoms.

As he says, in his current role, he has thoroughly learned about key areas and many critical points in the country that urgently require reforms. At the same time, he estimates that in six years, with the support of an exceptional team of colleagues and the ear of decision-makers, he has managed to eliminate many injustices and improve the situation of many individuals. "I am satisfied that, after our many years of intervention, an amendment to the Health Care and Insurance Act has been adopted, with which parents who stay with a sick child in hospital are entitled to monetary compensation during temporary absence from work. Now, a sick child can stay in the hospital free of charge up to and including the age of 14, before this was only the case until the age of six. We also intervened for the adoption of a law that solves the issue of allowances for blind and partially sighted children and achieved that both parents are entitled to childcare allowance and assistance and service at the same time if they work part-time. I am also satisfied that the authorities listened to our warnings and provided students with disabilities with free intercity public transport. From the beginning of my mandate, I also drew attention to the issue of rare diseases, and our persistence bore fruit. Since last year, the Register of Rare Non-Malignant Diseases has been established, which will enable the monitoring and improvement of patients' medical care. After several years of our interventions, the Institute for Health Insurance has finally begun to consider our recommendation to provide the right to borrow medical devices to temporarily immobile persons as well," points out Ombudsman Svetina.

Among other things, he advocated for the regulation of conditions in special social welfare institutions where people with various health, mental, and developmental problems live. The conditions in these institutions are sometimes intolerable, he often warned. He called the opening of new premises in one such institution, Dom Lukavci, "the first step towards the normalisation of living conditions in such institutions in Slovenia". He also assigned an important role to local communities, as he believes that they are the basis of cooperation and progress in the community. He personally met and worked with more than half of Slovenian mayors, as he wanted to hear the problems faced by local environments and to bring the institution of the Ombudsman closer to as many people as possible. The story of this is also written in the Ombudsman’s Corners, which have already been set up in 113 municipalities.

During his mandate, the Slovenian institution has greatly strengthened and deepened its position in the international environment. Svetina has participated in more than 40 international events with a speech or contribution, and, as the first Slovenian Ombudsman to do so, spoke at the United Nations in New York. He has striven to strengthen the role of ombudsman organisations and national human rights institutions, as he believes that only strong institutions that are independent of the bodies they control can perform their tasks effectively. "Achieving A status according to the Paris Principles (adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations), with which we put the institution of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia on the map of countries that achieve the highest standards of operation in early 2021, is certainly more than a clear signal for this," points out Svetina. The commitment and work of the entire institution has also been recognised by international partners – until today, 20 February, when he resigned from his position, Svetina was the president of the Association of Mediterranean Ombudsmen (AOM) and a member of the European and World Board of Directors within the International Institute of Ombudsmen (IOI), and he was also actively involved in the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) and the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI).

Despite the mentioned achievements, Svetina points out that the institution of the Ombudsman will not be lacking work in the future. More than 36,800 handled cases of people in need, more than 1,710 identified violations of rights, and more than 620 new recommendations of the institution of the Ombudsman to improve the work of state and local self-government bodies, legislation, or its implementation in practice in the last six years certainly speak of this. "The Ombudsman's recommendations are based on real stories of people who found themselves powerless in a complex system and are the result of the professional and independent work of the entire institution, which always strives to restore dignity and justice to these people. If those responsible were to implement these recommendations without delay, many would already be living a more dignified and quality life today. Looking at the path travelled and the imprint left by the institution of the Ombudsman, I look to the future with optimism and believe that with the sincere efforts of each of us, we will one day be able to fully become a society in which everyone is taken care of. It is my wish that everyone who is in the service of the people would follow the vision and goals of strengthening the social and legal state, in which the individual is at the centre of all reforms and policies, i.e. his dignity, rights and freedoms. A constructive, tolerant, and inclusive dialogue between various stakeholders is necessary, and above all, cooperation between politics, experts, and civil society. Regardless of all social challenges, human rights must remain an ideal to which we all strive," Peter Svetina also believes.

Considering that the procedures for selecting the ombudsman for the new mandate period are still ongoing, in accordance with Article 17 of the Human Rights Ombudsman Act and the decision on the order of replacement of the ombudsman issued by Svetina on 22 November 2024, the management of the institution will be temporarily taken over by the Deputy Ombudsman Ivan Šelih until the election. Since the establishment of the institution, in 1995, he has been employed by the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia, where he initially dealt with issues of police procedures, justice, and restriction of personal freedom, and since 2007 he has headed the National Preventive Mechanism. The National Assembly has appointed him as Deputy Ombudsman three times in a row.

Peter Svetina is convinced that the institution of the Ombudsman is in excellent condition, which can be maintained in the long term and the pace of its work strengthened only if an ombudsman with full mandate is appointed in the shortest possible time.