"I am deeply concerned by recent statements from the highest political leaders in Republika Srpska that risk fuelling hate and intolerance against Bosniaks, increasing inter-ethnic tensions and endangering peace", said today the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O'Flaherty.

"As stressed by the European Court of Human Rights, hate speech is incompatible with the European Convention and its values of tolerance, social peace, and non-discrimination. Public figures, whose words shape public attitudes, carry a particular responsibility, especially in a country where incitement to hatred led to war and atrocities in the recent past. I call on political leaders in Republika Srpska to refrain from hateful speech and to promote respectful, human rights-based public debate."

Berlin: (hib/HAU) Der Petitionsausschuss tagt am Montag, 23. Februar 2026, öffentlich. Während der um 12.00 Uhr beginnenden Sitzung im Anhörungssaal 3.101 des Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Hauses werden zwei Petitionen beraten.

Dabei handelt es sich zum einen um die Forderung nach einer Neuberechnung des Deutschlandtakts im Bahnverkehr mit reduzierter Höchstgeschwindigkeit und einer Priorisierung des Bestandsnetzausbaus. Ab etwa 13.00 Uhr wird es dann um Arzneimittel gehen. In der zu beratenden Eingabe wird verlangt, die geplanten Änderungen des Medizinal-Cannabisgesetzes (21/3061) zu stoppen.

Der sogenannte Deutschlandtakt muss nach Auffassung der Petentin Sarah Brodowski „aus ökonomischer und ökologischer Sicht sowie aus Gründen des Klimaschutzes“ neu berechnet und modifiziert werden. In ihrer mehr als 37.000-mal mitgezeichneten öffentlichen Petition (ID 180105) heißt es, der aktuelle Deutschlandtakt setze auf Hochgeschwindigkeits-Neubaustrecken, die immense Kosten verursachten, Natur- und Kulturlandschaften zerstörten sowie Wohn- und Gewerbegebiete zerschnitten.

„Diese Planung widerspricht dem Klimaschutz“, urteilt die Petentin. Eine Neuberechnung des Deutschlandtakts mit reduzierter Höchstgeschwindigkeit und Priorisierung des Bestandsnetzausbaus würde ihrer Einschätzung nach die Investitionskosten und die CO-Belastung deutlich senken und Engpässe schneller beseitigen. „Eine Bahnmodernisierung ist nötig - aber ohne ökonomisch, ökologisch und sozial unverantwortliche Hochgeschwindigkeitsprojekte“, schreibt Brodowski.

Knapp 60.000 Mitzeichnungen (58.462) kann die Petition von Henning Todt für sich verbuchen. Er fordert, die geplanten Änderungen des Medizinal-Cannabisgesetzes zu stoppen, wonach künftig Verschreibungen nur noch nach einem persönlichen Arztbesuch möglich sein und der Apothekenversand verboten werden solle.

Das gefährde die Versorgung vieler Patientinnen und Patienten - vor allem in ländlichen Regionen - und führe zu einem ungerechten Zwei-Klassen-System, heißt es in seiner Petition (ID 184070). Daher müsse der Online-Arztkontakt für medizinisches Cannabis erhalten bleiben - insbesondere für Menschen mit eingeschränkter Mobilität oder ohne wohnortnahe Versorgung. Auch müsse der Apothekenversand von Cannabis erlaubt bleiben, „denn nur so ist eine sichere und gleichberechtigte Versorgung möglich“, heißt es in der Eingabe.

Im Verlauf der öffentlichen Sitzung erhalten die Petentin und der Petent die Möglichkeit, ihr Anliegen nochmals kurz darzustellen, um dann konkrete Fragen der Ausschussmitglieder zu beantworten. An der Sitzung nehmen auch Mitglieder der Bundesregierung teil, die von den Abgeordneten zu den Themen befragt werden können. Ein abschließendes Votum wird der Ausschuss in einer seiner späteren Sitzungen fällen.

Interessierte Zuhörerinnen und Zuhörer sowie Medienvertreterinnen und Medienvertreter können sich unter Angabe von Namen und Geburtsdatum spätestens bis zum 20. Februar 2026, 12.00 Uhr, beim Sekretariat des Petitionsausschusses, vorzimmer.peta@bundestag.de, anmelden.

Die Anhörung wird live im Parlamentsfernsehen und im Internet auf www.bundestag.de übertragen. Sie steht anschließend in der Mediathek zum Abruf bereit.

Die Petition zur Neuberechnung des Deutschlandtaktes im Petitionsportal des Bundestages: https://epetitionen.bundestag.de/petitionen/_2025/_04/_07/Petition_180105.$$$.a.u.html

Die Petition zum Medizinal-Cannabisgesetz: https://epetitionen.bundestag.de/petitionen/_2025/_07/_17/Petition_184070.nc.$$$.a.u.html

North Tyneside Council has agreed to pay £5,900 to a family after the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found it failed to provide promised specialist technology that would have allowed a child with special educational needs to learn from home - the second time the Ombudsman has ruled against the council for the same child.

The child has not attended school since September 2022 due to their special educational needs. Following an earlier Ombudsman investigation in August 2023, the council agreed to purchase specialist technology that would enable the child to interact with their class while learning from home.

The council said IT security restrictions and compatibility issues meant the technology could not be provided, but it then failed to arrange any alternative education for 13 months, leaving the child without suitable provision during a crucial GCSE year.

The council also did not attempt to put any other arrangements in place for the child’s education until September 2024. And even then, it relied on the school to make a referral to an alternative provider, chasing the school nine times rather than arranging provision directly.

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Mrs Amerdeep Clarke, said:

"This child was promised technology that should have kept them connected to their classroom and their peers at a crucial time in their education. Instead, they received nothing for more than a year. This can only have had a significant and detrimental impact on the child’s education and wellbeing.

“North Tyneside Council allowed this case to drift without any meaningful progress, and I am concerned there appeared to have been no oversight or urgency to ensure this young person received the education they were entitled to, especially given the council’s previous agreement.

“I now hope the change it has committed to make to its management of alternative provision does in fact take place and will ensure greater oversight in future of services for children who cannot attend school.”

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman remedies injustice and shares learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the council has agreed to apologise to the family and pay them £5,900 in recognition of the impact on the child’s education.

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the council has agreed to review its processes to ensure it maintains oversight where it relies on schools to arrange alternative provision and takes timely action when a school does not arrange the provision or the planned provision cannot take place.

Article date: 12 February 2026

Summary of the decision: Someone close to a woman referred to as NN in the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s report contacted the police to express concern that NN was being subjected to violence by her boyfriend. NN had suffered a black eye and said that, among other things, her boyfriend had kicked her and pulled her hair, since when it had not been possible to reach her.

A police operator passed on the information to a police patrol, which was dispatched to NN’s home. On arrival at NN’s home, NN told the patrol that she was fine and that the injury to her face had been inflicted by her child. A police report was not filed until the following morning, when a duty investigating officer reviewed the incident report from the previous evening.

Assault is an offence that falls under public prosecution. If a police officer becomes aware of such an offence, she or he has a duty to report the matter, which is usually done by filing a police report. In the opinion of the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the information passed on to the patrol by the operator was in itself grounds to file a police report.

Meanwhile, the patrol was dispatched to NN’s home to check on her wellbeing and whether she required assistance. Given the situation, it is acceptable that this was prioritised over filing a police report. However, according to the Parliamentary Ombudsman, a report should have been filed immediately after the officers visited NN. The fact that NN herself did not wish to report the matter to the police – something that is not uncommon when an offence is committed in a close relationship – is irrelevant in this context.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman emphasises the importance of filing a police report without undue delay. According to the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the delay in this case could have made a decision on whether to initiate a preliminary investigation more difficult and delayed appropriate investigative measures. The Parliamentary Ombudsman takes a grave view of this and criticises the Swedish Police Authority for the delay in filing a police report.

Il Coordinamento Nazionale dei Difensori Civici delle Regioni e delle Province Autonome Italiane accoglie con grande soddisfazione la comunicazione pervenuta dal Difensore Civico della Regione Abruzzo, Avv. Umberto Di Primio, relativa al forte riscontro che la campagna di sensibilizzazione sociale “Posto Occupato” sta registrando sul territorio regionale.

L’iniziativa, promossa nell’ambito delle attività del Coordinamento Nazionale e condivisa dai Difensori civici regionali, continua a raccogliere adesioni significative da parte di istituzioni, enti locali, università, società partecipate e del sistema scolastico. Tra queste, anche l’Ufficio Scolastico Regionale ha formalizzato la propria partecipazione, contribuendo ad ampliare il valore educativo e culturale del progetto.

Il Difensore Civico della Regione Sardegna, Avv. Marco Enrico, artefice e promotore della diffusione dell’iniziativa, dichiara:
“È fondamentale che le campagne di sensibilizzazione come ‘Posto Occupato’ trovino radici in tutte le comunità. La risposta positiva delle istituzioni abruzzesi dimostra quanto sia importante il lavoro congiunto tra enti locali e difensori civici per educare e proteggere i cittadini, in particolare contro la violenza di genere.”

Il Presidente del Coordinamento Nazionale, Marino Fardelli, esprime vivo apprezzamento per il lavoro svolto sul territorio e per la sensibilità dimostrata dalle amministrazioni e dagli enti che hanno aderito all’iniziativa, sottolineando come la collaborazione tra Difensori civici regionali rappresenti uno strumento fondamentale per dare voce ai diritti e promuovere azioni concrete di prevenzione e sensibilizzazione.

La crescente partecipazione registrata in Abruzzo rappresenta un segnale importante: la difesa civica, attraverso il coordinamento tra le Regioni, continua a svolgere un ruolo di impulso culturale e istituzionale sui temi della dignità della persona, dell’uguaglianza e della tutela dei diritti fondamentali.