Speech delivered at the Exchange of views with the Parliamentary Assembly Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights

Thank you very much Chairperson and members of the committee. It is a great pleasure.

Just a word first about the way I work.

I have got a very broad mandate and so within it I have taken a highly prioritised approach to the work. There are many important areas of human rights where I am not engaged. Not because they are not important but because I have obvious capacity constraints. I will come back in a moment to some areas of priority where I am investing my time.

How I work?

I'm mainly in the field. I try to make sure that my work is not a desk based human rights exercise but a genuine accompaniment of our peoples in the lived experience of their lives. This means that my work is not also about primarily the delivery of reports. I produce actually very few reports but instead it is about advocacy on behalf of those most in need of defence and support in our societies. And of direct relevance for you, my work is extremely law based. For me it will only be an issue of human rights where the human right is identifiable in the relevant treaties or in the relevant practise under the treaties.

Finally, by way of general introduction, I take a highly collegial approach to my work. My mandate is independent, and I value that, but independence is not isolation. I work very closely with partners inside and beyond the Council of Europe. My relationship with PACE is a very important one. Some of you I will have met during country visits. I try and meet the PACE delegation in every country I visit to work with the committees and indeed with the plenary. But right across the Council of Europe system and beyond where my natural partners at the international level include the United Nations and the OSCE and then at the national level national human rights institutions just to take an example.

Enough of the general sort of introduction to how I do the job. Let me come to some specific areas that I'm working on.

The first has to do with embedding or seeking to have human rights embedded in the work towards peace in Ukraine. I remain disturbed by the extent to which discourse around peace for that country is more about land and about transactions than it is about human beings, people. It is vital that we never forget the human rights of the people in occupied territories. The human rights of the displaced. The protection of human rights in the future reconstruction of that country.

This is the basis for considerable work of mine at the moment, including a meeting I convened of leaders around this topic in Warsaw, just a few months back, at which we were honoured with the participation of your chair.

Moving to a second area of high priority for me that has to do with playing my role in defending the system of the European Convention on Human Rights. There has been a growing chorus of voices from among our member states calling out for changes in at least practise and in some cases even law around certain issues of human rights. You are all very familiar with the initiatives of the statement of nine member states and then much more recently in December of 27 member states. Calling for essentially the hierarchicalisation of rights holders. Whereby some rights holders would have a higher status than others. Migrants in particular and certain categories of migrants to have even less status than others. There are other examples, but I am concerned that the current discussion engages such fundamental human rights principles as the universality of human rights. The protection of such non-negotiable absolutes of the system such as the principle of non-refoulement and the principle of the independence of the court of human rights.

Turning to a third area of attention for me, the oversight of artificial intelligence. I am very strongly of the view that we must put in place adequate guard rails, adequate oversight of artificial intelligence so that this amazing technology is in the service of human dignity and human thriving.

This is the context for my current work to help persuade our authorities across our member states to stay invested in smart oversight. To resist the lobby which is of the view that oversight gets in the way of innovation. The evidence does not support this contention whatsoever. To the contrary smart oversight can actually foster innovation.

Moving to another topic, standing up for human rights defenders. I had not expected when I took on this role quite how busy I would be in advocating for and seeking protection of those who stand up for human rights in our societies. First day in office I had to engage with a government around these issues and there has not been a week since that I have not had to reach out either in public or quietly to a government or to some part of the state to see off some unacceptable threat and burden being placed on human rights defenders or, more broadly, civil society.

The pressures come in multiple forms. They are regulatory, they are about the cutting off of access to funding, cutting off of access to policy makers, and then sometimes just plain threats to life and property.

The last issue, if I may, and I'm well aware that this committee is not working on it, but it is central to my priorities. That is standing up for the human rights of the Roma and Traveller communities. The Roma and Traveller communities are the largest minority group on the continent, certainly the largest in the Council of Europe and the indicators of their well-being are frankly dreadful whether we're referring to discrimination, harassment, hate, sometimes killing, but also massive deprivation across just every imaginable context of services, education, health, jobs and the list is a very long one.

You will recall the Roma community was also subject to a genocidal attack by the Nazi regime, very little of which is known to our general populations and their plight remains very worrying today. I visited eight countries so far to get a better understanding of the situation of the Roma and Traveller communities on the basis of which I produced a book, The Unheard Twelve Million. This is not a report, I call it a book deliberately, it is a book of stories. These are what Roma and Travellers told me about themselves. They are the story of what I have just described, massive exclusion but also a story of an extraordinary set of cultures, very diverse, but extraordinary set of cultures which have deeply enriched our general populations and our societies more general.

By the way, a key message out of this book is the importance of supporting Roma women and girls in taking on leadership within and for their communities. Everywhere I went, frankly, I saw the potential for change being driven not by men, but by women but they need our support to be empowered to do that essential work.

Thank you.

Ayer, la Valedora do Pobo acogió la presentación del IX Informe FOESSA sobre Exclusión y Desarrollo Social en Galicia, en un acto que reunió a representantes institucionales y entidades sociales.

La valedora do pobo abrió la jornada agradeciendo la asistencia y contextualizando la función de Cáritas como entidad clave en el acompañamiento de las personas en situación de vulnerabilidad. A continuación, intervino la representante de Cáritas Galicia, María Victoria González, quien puso el foco en la creciente brecha de la exclusión social y en la complejidad de las situaciones que viven muchas personas.

Posteriormente, Tomás Urbich, coordinador técnico del informe FOESSA, explicó que el mismo se basa en entrevistas y cuestionarios en profundidad a personas en diferentes situaciones. Señaló que la exclusión social no es solo económica, sino que responde también a factores como la vivienda, la salud, el empleo o la pérdida de vínculos sociales. El estudio identifica ocho grandes factores de cambio social, entre ellos la precariedad laboral, la crisis demográfica y la desigualdad.

Aunque en Galicia se registran datos más positivos, desde Cáritas se destacó que muchas personas están activas, pero se encuentran con barreras estructurales. La vivienda se señaló como el principal factor de desigualdad, con precios elevados y condiciones precarias en aumento. Además, la exclusión social deteriora la salud y evidencia la necesidad de reforzar las políticas dirigidas a la infancia.

Por último, intervino Francisco José Prieto, arzobispo de Santiago de Compostela, quien invitó a comprender lo que está sucediendo poniendo nombre y contexto a la realidad social. Recordó que en Galicia existen cinco Cáritas diocesanas, junto con las Cáritas parroquiales, y destacó el papel fundamental del voluntariado, al que definió como la columna vertebral de la entidad. Asimismo, llamó a mirar la realidad sin filtros y a trabajar de forma conjunta desde toda la sociedad

News and events of the Ombudsman’s Office in December 2025 (information in links mostly available in Latvian).

Share your experience on cooperation with the Orphan’s and Custody Court

The Ombudsman Karina Palkova invites residents to share their experience of cooperation with the Orphan’s and Custody Courts – both positive situations and negative cases when they have encountered unethical or unprofessional actions of employees of Orphan’s and Custody Courts.

Discussion on accessibility of mass media content for people with disabilities

In Latvia, accessibility of media content for people with disabilities remains insufficient, especially in television and on the internet. On the positive side, both the media and their supervisors are ready to continue finding solutions to make the media accessible to everyone. On 3 December 2025, participants of the discussion on ‘Accessibility of mass media content for people with disabilities’ agreed on this. 

Ombudsperson: rotation of civil servants is a global practice for strengthening institutions, but in Latvia it often has a negative impact

A survey of the Ombudsman’s Office and the discussion on relocation of officials highlight that the rotation of civil servants is a recognised practice of strengthening public administration. At the same time, it was recognised that the framework was broad and unclear for some officials, which required guidelines for the development of a common transfer practice to achieve the objective of such rotation – transfer of good examples to an institution to be strengthened.

Ombudsperson: Sigulda municipality ignores the illegally established racetrack

Arbitrary adaptation and use of an existing asphalt field for motorsport in the racetrack ‘Slapjā ragana’ without the appropriate arrangement of construction documents in the local government and the uncoordinated change in the use of the area are to be regarded as arbitrary construction. Sigulda local government is directly responsible for controlling this situation and must therefore act proactively and strike a balance between the interests of the parties involved – the residents and the entrepreneurs – by 1 January 2026.

Ombudsperson calls for applications to the Disability Advisory Council

Ombudsperson invites organisations representing people with disabilities to apply for membership of the Ombudsman’s Disability Advisory Council. First meeting of the Council is planned for 22 January 2026 at 13:00 – 15:30.

Ombudsperson gives an inspirational speech at an event dedicated to whistleblowing

On 9 December, the Ombudsperson Karina Palkova delivered an inspirational speech entitled ‘Citizen’s co-responsibility to the State: Freedom of expression. A democratic state governed by the rule of law as a shared responsibility’ called on every resident of Latvia to be a responsible citizen using the whistleblowing mechanism, when there is a breach detrimental to the public interest. The Ombudsperson is convinced: “A democratic state cannot exist solely on the shoulders of institutions. It exists when its residents perceive the state as theirs, their field of responsibility. This manifests when a person sees a violation and decides an uncomfortable and risky path: speak and act.’

Ombudsman educates:

• Ombudsperson educates students on data protection and youth professionals on anti-discrimination and hate speech
• Training for sociological surveyors on accessible survey websites
• In Ventspils, young people learn about the importance of elections; in Gulbene – about freedom of expression and hate speech
• Safety of children in sports

Documents prepared by the Ombudsman’s Office:

• Study on transfer of officials: data, trends and risks
• Study on accessibility of mass media: written news (internet/printed press), radio, TV
• Disbursement of the allowance to persons with registered partnership
• Report on the social services centre Vecružina

Probleme beim Bürgergeld, wie zum Beispiel mit der Übernahme der Kosten für Miete oder Heizung, mit der Hilfe zum Lebensunterhalt, dem Wohngeld oder auch mit Leistungen der Krankenkassen oder Schwierigkeiten beim Kindergeld ­ die Bürgerbeauftragte für soziale Angelegenheiten des Landes Schleswig-Holstein, Samiah El Samadoni, hilft bei allen Fragen rund um das Sozialrecht. Darüber hinaus berät die Bürgerbeauftragte auch als Leiterin der Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Landes und als Ombudsperson in der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe im Rahmen dieser Sprechstunde. Zudem ist die Bürgerbeauftragte auch Beauftragte für die Landespolizei und damit Ansprechpartnerin für Beschwerden von Bürger*innen und Eingaben von Polizist*innen.

Ha aceptado revisar la documentación que debían entregar los autónomos, ya que en algunos casos no era exigible

El Síndic de Greuges de Cataluña celebra que el Departamento de Justicia y Calidad Democrática haya aceptado la sugerencia de revisar la documentación exigida a los trabajadores autónomos que soliciten el derecho a la asistencia jurídica gratuita.

La institución había recibido varias quejas de personas que trabajan por cuenta propia a las que se les había denegado el acceso a la justicia gratuita por no poder aportar las tres últimas declaraciones trimestrales del IRPF, un requisito que, según la normativa tributaria vigente, no les era exigible.

En concreto, la normativa del impuesto sobre la renta de las personas físicas establece que determinados profesionales —aquellos cuyos ingresos están mayoritariamente sujetos a retención o los que desarrollan actividades agrícolas, ganaderas o forestales— no están obligados a realizar pagos fraccionados. Sin embargo, no aportar esta documentación había comportado, en algunos casos, la denegación del derecho a la asistencia jurídica gratuita. El Síndic de Greuges consideró que esta práctica vulneraba el derecho fundamental a la tutela judicial efectiva, reconocido en el artículo 24 de la Constitución española, y que suponía un obstáculo injustificado para acceder a la justicia en condiciones de igualdad.

A raíz de la intervención del Síndic de Greuges, el Departamento de Justicia y Calidad Democrática ha admitido la necesidad de revisar y adecuar la documentación requerida y ha aceptado sustituir estos comprobantes por otros (como el certificado de retenciones e ingresos a cuenta del IRPF o el informe actualizado de las bases de cotización de la Seguridad Social) en los casos en que no sean exigibles.

El Síndic de Greuges valora positivamente esta respuesta, ya que contribuye a garantizar un acceso real y efectivo a la justicia, especialmente para las personas en situación de vulnerabilidad económica. Además, recuerda que la justicia gratuita es un instrumento esencial para garantizar la igualdad de derechos de toda la ciudadanía. Sin embargo, realizará un seguimiento de la cuestión para garantizar que este compromiso se cumpla en un plazo razonable.