Chief Ombudsman Mr. Mehmet Akarca, Former Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (GNAT) Mr. Cemil Çiçek, and Former Minister of Justice, Mr. Hikmet Sami Türk participated in the symposium as keynote speakers. The event was also attended by Ombudsmen Mr. Ertunç Erkan Balta, Ms. Fatma Benli Yalçın, Mr. Şerif Yılmaz, and Mr. Özcan Yıldız; and the Secretary General of the Ombudsman Institution, Mr. Mehmet Doğan.

In his speech, Chief Ombudsman Mr. Mehmet Akarca stated, “As the Ombudsman Institution, we carry out our work with an approach that listens to citizens’ grievances, calls on public administrations to act in accordance with the law and fairness, prioritizes solutions, and upholds the public conscience. We believe that a strong state is one that listens to its citizens.”

The symposium consisted of three sessions. The first session, titled “Judiciary and Ombudsmanship,” was chaired by Chief Ombudsman Mr. Mehmet Akarca. The second session, “Duties and Mandate of the Ombudsman,” was chaired by the first Chief Ombudsman of Türkiye, Mr. Nihat Ömeroğlu. The third session, “Ombudsman Decisions,” was chaired by Mr. Şeref Malkoç, who served as the second and third Chief Ombudsman of Türkiye.

During the symposium, distinguished academicians and jurists comprehensively examined the historical development and establishment of the Ombudsman Institution, its contributions to the field of law in Türkiye, its role in reducing the workload of the judiciary, and its function within the constitutional framework. The discussions also addressed the practical implications of the decisions of the Ombudsman Institution and the significance of the Ombudsman Institution in light of current developments.

Asylum, migration and borders Borders and information systems

On 19 March, FRA and the Frontex Consultative Forum on Fundamental Rights attended the Frontex Management Board meeting.

FRA recalled the update of its report on national investigations into alleged rights violations at borders. 

The Consultative Forum presented its annual activity report for 2025, which will soon be released. 

FRA co-chairs the Frontex Consultative Forum on Fundamental Rights together with UN Refugee Agency. 

The Consultative Forum provides independent expert advice to Frontex on the protection of fundamental rights in its activities.

Summary of the decision: In his review of two civil actions amenable to out-of-court settlement at Hälsingland District Court, the Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman found that proceedings had been both deficient and slow. During 2024, the district court had one full-time judge and three vacant judge positions. At the beginning of the year, the two junior judge positions were also withdrawn. The adjudication process has largely been conducted by visiting judges drawn from a pool of reinforcements at the Swedish National Courts Administration.

In light of the staffing situation and working conditions at the district court, the Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman acknowledges that under the circumstances it has been very difficult, indeed nigh-on impossible, for the judges to live up to procedural requirements in each individual case.

The district court has had three different chief judges during the period in question and the extremely strained staffing situation and working conditions have made it very difficult for them to act and take measures when a case has not been adjudicated within a reasonable period of time.

While the Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman is critical of how the two civil actions have been processed, given the facts that have emerged concerning the situation at the court he finds no reason to direct criticism at any official who is under his supervision.

The Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman notes that the situation at the district court is a matter of grave concern and sends a copy of the decision to, among others, the Government and the Swedish National Courts Administration for information purposes.

The Ombudsman strongly supports all victims of violence, so that they receive appropriate institutional care.

In this context, Mr. Endrit Shabani joined the dialogue with women and girls who recounted their challenges as they face not only abusers, but often institutional indifference.

He used this platform to remind everyone that our door is always open.

‘My vision is that the Ombudsman Institution should not be an archive office where letters, complaints and reports are collected, but to be the voice of vulnerable citizens, precisely when the state closes its ears and eyes in the face of injustice.

In closing, I would like to remind you of something that we all know: the strength of a state and the maturity of a society is not measured by the way it treats the strong, or those who are in the majority; but with the security, dignity and protection it offers to its weakest citizen, and to those who happen to be in the minority,' said Mr. Endrit Shabani, among others.

During this roundtable, the report on gender-based violence against lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LBT) women in Albania, conducted by the LGBTI Alliance and the International Association for Equal LGBTI Rights – ERA, was presented.

El Defensor del Pueblo, Ángel Gabilondo, ha registrado este martes en las Cortes Generales el Informe anual de la actividad de la institución en 2025, y ha hecho entrega del mismo a la presidenta del Congreso de los Diputados, Francina Armengol. El Informe será entregado el próximo 9 de abril al presidente del Senado, Pedro Rollán, en el Palacio del Senado.

Ángel Gabilondo ha señalado en la rueda de prensa posterior al encuentro con la presidenta Armengol, que “este Informe no es aséptico. En él se refleja la realidad de la coyuntura actual, la difícil situación de quienes no encuentran respuestas, o no hallan vías, ni siquiera difíciles, para la defensa de sus derechos fundamentales, de sus derechos humanos”.

Asimismo, el Defensor del Pueblo subrayó que “nos corresponde a esta institución, sin arrogancia pero con conciencia de la tarea que nos incumbe, presentar a la sociedad lo que hemos podido percibir al respecto y lo que quizá quepa y deba hacerse para paliar situaciones injustas o inapropiadas”.

En 2025 la institución Defensor del Pueblo tramitó un total de 38.762 expedientes frente a los 34.629 registrados en el ejercicio anterior. Dichos expedientes se desglosan en 38.144 quejas, 253 actuaciones de oficio ante las diferentes administraciones y 365 solicitudes de interposición de recurso de inconstitucionalidad y de amparo ante el Tribunal Constitucional. Además, desde la institución se atendió personalmente a 44.278 ciudadanos (42.785 de ellos a través de llamadas telefónicas y 1.493 de una forma presencial).

Como consecuencia de los expedientes tramitados se formularon 2.059 resoluciones dirigidas a las administraciones estatal, autonómica y local. De ellas, 721 fueron recomendaciones, 788 fueron sugerencias y 550 recordatorios de deberes legales.

Los asuntos que protagonizaron más quejas ciudadanas ante el Defensor del Pueblo en 2025 estuvieron relacionados, principalmente, con la Administración de la Justicia, la Seguridad Social y Empleo, Migraciones y Política Social, Interior, Educación y Sanidad.

El mayor número de quejas volvió a llegar de las comunidades autónomas más pobladas, entre ellas, las comunidades de Madrid (8.766), Andalucía (4.374), Cataluña (3.702) y Valencia (3.458).

Además de los datos estadísticos, el Informe 2025 incorpora una selección de los asuntos destacados sobre los que ha trabajado la institución el pasado año que tienen que ver, entre otros, con la protección de los menores; con el apoyo a las personas mayores, bien sea con motivo de las dificultades que encuentran en el ejercicio de sus derechos en la justicia civil, o bien a propósito del acceso a la pensión de jubilación; con los problemas que se encuentran los solicitantes de protección internacional tras la reforma del Reglamento de Extranjería; con el trato desigual que sigue sufriendo la comunidad gitana; con cuestiones relacionadas con la valoración del grado de discapacidad, o por las dificultades de su acceso al empleo público; con la trata de seres humanos con fines de explotación laboral; además de cuestiones relacionadas con la enseñanza, con el medio ambiente o con las devoluciones en el IRFP a mutualistas.

El Informe recoge también la actividad realizada por el Mecanismo Nacional de Prevención de la Tortura y Otros Tratos o Penas Crueles, Inhumanos o Degradantes (MNP). En 2025 el MNP realizó 67 visitas a lugares de privación de libertad.

Ver resumen del Informe 2025

Ver Informe anual 2025 y sus anexos

Ver vídeo de la entrega del Informe en el Congreso y de la rueda de prensa posterior