“Ricercare da subito soluzioni per consentire le visite dei familiari ai parenti ospitati in strutture residenziali per anziani e disabili”.

L’appello arriva dal Difensore civico regionale, Carlotta Marù, che chiede di ridurre le restrizioni collegate all’emergenza sanitaria rivolte alle strutture che ospitano queste particolari categorie di persone, in condizioni di fragilità.

Il protrarsi di questa situazione, rimarca Marù, “rischia di danneggiare l’equilibrio psicofisico degli ospiti di queste strutture, sia persone anziane sia persone con disabilità”. Occorrere quindi, sottolinea, “trovare modalità che possano garantire la ripresa delle visite dei familiari, prevedendo tutte le precauzioni necessarie: l’utilizzo del tampone rapido, ad esempio, potrebbe già rappresentare una soluzione”.

“È un diritto delle persone, ancora di più se in condizioni di fragilità, mantenere rapporti diretti con i propri cari, l’isolamento forzato rischia di incidere negativamente sull’equilibrio psicofisico: non a caso la stessa Organizzazione mondiale della sanità (Oms) definisce la tutela della salute come ‘uno stato di completo benessere fisico, mentale e sociale’, ovvero una condizione di armonico equilibrio funzionale, fisico e psichico dell’organismo integrato nel suo ambiente naturale e sociale”.

he Commissioner published today her written observations to the European Court of Human Rights concerning the cases of three Syrian applicants summarily returned from Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Commissioner stresses that all the information available points to the existence of an established practice of collective returns of migrants from Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are carried out outside of any formal procedure and without identifying the persons concerned or assessing their individual situation.

Based on her own observations and numerous consistent and credible reports, the Commissioner also points to widespread ill-treatment of migrants by Croatian law enforcement officers in the context of collective returns and to a lack of prompt, effective and independent investigation of such treatment, as a result of which law enforcement officers continue to enjoy impunity.

The Commissioner concludes by underscoring that such practices also fail to have due regard for the individual implications of returning a person to Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially in view of the long-standing and serious structural problems there in the field of migration and asylum, which have had dramatic humanitarian consequences for thousands of migrants and asylum seekers.

Third party interventions to the European Court of Human Rights are among the tools at the Commissioner’s disposal to help promote and protect human rights. They are provided for by the European Convention on Human Rights and are based on the Commissioner’s country work and thematic activities.

• Read the Commissioner's written observations to the European Court of Human Rights

The International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) has welcomed the United Nations Resolution on the Ombudsman institution, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 16 December 2020.

The UN resolution represents a strong endorsement of the key principles of ombudsman institutions, including independence, objectivity, transparency, fairness and impartiality.  It is an important further step in securing worldwide recognition for the work of Ombudsman institutions in promoting good administration, human rights, good governance and the rule of

The IOI welcomed the adoption of this resolution, as it provides strong endorsement of the Principles on the Protection and Promotion of the Ombudsman Institution (the Venice Principles) and establishes these principles as the new global standard for the Ombudsman for the first time.

This is an important step to strengthen independent and autonomous Ombudsman institutions worldwide and to raise awareness at international level for the essential role Ombudsman institutions around the world play in the protection and promotion of human rights. It confirms and reinforces the importance of a close cooperation betwee the IOI and the United Nations.

The final document is available here in its English, French and Spanish version.

Die lange geplanten Sprechtage finden in diesem Monat als telefonische Beratungstage statt, damit das Angebot eines Gesprächs mit Matthias Crone weiterhin für die Bürger soweit wie möglich aufrecht erhalten bleibt.

Die Termine werden dafür- zeitlich, wie zuvor vereinbart - telefonsich wahrgenommen.

Zu der verabredeten Uhrzeit werden die jeweiligen Bürgerinnen bzw. Bürger angerufen. Die Anliegen könne so unkompliziert mit dem Bürgerbeauftragten Matthias Crone am Telefon besprochen werden. Die nächsten Beratungstage sind für den 20., 28. und 29. Januar 2021 geplant.

Über die zentrale Nummer 0385 525 2709 ist das Büro natürlich nach wie vor zu den angegebene Zeiten erreichbar.

The range of social services provided by municipalities to persons with disabilities and the elderly is quite minimal, and the identified quality deficiencies raise doubts about the feasibility of Lithuania’s international obligations – such conclusion was reached by the Seimas Ombudsman Augustinas Normantas, who conducted an investigation on the availability of social services in municipalities for persons with disabilities and the elderly. Among other things, the Seimas Ombudsman A. Normantas acknowledged that the availability of social services in Lithuania is extremely problematic, there is a lack of clear regulation, and municipalities do not collect information on the real need of social services for vulnerable persons.

Assessing the quality control of social services, the Seimas Ombudsman states that due to shortcomings in the current legislation as well as abstract conclusions of the responsible controlling authorities in the country, there is a lack of a unified methodology for assessing the quality of social services. Due to the lack of clear regulation, there is no common standard for the quality of social services in the country; each municipality applies different methods of assessing the quality of social services, which makes the assessment of these services very subjective, does not guarantee the quality of social services and the rights of recipients of those services.

“During the investigation, after interviewing all sixty municipalities of the country, it became clear that currently only thirteen of them have developed and approved procedures for assessing the quality of social services provided. It should be noted that in four of them the procedure was approved already after the Seimas Ombudsman’s request for information. After analyzing the quality assessment documents of the social services provided by the above-mentioned thirteen municipalities, it became clear that the quality assessment and control process in the municipalities is very different,” concludes the Seimas Ombudsman A. Normantas.

Another particularly serious problem is the availability of community social services in municipalities. The Seimas Ombudsman notes that access to social services varies greatly from one municipality to another, as there is no approved common standard for access to community social services in the country. The quality and quantity of social services often depend on the social services policy implemented by the municipality where the service recipient lives, the funds allocated and the efforts made to provide these services. Moreover, the country does not collect information on the availability of social services, and the elderly or disabled people are not visited on a preventive basis.

“A human rights-based approach to disability is not based on the granting of specific rights, but on the equal enjoyment of all human rights without discrimination. The fundamental values ​​of this paradigm are therefore the invaluable dignity of each person, autonomy and freedom of choice, the innate equality of all persons, regardless of differences, as well as solidarity. And, in the opinion of international experts, these paradigms cannot really be properly ensured in large segregated institutions,” explains the Seimas Ombudsman A. Normantas.

Assessing the country’s international obligations in the field of providing social services to persons with disabilities and the elderly, the Seimas Ombudsman notes that Lithuania is committed to ensuring the rights of persons with disabilities and the elderly, including full participation in society and adequate and sufficient social services. Nevertheless, the Seimas Ombudsman noted that the process of transition from institutional care to care or assistance to a person in the community is taking place too slowly.

According to the Seimas Ombudsman, one of the most important legal acts of the European Union in the field of human rights is the Charter of Fundamental Rights, Article 23 of which enshrines the right of the elderly to social security. That article states that, in order to ensure the effective exercise of the right to social protection of the elderly, the Parties commit to take appropriate measures to enable the elderly to remain full members of society for as long as possible and to lead independent life in their familiar surroundings; however, Lithuania has not ratified this article.

The Seimas Ombudsman acknowledged that the investigation revealed extremely sensitive problems related to the accessibility of municipal social services for people with disabilities and the elderly, due to which the availability of services for the vulnerable population of the country cannot be assessed as sufficient at present.

Nevertheless, the Seimas Ombudsman hopes that the recommendations submitted to the newly formed Government and Lithuanian municipalities will be carefully assessed and fully implemented.

Seimas Ombudsmen carry out national prevention of torture in places of deprivation of liberty in accordance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The Seimas Ombudsmen’s Office is also a National Human Rights Institution accredited with an “A status” at the United Nations.