Una Onlus ha trasmesso al Difensore Civico della Regione Lazio una nota per sollevare la problematica sull’applicabilità delle disposizioni normative relative ai livelli essenziali di assistenza alle persone non autosufficienti colpite da forme di disabilità totale o limitata, mettendo in risalto che l’ordinamento giuridico italiano ha previsto, ormai da molto tempo, il pieno e immediato diritto delle...

IOI Ombudsman News 20/2015

Regarding the situation of refugees in the Mediterranean region, representatives of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI): Günther Kräuter Secretary-General of the IOI, Irena Lipowicz Regional President of the Institute for Europe and John Walters, Regional President of the Institute for Africa, called for action to find a solution to the current crisis.

In an open letter they pointed out that the nature and scale of the recent developments show that this problem cannot be solved by the countries directly concerned or some specific organisations alone. In their view, it is absolutely necessary to take comprehensive action. Therefore, they asked Ombudsmen, especially from Africa and Europe to encourage the authorities of their countries to take appropriate steps. Representatives of the Institute also called upon the European Union and the African Union to adopt extra measures that would help prevent tragedies such as those in the Mediterranean. In the opinion of the IOI, in the long term, it is necessary to conjointly advocate the observance of human rights for the full realization of human dignity. The Institute and all the members expressed their full readiness and support wherever it is needed to find a permanent solution for preventing risks and human rights violations.

Last week prof. Irena Lipowicz also spoke with Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Grzegorz Schetyna about the situation of refugees. Especially with reference to the possible arrival to our country of persecuted Christians from Syria.

Durham County Council has been asked by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) to review the way it deals with staff misconduct complaints after a man claimed he was ‘gazumped’ by a building control officer following an official site visit.

The man was in the process of buying a plot of land and contacted the building control officer to ask for advice about regulations in relation to a soakaway on the plot.

Some months later the officer made an official visit and was asked by the owner if he wanted to buy the land.

During an interview with the LGO the officer said he was told the original buyer had offered over the asking price, and having seen a leaflet on the property he knew roughly how much the original buyer had offered. His higher offer was accepted by the owners.

Despite being in the process of buying the property, the officer did not tell his manager that he was continuing to act as building control officer for the land in which he now had financial and personal interest.

The officer submitted a planning application a month later, but still did not tell his manager, or stop acting as building control officer for the site.

The original buyer complained to the council that the officer had ‘gazumped’ him and his complaint was passed on to a senior manager. But the man was not contacted about his complaint to check he had sent in all the information he wanted to be considered.

The officer gave a statement which included an unfounded allegation and inappropriate comments about the original buyer, but the man was not sent a copy of this statement and had no opportunity to rebut the officer’s allegations.

The manager ended his investigation with a 30 minute meeting with the officer, but there are no notes or any record of the meeting.

However, based on this short meeting the manager decided that there was no breach of the council’s code of conduct, despite the officer admitting he had acted as building control officer for eight weeks after his offer was accepted, in direct breach of the council’s own code of conduct for employees.

Dr Jane Martin, Local Government Ombudsman, said:

“People’s trust in public services is damaged when agreed codes of conduct are not followed. This trust is further eroded if allegations are not investigated in an open, transparent and effective manner.

“Durham council now needs to learn from my report and ensure that complaints of misconduct are acted upon in an appropriate way.”

To remedy the injustice the council should review the process by which it investigates complaints of serious misconduct against its officers to ensure in future it responds properly.

The council has also been asked to apologise to the original buyer and pay him £250 to acknowledge the difficulties and uncertainty caused. The man has decided to give this money to charity.

The remedy was set at this level because the investigation could not prove the original buyer would have completed the purchase but for the officer’s intervention.

 

El Adjunto Primero del Defensor del Defensor del Pueblo, Francisco Fernández Marugán, ha asegurado que las instituciones de Derechos Humanos deben trabajar para que las víctimas de trata no sean utilizadas “como simples peones en la lucha contra los traficantes, olvidando que son seres humanos que necesitan protección y asistencia”.

Así lo ha manifestado durante su participación en la primera Cumbre Iberoamericana sobre Derechos Humanos, Migrantes y Trata de Personas, que ha reunido en Bogotá (Colombia) a 28 defensores de América Latina, España y Portugal, los días 12 y el 13 de mayo.

En su intervención, el Adjunto ha expuesto las principales conclusiones del estudio del Defensor del Pueblo“La trata de seres humanos en España: víctimas invisibles”.

Según ha explicado, la trata de seres humanos es una vulneración de derechos humanos, pero también un delito que hay que perseguir. En su lucha contra los traficantes, “los Estados pueden caer en la tentación de centrar su interés por las víctimas en función de la información que les puedan proporcionar”, ha advertido.

Por ello, Fernández Marugán ha insistido en que las defensorías del pueblo han de marcarse como objetivo común “mantener un enfoque centrado en las necesidades de las víctimas” e incrementar sus esfuerzos para que las políticas públicas contra la trata no olviden la protección y el derecho a la reparación de cada víctima.

Tras señalar que la trata de seres humanos es “un fenómeno regional y mundial al que no siempre se puede hacer frente eficazmente a nivel nacional”, el Adjunto ha destacado el papel que juegan la cooperación internacional, multilateral y bilateral.

Como resultado de esta Primera Cumbre  Iberoamericana sobre Derechos Humanos, Migrantes y Trata de Personas, los integrantes de la Federación Iberoamericana de Ombudsman (FIO) han firmado la Declaración de Bogotá, donde se comprometen a impulsar las medidas necesarias para que se reconozca la trata de personas como crimen de lesa humanidad en los términos del Estatuto de Roma.

Intervención del Adjunto Primero

Declaración de Bogotá