A married couple turned to the ombudsman in a case involving the procedure of authorities (the Nature Conservation Body, the Construction Authority) in connection to granting permission to fence a fallow deer farm on their land.

The deputy-ombudsman's inquiry confirmed that the complainants had started the construction works on the fences without an appropriate permit by the Construction Authority (as well as at variance with the spatial plan), which necessarily had had to lead to proceedings on removal of the structure. The deputy critically noted that the proceedings on removal of a structure had not required the spatial planning process, and if the Construction Authority had stayed the proceedings on such grounds, its procedure had been wrong. If, after the expiry of the period for which the procedure for the removal of the structure had been stayed, the proceedings remained open for a long time, then the Construction Authority erred by being inactive.

The authorities reflected the criticised shortcomings in the current procedures, took steps against the inactivity, and promised to further act in accordance with the legal requirements. According to the current reports from the authorities, the administrative proceedings regarding the construction of the fences around the farm have not been closed by a final decision, and the complainants are parties to the proceeding, with all rights following from it, which they also actively exercise. The deputy-ombudsman therefore closed the inquiry.

By presenting the findings of the monitoring team of Lithuania, Mr. Vytautas Valentinavičius, Chief Counsellor of the Seimas Ombudsmen’s Office, raised concerns, for example those related to upholding dignity, the right to privacy, autonomy, participation and access to justice in residential long-term care settings for older persons of Lithuania. Moreover, examples of concerning practices which coincided with those in some of the countries included entry to residential LTC without consent, unsafe environments for the residents and overall the greater challenges upholding human rights

The project’s monitoring work was carried out by NHRIs in Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania and Romania, in residential long-term care settings for older persons; the findings showed that most care workers instinctively used a person-centred approach to inform their work, valuing older care users as individuals, respecting their dignity and independence, and understanding the value of social interaction.

As well as summarising the key findings from the project, which comes to an end in December 2017, the conference offered further guidance to policy-makers, care providers and advocates for older persons on implementing a human rights- based approach in the long-term care (LTC) sector and protecting and promoting the rights of older persons in (or seeking) care.

The use of formal LTC throughout Europe varies widely. On average, LTC costs in the EU are about 1.7% of GDP (2013), ranging from 0.3% in Slovakia and Cyprus to 4.1% in Netherlands. The average expenditure is expected to increase by as much as 2.3 percentage points of GDP (to 4% of GDP). ”We need to make sure that the very real pressure in relation to supply and cost means that quality and human rights don’t get shifted off the agenda”, explained Ciara O’Dwyer, Project Co-ordinator.

As Heinz Becker, MEP, remarked, this topic is about “solidarity between generations”. Ana Carla Pereira of European Commission’s Directorate for Employment and Social Affairs mentioned that it important to look at it not only from a social perspective, as there will be 12 million people needing LTC in Europe in a few years.“ LTC sector in Europe is highly diverse and Human Rights are central to its future development” she concluded.

ENNHRI’s report analysed these national findings to identify key trends in the human rights situation relating to LTC in Europe; these can also form a solid basis for the upcoming discussions on the long term-care agenda of the European Commission.

The event brought together actors from across wider Europe responsible for planning and delivering long-term care for older persons, including representatives of NHRIS, policy-makers, care providers; advocates for older persons and persons with disabilities, human rights defenders, as well as older persons and their families.

“We, NHRIs, are really indeed determined to work with people in long term care - there is so much to be done in our national environment, and I hope that we keep this momentum for the future” concluded ENNHRI Chair, Lora Vidović.