Santa Cruz de La Palma, 21 de febrero de 2018.- El Defensor del Pueblo en funciones, Francisco Fernández Marugán, se ha dirigido por segunda vez a la Delegación del Gobierno de Canarias para conocer si se han producido fallos o bien ha dejado de funcionar, total o parcialmente, el Servicio Integrado de Vigilancia Exterior (SIVE) en la detección de embarcaciones, desde el pasado mes de dici...

La valedora do pobo, en calidad de comisionada de la transparencia de Galicia, Milagros Otero Parga, recibió hoy los informes de transparencia del Gobierno gallego correspondientes al año 2017 de manos del vicepresidente de la Xunta, Alfonso Rueda, que acudió a la institución del Valedor acompañado de la directora xenral de Evaluación y Reforma Administrativa, Natalia Prieto. Estos documentos recogen información estadística del Portal de Transparencia del Gobierno puesto en marcha por la administración autonómica y acerca de las sugerencias y quejas allegadas por la ciudadanía a la oficina de defensa de los usuarios de los servicios públicos.

Milagros Otero Parga recordó en el acto de entrega que tanto la valedoría como el Gobierno autonómico son, en sus respectivos ámbitos, los órganos más transparentes de España según los índices Dyntra de Transparencia Pública que miden el cumplimiento de los deberes de publicidad activa en los sitios web de las entidades. En este sentido apuntó que “queremos seguir siendo las institución más transparentes porque es un signo de buena salud democrática”. “La transparencia facilita la ausencia de corrupción”, añadió y especificó que desde el Valedor do Pobo se trabaja con ahínco conseguir “la transparencia absoluta”.

Otero comprometió el trabajo de la institución para salvar algunas cuestiones que afectan a las prácticas transparentes como la lentitud de la tramitación de las solicitudes de acceso a la información pública, la ausencia de claridad en el lenguaje que emplea la administración con sus administrados o la excesiva burocracia con la que se carga muchas veces a los usuarios de los servicios públicos. También anunció que someterá a estudio los plazos en los que los contratos menores, sometidos al deber de publicidad activa en la legislación de transparencia, deben permanecer publicados nos sus respectivos portales. “El acceso al conocimiento de los contratos tiene que estar garantizado”, apuntó.

Hace dos años que el Valedor do Pobo desplegó actuaciones de protección en materia de transparencia al tener atribuidas las funciones propias del comisionado de transparencia en Galicia y presidir la Comisión de la Transparencia que tramita las reclamaciones en materia de solicitud de acceso a la información pública. En esta etapa se desarrollaron numerosas actuaciones principalmente de asesoramiento a la ciudadanía y las administraciones, tratando de avanzar para conseguir que los procedimientos de reclamación sean más rápidos y sencillos.

The number of residents who know where to turn for violated human rights has increased, a new poll shows. On violations of human rights, people tend to turn to courts, the Seimas Ombudsmen or police and prosecutor. The general public is less confident in media and other Lithuanian human rights bodies, according to the representative public poll’s survey though.

Even though confidence in Lithuanian human rights agencies is extremely low, trust in the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office has risen. The survey revealed that the courts (13.5 percent) and the Seimas Ombudsmen (7.1 percent) were the most trusted among Lithuanian human rights agencies. In comparison to the previous year (6.3 percent), and 3.4 percent in 2015, the confidence in the Seimas Ombudsmen’s Office has increased dramatically.

The polls showed that more than half of the population would know where to find support (57,5 percent) if their rights were violated. This number was lower in 2015 (52.6 percent) and a bit higher in 2014 (54 percent). However, the percentage of those who knew where to turn when their rights were violated was at a record low – just 27.9 percent in 2013.

The number of people whose rights were violated in municipal and governmental institutions increased almost in two percent this year (14 percent) compared to 12.3 percent in 2016, 16.0 percent in 2016, 18.0 percent in 2014, and 20.0 percent in 2013.

The survey was conducted in January 2018 and revealed that the number of people aware that the Seimas Ombudsmen protected human rights increased (44.4 percent) compared to 42.5 percent in 2016 and 43.2 percent in 2015. In comparison to 2013 when the numbers were extremely low: 34.5 percent in 2013 and just 24.3 percent in 2012, the percentage of people who know that the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office protects human rights has almost doubled.

The polls revealed that only 49,7 percent of respondents sought help when their rights were violated. Nonetheless, the number of those who did not turn for help remained conditionally high 56.7 percent.

The survey showed that older persons (who are older than 70) (62.0 percent), the unemployed (55.2 percent), people without a secondary education (61.9 percent), and retirees (56.1 percent) were among those who did not know where to turn if their rights were violated.

Each year, the Seimas Ombudsmen Office does a survey investigating if Lithuanians have enough information about who may help them when their rights are denied.

The Seimas Ombudsmen protects the human right to good public administration, which guarantees human rights and freedoms, supervises whether authorities fulfill their duty to serve the people and promote respect for human rights and freedoms while exercising the functions of the national human rights institution. The Seimas Ombudsmen also carry out national prevention of torture at detention facilities under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Mr Augustinas Normantas, the head of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office has met with Mr Viktoras Pranckietis, the Speaker of the Seimas, to discuss the most urgent issues of human rights in the country, among them the mental health problems, deinstitutionalisation of care institutions and challenges of the system of penalties.

During the meeting with the Speaker of the Seimas, A. Normantas also introduced the most relevant action lines for the work of the national human rights institution. "The Speaker of the Seimas was interested in the process of deinstitutionalisation of care institutions as well as the problems in the imprisonment system" noted Mr Normantas.

The Seimas Ombudsman observed that Lithuania is one of the leading countries in the number of imprisoned persons in the European Union. "Lithuania is losing ground for poor prison conditions before national courts, and the European Court of Human Rights" emphasised the Seimas Ombudsman.

The Speaker of the Seimas A. Pranckietis was interested in human rights situation in social care and mental health care institutions. Expressing concerns on the new amendments to the Mental Health Law, A. Normantas noted that Lithuania has to comply with the international human rights obligations.

The Seimas Ombudsmen protects the human right to good public administration, which guarantees human rights and freedoms, supervises whether authorities fulfill their duty to serve the people and promote respect for human rights and freedoms while exercising the functions of the national human rights institution. The Seimas Ombudsmen also carry out national prevention of torture at detention facilities under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.