El Diputado del Común, Rafael Yanes, impartió una charla informativa a los alumnos de 1º de Bachillerato del IES Cabrera Pinto, sobre la labor que desempeña la Institución en la defensa de los derechos y libertades de los ciudadanos frente a las administraciones públicas. Posteriormente, un grupo de alumnos entrevistó al diputado en la radio escolar, sobre actualidad política.

Die Arbeitsgemeinschaft der parlamentarisch gewählten Bürgerbeauftragten der Bundesländer traf sich auf Einladung der rheinland-pfälzischen Bürgerbeauftragten Barbara Schleicher-Rothmund zu einer Arbeitstagung in Mainz.

Das Treffen diente der intensiven Zusammenarbeit und dem Informationsaustausch der Bürgerbeauftragten aus Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein, Thüringen, Baden-Württemberg und Rheinland-Pfalz.

In der Aussprache standen aktuelle Fragestellungen bezüglich Rundfunkbeiträge. Hier fordert die Arbeitsgemeinschaft mehr Transparenz für die Beitragszahler, sowie im Nachgang zum Bundesverfassungsgerichtsurteil vom Juli 2018, eine nachvollziehbare Regelung für Ehepaare mit zwei Wohnsitzen. Weiterhin standen die Datenschutzgrundverordnung, Fortentwicklung des Petitionsrechts und die Sozialgesetzgebung im Mittelpunkt.

Die Bürgerbeauftragten der Länder begrüßten ausdrücklich die schleswig-holsteinische Bundes-ratsinitiative zur Entlastung der Kinder von den Kosten der Pflege für ihre Eltern. Bisher werden die Kinder von Pflegebedürftigen im Rahmen des Elternunterhalts zur Deckung der Heimkosten bei der stationären Pflege mit herangezogen. Für andere Leistungen der Sozialhilfe, wie zum Beispiel die Grundsicherung im Alter oder bei Erwerbsminderung, gilt aber, dass eine Kosten-beteiligung der Kinder erst erfolgt, wenn das Jahreseinkommen über 100.000 € liegt. Genau diese Einkommensgrenze soll künftig auch für die stationäre Pflege gelten, wenn eine Er-stattung der Heimkosten beim Sozialamt beantragt wird. Die Initiative geht u.a. zurück auf einen Vorschlag der schleswig-holsteinischen Bürgerbeauftragten aus dem Jahr 2017.

The Ombudsman participated in the conference jointly organized with Council of Europe, the Ombudsman Office, State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs and Press Council on “Gender Equality and Media” devoted to the 70th anniversary of the CoE and the centenary of women’s suffrage in Azerbaijan.

In the event the Ombudsman expressed best wishes to the CoE on the occasion of the 70th anniversary and pointed out to the 700 proposals including those related to the issues of women. More than half of these proposals were ensured.

The Ombudsman noted that the related target of SDGs on gender equality should be in focus of the state bodies and any kind of discrimination against women or children must be eliminated in accordance with the CEDAW Convention and national legislation.

It was mentioned that Azerbaijani women enjoyed voting rights since 1918 thanks to the equal suffrage granted in the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the first parliamentary republic in the east.

The Ombudsman proposed to organize trainings for political careers of women; promoting gender-sensitive attitude; development of women entrepreneurship; increasing leadership capacities; raising social awareness on equal participation of women and men in public life; elimination of women’s economic dependency and exploitation; building cooperation between women NGOs and state bodies; setting regional shelters for victims of abuse etc.

The Ombudsman, Maria Lúcia Amaral, addressed a suggestion for a legislative amendment to the Minister of Labor Solidarity and Social Security in order to revising the invalidity pensions of the two social protection regimes which were penalized by the sustainability factor on the date of their assignment or when they were convoked in old-age pensions at 65 years of age.

This suggestion comes as a result of several complaints filed by pensioners from the "Caixa Geral de Aposentações" and the National Pension Center whose pensions continue to be burdened with the sustainability factor, unlike what happens with the invalidity pensions of both social protection schemes that from the date of entry into force of article 3 of Decree-Law no. 126-B / 2017, of October 6, are no longer penalized with the application of the sustainability factor when they are convoked in old-age pensions.

The complainants find themselves in a situation of social unprotection which is extremely unfair in view of the unequal way in which the sustainability factor has affected and continues to affect their pensions and the special vulnerability resulting not only from permanent incapacity for work but also from aging already experienced by most of them.

Permanent incapacity for work and the consequent award of an invalidity pension is a contingency which arises not from any voluntary act of the person concerned but from physical or mental illness or disability, which is permanent and recognized by the Institute's medical expertise Social Security or Caixa Geral de Aposentações.

The Ombudsman therefore considers that, irrespective of the age or social protection scheme, there is an urgent need to adopt a legislative measure eliminating the sustainability factor of all attributed or combined into old-age pensions, prior to the entry into force of Decree-Law no. 126-B / 2017, of October 6.

The suggestion for legislative amendment was sent at the end of February, and is still awaiting response from the minister