Published on 13 February 2019

This week, Dunja Mijatović, Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe (CoE) since April 2018, paid a visit to the Austrian Ombudsman Board (AOB). Together with Ombudsman Günther Kräuter, Commissioner Mijatović discussed recent developments in the field of human rights, especially regarding migration, violence against women, children’s rights and the international tendency to restrict human rights.

Ombudsman institutions under threat

Mr Kräuter and Ms Mijatović shared concerns about the fact that Ombudsman institutions more and more often operate under difficult circumstances or come under threat in CoE member states, as governments more often perceived their monitoring work as inconvenient. Pressure can be applied in various forms. First steps are often sophisticated and almost invisible measures such as budget cuts or widening the Ombudsman’s mandate without providing the necessary resources, explained Commissioner Mijatović.

Ombudsman Kräuter informed the Commissioner about the Pension’s Commission which deals with pensions for victims of children’s homes and the AOB’s most recent accomplishments in this new field of work. Persons, who experienced violence and abuse in children’s homes run by public providers or the church, or during stays in hospitals, receive a monthly pension as acknowledgement of the suffering they experienced as a child. Recognizing the entitlement to a pension for those who were victims of violence in children’s homes could serve as a best practice example for other countries, where such cases of abuse become public, recommends Mr Kräuter.

Use of robots in nursing homes for the elderly

During her term of office, Commissioner Mijatović will put a specific focus on the topic of artificial intelligence. As an example, she mentioned the use of robots in nursing homes for the elderly, which is already discussed in Estonia. It is essential to take a closer look at this rapidly developing sector and to identify the human rights issues involved, especially when it comes to vulnerable groups such as older persons or persons with disabilities.

Ms Mijatović also showed great interest in the AOB’s weekly TV-show „Bürgeranwalt“, which has yet to be found elsewhere in the world and which is an important platform to raise awareness among the broader public about the AOB’s work and to increase its visibility.

The Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe carries out country visits on a regular basis to report about the human rights situation in the member states. Commissioner Mijatović announced her plans to carry out a country visit to Austria during her term of office.

El Diputado del Común, Rafael Yanes, impartió una charla informativa a los alumnos del CEIP Nazaret de Güímar sobre la labor de mediación que desempeña la Institución entre los ciudadanos y la Administración Pública. Al coloquio asistieron alumnos de Tercer curso de la ESO. La actividad se dictó dentro del marco de la asignatura “Educación para la Ciudadanía”.

La adjunta del Diputado del Común, Milagros Fuentes, presidió la segunda Mesa de Trabajo sobre los derechos humanos de las personas con problemas de Salud Mental. En ella se concluyó trasladar al Parlamento de Canarias un informe extraordinario sobre esta materia, con el fin de incluirlo en el Plan de Salud Mental.

En el acto también estuvieron presentes la coordinadora del Servicio de ...

Closing a two-year long initiative on the Brexit negotiations, European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly welcomed the generally high level of transparency, and urged the Commission and Council to maintain these standards in any future relationship negotiations.

Ms O’Reilly is due to meet the EU’s Chief Negotiator, Michel Barnier, this afternoon in Strasbourg.

Positive steps by the Commission’s Brexit Taskforce include the publication of over 100 negotiating documents, making Mr Barnier’s calendar publicly available, and meeting only registered lobbyists. The Taskforce worked through a transparent framework set by the European Council.

Given the major implications of Brexit for citizens and for businesses, the Ombudsman had written to the Commission before Article 50 was invoked to suggest practical transparency measures.

The Ombudsman monitored how the public was able to follow the withdrawal talks, making further transparency suggestions, and holding several technical-level meetings with the Taskforce.

“Aside from good administrative practice, the high level of transparency has given the EU negotiators two clear advantages. It has increased their legitimacy in the eyes of the public and it has helped to keep the EU united, as Member States, the European Parliament and citizens were kept informed and included at each step in the process,” said Ms O’Reilly.

“These advantages should be kept in mind during any future EU-UK relationship negotiations when different factors will come into play, more stakeholders will want to be involved, and various sectoral interests will emerge to try to influence the talks.”

Background

The Ombudsman wrote to the Commission and Council of the EU in March 2017. Her suggestions for transparency included the proactive publication of negotiating documents; that the Commission should ensure wide-ranging stakeholder input, and that it should consider publishing joint technical notes detailing progress after each negotiating round.

The Taskforce dealt with 70 access to documents requests - of which three were escalated to the Ombudsman – and replied to about 10,000 messages from the public.

The Taskforce indicated it would come back to the Ombudsman’s proposals about stakeholder input being as wide-ranging and inclusive as possible once talks on the future relationship between the EU and the UK start.

The Ombudsman’s summary of this monitoring process can be found here.