The UN General Assembly has declared 21 March World Down Syndrome Day. This year, it is celebrated in the spirit of the slogan Connect.

On this occasion, Ombudsman Peter Svetina stresses the importance of staying connected in these extraordinary times of combating the coronavirus epidemic, which has been ongoing for a year now. "We had to find new and different ways of staying connected, which was a challenge for many people, particularly affecting individuals with Down Syndrome, as even in normal circumstances, living with disabilities constitutes a daily challenge," says Ombudsman Svetina.

The Ombudsman emphasises the importance of an inclusive society, i.e. a society that accepts others equally. This enriches our social environment and relationships with other people and strengthens our society. "Everyone should have equal conditions to satisfy their basic needs and achieve their life goals; however, the Ombudsman unfortunately observes that the rights and fundamental freedoms of children with Down Syndrome and their families are often violated. Among the most frequently violated are the right to optimal education and training, the right to the highest level of health standards and services, and the right to training and employment," says the Ombudsman.

Equal inclusion of people with disabilities is one of the most important democratic factors in establishing democratic principles and social integration. It is therefore all the more important to continuously draw attention to discrimination. "The right of children with Down Syndrome to equal and non-discriminatory treatment is often violated, as in some cases applicable legislation is interpreted in a way that is harmful to them. This discrimination is based on the lack of understanding the challenges these individuals face, which often stems from ignorance, uncertainty and fear of the unknown," says Ombudsman Svetina.

Moreover, the Ombudsman emphasises the importance of deinstitutionalisation, which is a right every person with disabilities has, as we believe that everyone should be able to receive care in their home environment. "The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Slovenia adopted 12 years ago, imposes the task of deinstitutionalisation upon member states, thus ensuring, among other things, the right of those people to an independent life in their local community," stresses Ombudsman Svetina. He adds that, in all these years, the state has not yet appointed a supervisory body to carry out the tasks related to the implementation of the convention. "It is high time for Slovenia to establish an independent body for promoting, protecting and monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. As the national human rights institution with “A” status accreditation according to the Paris Principles, the Human Rights Ombudsman is prepared to assume this responsibility and mission. Thus, the Human Rights Ombudsman could become an independent supervisory body for continuous objective monitoring of the rights arising from the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities," says Ombudsman Peter Svetina.

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Vitoria-Gasteiz

Hoy, 24 de marzo, las Naciones Unidas celebran el Día internacional del derecho a la verdad en relación con violaciones graves de derechos humanos y la dignidad de las víctimas. Para conmemorarlo el ararteko Manuel Lezertua ha grabado un podcast con Roberto Moreno, coordinador del área de justicia, personas en prisión y víctimas de grupos terroristas de la oficina del Ararteko. En el podcast, los dos conversan sobre el significado de este día, nos explican qué son las graves violaciones de derechos humanos y el derecho a la verdad, y su relevancia para Euskadi.

Para saber más, puedes consultar la página de las Naciones Unidas dedicada al día internacional del derecho a la verdad en relación con violaciones graves de los derechos humanos y la dignidad de las víctimas

Vitoria-Gasteiz, 24 de marzo de 2021

The Parliamentary Ombudsman, Mr Anthony C. Mifsud, presented the Case Notes 2020 to the President of the House of Representatives, the Hon. Anglu Farrugia.

The presentation of the Case Notes coincides with the end of the term of Mr Anthony C. Mifsud as Parliamentary Ombudsman. In his foreword to this year’s edition of the Case Notes the Ombudsman noted that “These last five years have been a most satisfying experience even though the Office had to face difficult challenging situations ranging from serious political upheavals, major institutional deficiencies and reforms, as well as a worldwide pandemic. We did not fail to make our voice heard when necessary to promote good governance and to secure a good public administration.  We continued to perform assiduously our functions above all by executing our primary duty to receive, process and investigate complaints from aggrieved citizens and to recommend adequate redress when appropriate.”

This latest edition of the Case Notes is further evidence to the quality and diversity of the complaints that were handled by the Ombudsman and the Commissioners.

As in previous years, this bi-lingual publication includes three separate sections reporting complaints investigated by our specialised commissioners in the areas of Health, Education and Environment and Planning.

Copies of the Case Note 2020 can be obtained from the Office of the Ombudsman or downloaded from here

Wed, 03/24/2021 - 12:00

We laid 33 decisions before the Scottish Parliament this month.  For more information, please click the link below.

Download the Ombudsman's overview (PDF, 379KB) or read it online (link is external).  Media enquiries can be made by email or via our online form.

Les faits

M. D. a fait installer des panneaux photovoltaïques en 2009.
Chaque année, il introduit ses index de manière semestrielle pour bénéficier des certificats verts.

Lorsqu’il encode son relevé d’index en juin 2019, il est surpris de ne recevoir qu’un certificat alors qu’habituellement il en recevait environ une
douzaine.

Il contacte la CWAPE par mail afin d’obtenir des explications mais ne reçoit aucune réponse.

L'intervention du Médiateur

Le Médiateur interpelle le Département de l'Énergie, celui-ci ayant, entre-temps repris les compétences de la CWAPE pour la gestion des certificats, en lui demandant d’apporter des explications quant au calcul opéré.

L’issue de la médiation

L’Administration indique qu’il est tout à fait normal que la totalité de la production renseignée pour le relevé transmis en juin 2019 ne soit pas octroyée. Étant donné que la date du relevé initial du site de production est le 20 janvier 2009, M. D. est, en effet, arrivé au terme des 10 ans d'octroi en janvier 2019.
Cette situation résulte de la modification de l’arrêté du Gouvernement wallon relatif à la promotion de l'électricité produite au moyen de sources
d'énergie renouvelables du 30 novembre 2006. L’octroi des certificats a été réduit à 10 ans.
Le relevé d’index de M. D. reprenait la période du 02 décembre 2018 au 19 juin 2019 mais seule la période du 02 décembre 2018 au 20 janvier 2019 a été comptabilisée.

L’Administration indique que M. D. a introduit un dossier de révision facteur k le 18 juin 2019 mais qu’elle n’a pas encore eu l’occasion de l’analyser du fait que le logiciel nécessaire ne fonctionne pas encore.
Elle indique que si sa demande est acceptée, le facteur k déterminant le taux d'octroi sera régularisé pour la période restante ainsi que l'octroi des certificats verts.
Par contre, si la rentabilité a été atteinte, il n’y aura plus d'octroi de certificats après le 20/01/2019.

Attention : chaque cas évoqué ne peut pas nécessairement être généralisé à d’autres situations. En effet, quand il traite une réclamation, le Médiateur examine la situation concrète et prend en compte les arguments invoqués et les pièces probantes apportées.