On November 10 representative of the Ombudsman's Office, Ms Anete Ilves, participates in the seminar on the right to education of persons with disabilities during COVID-19 pandemic organized by the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions and Public Defender (Ombudsman) of Georgia. Ms Ilves will give a report and participate in the discussion on the challenges, opportunities and lessons learnt from the Covid-19 pandemic with regard to the right and access to education of people with disabilities.

The main objective of the event is to exchange experiences and opinions on the best practices and methodology for implementing high-quality inclusive education during the pandemic. The invited speakers will share existing practices, recommendations and lessons learnt regarding the implementation of the right to education for persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others, in order to promote their independent living and an opportunity to contribute to the society.

As ombudsman organisations from across the globe gather in Manchester this week, the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) has ‘strongly endorsed’ support for the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) to have access to ‘safe space’.

Proposed new UK Government legislation in the form of the Health and Care Bill will exclude PHSO from access to ‘safe space’ information collected from NHS organisations by the Health Service Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB).

In October, the Venice Commission – an advisory body of the Council of Europe, of which the UK remains a member - reviewed the proposals in the Bill and found this would negatively impact on PHSO’s ability to investigate some complaints. It could also have a significant impact on patients and families who complain to PHSO and on people who use the NHS. 

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El Diputado del Común y la Adjunta Segunda se reúnen con el abogado de la Asociación Dignidad y Justicia, para estudiar los asesinatos de ETA no resueltos en Canarias

El Diputado del Común, Rafael Yanes, y la Adjunta Segunda de la Diputación del Común, Milagros Fuentes, se reunieron con el abogado de la Asociación Dignidad y Justicia, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, quien defiende la memoria y los intereses de las víctimas del terrorismo de ETA.

La Diputación del Común realizará un informe sobre estas víctimas en Canarias y sobre el estado en el que se encuentran sus familias. Retomará así la línea de trabajo iniciada tras la aprobación por parte del Parlamento de Canarias de la Proposición No de Ley sobre los 376 asesinados por ETA sin resolver.

Rodríguez recuerda que “de los 9 asesinatos de canarios registrados, 2 han recibido justicia, pero el 80% de casos en el Archipiélago siguen pendientes de ser resueltos. Nos parece llamativo el caso de Canarias, y por ello acudimos al Parlamento, puesto que el nivel de impunidad de los crímenes de ETA en España es del 44%, mientras que en el caso de los ciudadanos canarios, es del 80%, siendo uno de los índices más altos del país”.

El Diputado del Común acordó celebrar otra reunión para avanzar en el desarrollo de este informe y recopilar los datos pertinentes para la elaboración del mismo, con el fin de presentarlo ante el Parlamento de Canarias.

One year after the signing of the trilateral statement which ended the 2020 outbreak of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, publishes a memorandum addressing the humanitarian and human rights consequences of the conflict and formulates eight recommendations for urgent human rights protection.

The Commissioner observes that access to the conflict-affected territories remains very limited for organisations providing humanitarian relief, as well as for human rights monitoring missions, and that obstacles are increasingly being placed on such missions. In her view, the issue of access to all areas affected by the conflict should be resolved as a matter of priority. The Commissioner calls on all the relevant authorities to come up with effective and flexible modalities of access enabling humanitarian and human rights actors to reach out to all those in need of urgent humanitarian assistance and human rights protection.

The 2020 outbreak of hostilities forced tens of thousands of people living in or near the conflict area into displacement, in addition to those who had been displaced by the conflict in the 1990s. “Anyone who has been displaced due to the conflict and is currently living in Armenia or Azerbaijan, including in areas affected by the conflict, should not be coerced either directly or indirectly to return to their former home”, said the Commissioner. She underlines that returns should be voluntary, and they should be carried out in conditions of safety and dignity. Accurate information should be provided to candidates for return in order to ensure that their choice is informed.

The Commissioner is also aware of the high level of contamination of the region by mines and explosive remnants of war and regrets that since the cessation of the hostilities, many persons, including civilians, have been killed or seriously injured due to the explosion of mines. She calls on the parties to co-operate and engage in the necessary exchange of data so as to facilitate the demining process. She also calls on the Armenian and Azerbaijani authorities to ratify the UN Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects (CCW) and its relevant protocols.

The Commissioner furthermore notes that the issue of captives, in particular of Armenian captives in Azerbaijan, remains a contentious one which exacerbates the already tense relations between the two countries. It is therefore crucial to ensure that all those still in captivity are provided with all protections guaranteed under international humanitarian and human rights law, and to facilitate their release and return.

“Many families still bear the brunt of the conflict, especially those who have lost a family member or whose relatives remain missing. It is therefore of paramount importance to place the families of missing persons, their legal and practical needs, and their right to know the truth at the centre of all actions concerning this issue”, said the Commissioner. In this regard, there is a need for more engagement with both sides to promote communication, establish a common database, and increase the chances of location and identification of mortal remains.

In addition, the Commissioner has received credible reports from NGOs and victims and their families about breaches of international humanitarian law as well as serious violations of human rights by the parties to the conflict. The Commissioner emphasises that states have the legal obligation under international humanitarian law and the European Convention on Human Rights to hold those responsible for war crimes and serious human rights violations accountable.

Moreover, the Commissioner is particularly concerned by reports of indiscriminate shelling of populated areas resulting in deaths and serious injuries to civilians. She calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to renounce the use of cluster munitions and to ensure effective investigations into violations of international humanitarian law, such as indiscriminate and/or disproportionate attacks, to identify and bring those responsible to account, and provide adequate and effective reparation to the victims.

Lastly, the Commissioner observes that the public debate in both countries has increasingly been marked by toxic, hostile, intolerant, and downright disrespectful communication. “The constant rhetoric of ‘aggression’ or the use of words such as ‘enemies’ to designate the other side only contributes to perpetuating animosities between the people living on the different sides of the dividing lines”, the Commissioner added. She recommends that both member states take resolute action to prevent and combat hate speech and support initiatives that promote peaceful co-existence and reconciliation.

• Read the Commissioner for Human Rights' memorandum on the humanitarian and human rights consequences following the 2020 outbreak of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh
• Read the comments of the authorities of Armenia
  • Read the comments of the authorities of Azerbaijan  

Even after several urgencies from the Swedish Unemployment Office, the Czech Labour Office did not provide necessary information for the assessment of unemployment benefits to the Swedish teacher. According to the Deputy Ombudsman Monika Šimůnková, the Labour Office erred by not providing the necessary data without undue delay. Due to the lack of information from the Czech Republic, the man was left without unemployment benefits for almost 8 months.

The Swedish teacher worked for a year at a Czech private school. When he applied for unemployment benefits upon his return to Sweden, the Swedish Unemployment Office contacted the Czech Labour Office to ask for proof of the man's full earnings from his employment in the Czech Republic. Without this information, Swedish officials could not calculate the benefit. Their Czech colleagues confirmed the earnings, but reported to Sweden an amount corresponding to an average monthly salary.

The applicant disagreed, however, and proved by his pay slips he earned a considerably higher ammount of money in the Czech Republic over the year. The Swedish Unemployment Office therefore asked the Czech Labour Office for clarification and additional information. He contacted Czech officials four times during 2020. However, no reply was received to messages written in English or Czech. At the beginning of this year, the Swedish teacher therefore turned to the Ombudsman.

Documents requested by the Deputy Ombudsman from the Labour Office confirmed that the Swedish Unemployment Office had requested confirmation from the Czech Labour Office of the figure marked "gross earnings during employment". The amount confirmed by the Labour Office corresponded to the "average monthly income". This is commonly used in the Czech Republic to calculate unemployment benefit.

According to the Deputy Ombudsman, the Czech Labour Office was not obliged to know how unemployment benefits were calculated in Sweden. In her view, it is understandable that it first proceeded in the manner usual for determining average earnings for the purposes of calculating unemployment benefit in the Czech Republic. However, the Deputy Ombudsman criticised the Office for its subsequent inactivity over several months, when it repeatedly failed to respond to the Swedish officials' requests and when it did not even clarify the query that they needed to know the „entire gross income for the requested period“. In her view, the Labour Office did not act in accordance with the principles of good administration - in particular the principles of timeliness and responsibility - in dealing with the complainant's case.

As the Labour Office sent the necessary information to Sweden after the Ombudsman's investigation had been initiated, the Deputy Ombudsman did not propose further remedial measures. She warned the Labour Office to avoid similar misconduct in the future.