El Defensor del Pueblo andaluz, Jesús Maeztu, participa a partir de mañana en Madrid en el primer Congreso de AGOL (Alianza Global del Ombudsperson Local), bajo el título 'Prácticas Sostenibles: De lo Local a lo Global ', donde se reunen defensores y defensoras del pueblo de los países del área iberoamericana.

El encuentro, que se hace coincidir con el V Congreso Internacional del PRADPI (Programa Regional de Apoyo a las Defensorías del Pueblo de Iberoamérica), tiene como objetivo conocer, compartir y debatir sobre las prácticas sostenibles en el tiempo y replicables de las Defensorías del Pueblo, con el propósito en mejorar el trabajo de protección de los derechos humanos en las ciudades, el cumplimiento de la Agenda 2030 y los Objetivos de ONU-Habitat, así como establecer alianzas estratégicas para la consolidación de la Alianza Global de Ombudsperson Local.

El Defensor del Pueblo de España, Ángel Gabilondo, inaugurará el congreso de AGOL, que se desarrollará en el Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales de Madrid, del miércoles al viernes.

Jesús Maeztu intervendrá el jueves en la mesa redonda que abordará la temática de las 'Personas en situación de vulnerabilidad', donde compartirá espacio con Elías Manuel Camargo, presidente de la comisión de Derechos Humanos de la Baja California mexicana; Karen Morales, coordinadora de proyectos FENALPER de Colombia; Marcos Lindemayer, de la Unión OGU/CGU del Brasil; July Paola Ramírez, personera municipal de Sativasur (Colombia), la Síndica de Greuges del Ayuntamiento de Lleida, Dora Padial, y Joseana Beetzabé de la Rosa, secretaria técnica de la comisión estatal de Derechos Humanos de Chiapas.

AGOL es la Alianza Global del Ombudsperson Local, creada en mayo de 2019, que tiene por objeto trabajar en el ámbito de las administraciones locales con un enfoque basado en los derechos humanos con perspectiva de género y prestando especial atención a los retos socioambientales, con el fin principal de fortalecer los vínculos interinstitucionales y la cooperación internacional entre las instituciones y otros asociados. Todo ello para contribuir al Estado de Derecho, la democracia y la justicia social en todo el mundo.

Ombudswoman Tena Šimonović Einwalter submitted to the Croatian Parliament special report “The Impact of the COVID-19 Epidemic on Human Rights and Equality – Recommendations for the Strengthening of Resilience to Future Crises.” The Report analyses the impact of the epidemic during the course of 2020 and 2021 and provides 72 recommendations with the aim of  encouraging and directing the process of the strengthening of Croatia’s resilience to crises.

“This epidemic is an unprecedented event in recent history and has led to numerous human rights restrictions. From the very beginning, our institution has been active, working on cases and doing preventive work aimed at achieving systemic improvements, especially when it came to the most vulnerable groups. However, after two years, the time has come to look back and make a broader analysis of the impact on human rights and equality, which should and can guide the reactions in similar situations in the future, should they occur“, said Ombudswoman Šimonović Einwalter.

The epidemic has shown that, in addition to the consistency in the implementation of the  measures, it is extremely important to inform the citizens about those measures and the coronavirus itself. This should include providing detailed explanations of the reasons and the criteria for their adoption in a timely manner, so that the citizens and those who are responsible for enforcing the measures could prepare. The Report especially emphasizes the importance of building trust in institutions, which needs to be done systematically, before a crisis strikes, as well as of the nurturing of social solidarity. Special value of the Report lies in its recommendations divided into those specifically related to the epidemic, and those that are general and, thus, applicable in the future crises. The Report also contains recommendations issued by special ombudswomen in relation to the groups and topics in their field of work.

The Report covers the two-year period between March 2020 (the beginning of the epidemic) and the end of December 2021, and was prepared in collaboration with the Gender Equality Ombudswoman, the Ombudswoman for Children and the Ombudswoman for the Persons with Disabilities. It refers to the impact on specific human rights and equality as well as on specific social groups, and includes, inter alia, issues of unequal access to health care, difficulties related to the organization and implementation of vaccination, the impact of epidemiological measures on employment rights, restrictions on public gatherings and the freedom of movement. It also refers to the impact of the epidemic on older persons, youth, persons living in poverty, Roma, migrants, persons deprived of their liberty, women, children, persons with disabilities and children with disabilities.

Crises such as the COVID-19 epidemic are unpredictable and that is exactly why lessons should be learned from them, which can be done most effectively when the crisis stagnates or ends and the conditions for an objective, systematic and analytical review are achieved. The Report and its recommendations also aim to encourage detailed scientific and expert analyses of the impact of the epidemic on different areas and systems, as well as social groups, as a contribution to learning for the future. Only in this way is it possible to strengthen resilience to future crises and the possible continuation of this epidemic, and thus strengthen the protection of human rights, freedoms and equality in demanding conditions.

You can find the full Report here (in Croatian only).

A Croydon family was left to live on a building site for nearly two years after their local council failed to pay an agreed grant on time, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.

The family, which already included three children, took on the care of another child as part of a Special Guardianship agreement with London Borough of Croydon. The arrangement included the council paying £40,000 for an extension to the family’s two-bedroom home to ensure there was enough space to care for four children.

The family secured a bank loan for their part and builders started on the extension. But because the council did not pay the grant on time, the builders stopped work. The house and garden was left in disarray for 21 months while the family chased the council for the balance, which it finally paid in November 2021.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said:

“The council’s delays have caused this family considerable stress and disruption: they’ve not had proper access to the front or back of their house, walls were left with large holes open to the outside and part of the extension that had been built was flooded when it rained. Indeed, some of the work that was completed before the hiatus needs remedial work before the building can be finished.

“I am pleased the council has accepted my recommendations to put things right for the family.”

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s role is to remedy injustice and share learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the council has agreed to apologise to the family and pay them £10,500 to recognise the unsuitable conditions they were left in, and a further £250 for bringing their complaint. It will also pay for any remedial work that needs doing because the work was left unfinished for so long. It will also pay the difference should the work now cost more to finish.

Additionally it will also pay outstanding invoices for the child’s nursery fees which had initially been agreed as part of the Special Guardianship process, and continue to pay these till the child starts school later this year.

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the council has agreed to review how it considers complaints under the correct statutory process.

Article date: 12 May 2022

Gianna Morandi, Difensore civico del Trentino nella legislatura in corso, ha rilasciato a "Consiglio provinciale cronache" del mese di maggio-giugno 2022 un'intervista dove illustra l'evoluzione del ruolo in quarant'anni di difesa civica

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Allegati

Intervista al Difensore civico Consiglio provinciale Cronache maggio 2022

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Die Volksanwaltschaft ist eine Rechtsschutzeinrichtung. Eine ihrer wichtigsten Aufgaben ist die Kontrolle der öffentlichen Verwaltung. Sie nimmt Beschwerden aller Menschen entgegen, die Probleme mit einer österreichischen Behörde haben. Mit dem aktuellen Bericht präsentierten die Volksanwälte Walter Rosenkranz, Werner Amon und Bernhard Achitz die wichtigsten Prüfergebnisse des Jahres 2021 im Bereich der Wiener Landes- oder Gemeindeverwaltung. Insgesamt langten 1.195 Beschwerden ein.

Nachprüfende Kontrolle der öffentlichen Verwaltung

Inhaltlich bezogen sich die meisten Beschwerden auf die Bereiche:

• Mindestsicherung und Jugendwohlfahrt (369 Beschwerden),
• Staatsbürgerschaft, Wählerevidenz, Straßenpolizei (313 Beschwerden) sowie
• Gemeindeangelegenheiten (228 Beschwerden).

Im Berichtsjahr konnten insgesamt 1.355 Prüfverfahren betreffend die Wiener Landes- und Gemeindeverwaltung abgeschlossen werden, davon wurden 1.100 im Jahr 2021 eingeleitet, 255 in den Jahren davor. In 326 Fällen stellte die Volksanwaltschaft einen Missstand in der Verwaltung fest, was einem Anteil von rund 24 % aller erledigten Verfahren entspricht. Keinen Anlass für eine Beanstandung sah die Volksanwaltschaft bei 544 Beschwerden, in 485 Fällen war die Volksanwaltschaft nicht zuständig.

Präventiver Schutz der Menschenrechte

Im Bereich der präventiven Menschenrechtskontrolle führten die zuständigen Experten-Kommissionen der Volksanwaltschaft in Wien 131 Kontrollen durch. 125 Kontrollen fanden in Einrichtungen statt, in denen Menschen angehalten werden. 6-mal wurden Polizeieinsätze begleitet. Um einen möglichst unverfälschten Eindruck zu erhalten, erfolgten die Kontrollen in der Regel unangekündigt.

Im Schnitt beanstandeten die Kommissionen in 63 % der präventiven Kontrollen die menschenrechtliche Situation. Die Volksanwaltschaft prüft diese Fälle auf Grundlage der Wahrnehmungen der Kommissionen und setzt sich mit den zuständigen Ministerien und Aufsichtsbehörden in Verbindung, um auf Verbesserungen hinzuwirken. Viele festgestellte Missstände und Gefährdungen konnten dadurch bereits beseitigt werden. Ergebnis dieser Prüftätigkeit sind zahlreiche Empfehlungen der Volksanwaltschaft, die menschenrechtliche Standards in den Einrichtungen gewährleisten sollen.

Weitere Details und konkrete Beschwerdefälle können Sie in der Presseunterlage und im Bericht an den Wiener Landtag 2021 nachlesen.